Waterbury performance to premiere student compositions on Sept. 29
September 22, 2024 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
Music-COMP rehearsal involves professional musicians and student composers. Courtesy photo
Music-COMP kicks off its 30th season with a free concert in Waterbury on Sunday, Sept. 29, presenting the world premiere of six student works written during a summer program.
Student musicians from Vermont and Connecticut worked online with composer/mentor Kyle Saulnier for one week this summer to write original music for a professional ensemble modeled after Olivier Messiaen’s historic “Quartet for the End of Time.” Their pieces will be presented in a program starting at 4 p.m. at the Waterbury Congregational Church.
Alongside these six original student works, the program also will include a piece by Saulnier titled “impulse.”
The student composers featured in the program are Emaline Dubois from Crossett Brook Middle School, Kirin Prakash Biancosino and Lucas Flinner from Middlebury Union High School, Katie Marthage from the Long Trail School in Dorset, Vermont homeschool student René Simakaski, and Ko Cervigni Rutkauskas from E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut.
Musicians performing the program are Brooke Quiggins on violin, John Dunlop on cello, Dan Liptak on clarinet and pianist Alison Cerutti.
Student composers and musicians will meet ahead of the concert for an afternoon student-led rehearsal. For those interested who may not be able to attend, the program at 4 p.m. will also be streamed online by ORCA Media at this link.
Admission to the concert is free, although donations are appreciated. The nonprofit Music-COMP organization provides experiences in music composition for young composers through online mentoring, live performances, free composition resources, and professional development for teachers. Former Harwood music teacher Stefanie Weigand of Waterbury is the executive director of Music-COMP.