For the past 12 years the Utah Arts Festival has awarded three Composer Commission Awards, focusing on Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble, and Jazz. This year the honors go to Christopher Stark, Ethan Wickman and David Featherstone.

Chamber Orchestra Commission: Christopher Stark

The world premiere of Christopher Stark's "Promontories" will be Thursday, June 23, 8:15pm, Festival Stage.

Christopher Stark, is a composer of contemporary classical music deeply rooted in the American West. A recipient of the 2010 American Composers Orchestra Underwood Commission, Stark's music has been heard in concert venues around the world from the

Neue Synagoge Berlin to Carnegie Hall. Stark is currently finishing his DMA at Cornell University. In the spring of 2011, Stark will teach electronic music courses as a visiting professor at the University of Montana.

Chamber Ensemble Commission: Ethan Wickman

The world premiere of Ethan Wickman's "Winter's Burst" will be on Saturday, June 25, 4pm, Library Auditorium.

Described as “a composer of facility and imagination”  (Steve Smith, The New York Times), Ethan Wickman's music has been performed by such groups as the Aspen Concert Orchestra, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, the Newton Symphony, Zeitgeist, the Avalon String Quartet, Flexible Music, the Gryphon Trio and many others in venues in the U.S. and abroad. He has received grants, prizes, and commissions including a Fulbright. Wickman holds degrees in music composition from Brigham Young University, Boston University, and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and is currently Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

See all Classical Performances.

Jazz Commission: David Featherstone

The world premiere of David Featherstone's "Recall" will be Friday, June 24, 8:30pm, Festival Stage.

David Featherstone received his Bachelor's in Music Composition and his Master's in Jazz Studies from the University of Utah. Mr. Featherstone has composed and arranged music for percussion ensembles, orchestras, chamber groups, movie scores, big bands and jazz combos. He has had works premiered by the award winning University of Utah Percussion Ensemble and the University of Utah Big Band. Mr. Featherstone also works as a freelance orchestral percussionist and drum set artist and has toured and performed across the United States, China, Belgium, Holland, England, and France.

See all Jazz Performances.

Commissions Coordinators

Andrew Rindfleisch – Artistic Director
John V. Costa – Classical Commission Coordinator
Henry Wolking – Jazz Commission Coordinator

Special thanks to the University of Utah School of Music for the use of Libby Gardner Concert Hall for rehearsals and recordings.