Annual American Composers Update

John Hilliard

John Hilliard holds a commission from the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir for a 1998 treble chorus, woodwind quartet, and harp work. In 1997 he served as guest lecturer at the Virginia Governor's School, held at the University of Richmond, where he spoke on world music, (two days in July 1997); and for the Danville (IL) Symphony Society (spring). He received a 1997 ASCAP Award for Advancement of Contemporary Composition.

Premieres

Symphony No. 2 was played first by the Danville Illinois Symphony Orchestra, James Ball conducting, spring 1997. At the International College Music Society Conference, Vienna, Austria, July 1997, which he attended by invitation, the WindRose Trio gave the first European performance of Five Miro Bagatelles. The National Horn Society Convention, held at the Eastman School of Music, June 1997, included the premiere of Love Songs of the New Kingdom. Daughters of the Stars, for children's choir, four winds, and harp, is scheduled to premiere in February 1998, in Harrisonburg, VA.

Performances

Conducted by the composer, a James Madison University chamber orchestra, two readers, and two dancers performed The Whale: Ancient Dream Sequences at the Contemporary Music Festival, spring 1997. The Mid-Atlantic College Music Society Conference, held at the University of Richmond, spring 1997, included the WindRose Trio in Five Miro Bagatelles.

Publications

Symphony No. 2; Gitchi-Mukwa Music, 1997.

Further Information

For more complete information, see John Hilliard's entry in our Composers Bureau Online.