Washington, D.C. Composer to Debut Piece at Lisner Auditorium Brian Wilbur Grundstrom Masters Mood and Technique with Two World Premieres

Washington, D.C. – Jubilation! Dance for Orchestra (2000), composed for full orchestra, will debut with the George Washington University Orchestra under the direction of maestra Nancia D’Alimonte on Sunday, November 19, 2006 at Lisner Auditorium.
Positioned among classical favorites, the swift notes of Grundstrom’s piece take winged flight on a musical adventure of lightness and fantasy. Written with five beats to the measure instead of the usual three or four, Jubilation! is a full complement of winds, brass and mallets bringing forth much excitement, climaxing with a brass choral preceding a big tutti ending. This piece compels listeners into a sense of weightlessness and euphoria; a flight over seemingly over exotic peaks and through colorful streets – a true auditory adventure. Using notes as his medium, Brian Wilbur Grundstrom paints the unfettered journey, whether real or emotional, leading listeners into a free fall of discovery.
New York–based music critic Brian Wise wrote "the music of … composer Brian Grundstrom draws on a wide palette of influences, notably the celebrated 'Americana' style of Aaron Copland, with its sturdy harmonies and open spaces. Yet Grundstrom brings a distinctive approach to tonality, maintaining an essential tonal foundation while avoiding key signatures. 'the absence of a key signature gives me the freedom necessary to use tonality in more interesting ways, letting my ear guide my music along its path.'"
Classically trained in piano as well as music theory, Brian Wilbur Grundstrom’s compositions for orchestra, piano, quintet and other ensembles demonstrate an innovative use of harmony and melody, which although firmly rooted in the tonal tradition is entirely new. His versatile repertoire of composition includes that of film, chamber, vocal and orchestral. A member of ASCAP, he recently completed music for two short films, Reunion by Andy Bely and A Date with Dennis by Taylor Burns. He is a grant recipient from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Before the Fall! (2001) by Grundstrom also debuted this fall with the Trinity Chamber Orchestra five years after its prophetic composition – a nearly complete work just before the events of 9-11. The haunting, lingering notes of Before the Fall! is, in Grundstrom’s words, equally emblematic of summer’s giving way to autumn and, with it, the anticipated cold and dark approach of winter.
The new home of the Trinity Chamber Orchestra, St. Ann’s Catholic Church, served as the perfect backdrop for his composition which was presented among a bouquet of symphonic favorites. At home with Bach, Beethoven and Debussy, Grundstrom’s command of classical composition is eclipsed only by the subtlety he uses to bring 21st century freshness to his work. Conductor Richard Fazio and his musicians gave life and light to Grundstrom’s work as though it were a part of their collective musical history.
Jubilation! Dance for Orchestra will premiere with the George Washington University Orchestra on Sunday, November 19, 2006, 3:00 p.m. at Lisner Auditorium, 21st and H Streets, NW, Washington DC 20052. This is a free concert; information is available from the music department at 202.994.6245. For further information on Brian Wilbur Grundstrom and these performances, please go to www.brianwilbur.com.
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