The 2022/23 Season is a musical menagerie for the senses. The Ulster Orchestra invites you to Immerse Yourself this season as we celebrate our artists, composers and conductors.
This week, Clare Hammond joins us to perform two new works, including
Orpheus by Canadian composer Samy Moussa. Montreal-born Moussa, currently based in Germany, wrote the work in 2017. According to Moussa:
“The title came only after the piece was finished. The principal commissioner requested that the piece be titled ‘Orpheus’ for the sake of thematic programming considerations, and I refused at the time only to realise once the work was complete that ‘Orpheus’ was in fact the right title.”
As a teenager, Moussa was introduced to the Ulster Orchestra through the purchase of musical recordings of the music of Arnold Bax, Edmund Rubbra and Arthur Bliss. When asked his thoughts on the upcoming debut with the Ulster Orchestra, Moussa simply said:
“It’s wonderful to think they will soon play my music.”
Moussa keenly continues to grow his compositional repertoire, recently completing a trombone concerto titled ‘Yericho’ for Jörgen van Rijen, and presently working on a new piece for orchestra to be conducted by Manfred Honeck.
Moussa also is currently working on writing text for a song-cycle for chorus, reading much to supplement his composition and gain inspiration. When asked if he has any other habits or rituals which help him compose, Moussa stated:
“I simply sit at my desk and make attempts. Composing, like most work, requires concentration. The most difficult aspect is not the composing itself, but maintaining the concentration.”
Our wholehearted thanks to Samy Moussa contributing his thoughts to this blog post.
We invite you to Immerse Yourself in our concert programme this Friday 24
th March 2023, at 7.45pm (with preconcert talk at 7pm), at Ulster Hall in Belfast, which also includes the new work
Rapprochement by Piers Hellawell, and music by Vaughan Williams and Copland. Featuring Clare Hammond on piano and Jamie Phillips conducting, this is sure to be gorgeously meditative concert filled with moments of tranquillity and passion.
BOOK NOW:
https://www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk/whats-on/open-spaces/