Pierre Jalbert
Musiqa artistic board member Pierre Jalbert’s new orchestral work In Terra receives its world premiere with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Larry Rachleff at Carnegie Hall on October 28.
Jalbert, a professor of composition and theory at Rice since 1996, has written several works for colleagues over the last twenty years, and In Terra addresses the “layers of history” within the institution. The composer states:
The idea of layers of history also conjured the various epochs and layers within the earth’s crust and the sometimes slow, sometimes violent changes that take place over time. These layers are represented musically by various motives in the piece that are stacked upon each other towards the end of the work. This is an idea I used in a previous work, Strata, and a third piece will be added based on the same premise.
Earning widespread notice for his richly colored and superbly crafted scores, Jalbert has developed a musical language that is engaging, expressive, and deeply personal. Jalbert’s many honors include the Rome Prize, the BBC Masterprize, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 2007 Stoeger Award and a 2010 award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
“Jalbert’s music immediately captures one’s attention with its strong gesture and vitality,” wrote the American Academy of Arts and Letters. “Rich in instrumental color and harmonically engaging, its narrative is dramatically compelling yet always logical in its flow.”
In Terra has its Houston premiere at The Shepherd School of Music’s Stude Concert Hall, November 5 (8 pm).