Waschka Trumpet Concerto Premieres

WORLD PREMIERE IN LONDON

Composer Rodney Waschka's trumpet concerto, Winter Concerto, received its world premiere in Enescu Hall in London on July 8, 2010, performed by the London Schubert Players (LSP) chamber orchestra. Winter Concerto, scored for trumpet, piano, and strings, was written for the LSP and sponsored, in part, by the European Union. Pianist Anda Anastasescu founded and serves as the Artistic Director of the London Schubert Players. Huw Morgan performed the trumpet part.

Waschka, Professor of Arts Studies at North Carolina State University, composed the piece in the winter of 2009 with the help of computer programming procedures known as genetic algorithms. The work is in three movements and makes use of the Romanian folk song, "Jiana" as transcribed by Lyuben Dossev. "I divided the folksong into three parts, and used one part in each of the three movements of my Winter Concerto," Waschka said. 

Waschka, known for his computer music and his theatrical works including two operas, is an internationally recognized expert in computer music. He wrote the chapter on composing with genetic algorithms for the recent book, Evolutionary Computer Music, published by Springer. His pieces are widely performed and have been recorded on the Capstone, AUR, Centaur, and IRIDA labels in the USA, on the PeP label in Canada, and on the Ama Romanta and Plancton labels in Portugal.  His works are published by Borik Press and ACE.

Trumpeter Morgan, Brass winner of the British Broadcasting Corporation's "Young Musician of the Year" in 2006, was the youngest ever winner of the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Solo Competition in 2005, and completed a rare double by becoming the youngest winner of the ITG Orchestra competition in 2008.  

The London Schubert Players recently recorded Winter Concerto for an upcoming CD release.