If you go
‘Gems From the CSO Principals’ in the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Chamber Series.› When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19.› Where: Read House Silver Ballroom, 827 Broad St.› Admission: $28 adults, $15 students.› Phone: 423-267-8583.› Website: www.chattanoogasymphony.org.Meet the Composer Lunch with Douglas Hedwig› When: Noon today, Feb. 16.› Where: 212 Market Restaurant, 212 Market St.› Admission: $25.› Phone: 423-267-8583.› Website: www.chattanoogasymphony.org.
The next concert in the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera's Chamber Series comes with a bonus: a Meet the Composer Lunch.
Lunch with Dr. Douglas Hedwig is the third of five Meet the Composer opportunities offered by the CSO this season. Hedwig's "Movable Borders" will get its world premiere at the Chamber Series concert, "Gems From the CSO Principals," scheduled Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, at the Read House.
The concert also will feature music by Villa-Lobos (Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6), Ligeti (Six Bagatelles) and Beethoven (Septet).
On his website, Hedwig describes the new composition as a multimovement work for two violins, viola, cello and double-bass.
Hedwig, a trumpeter, has enjoyed a long career in the musical arts and pursued a wide variety of expression. He was a member of New York's Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 27 years, performing with the greatest conductors and soloists of his generation.
Additionally, his trumpet-playing may be heard on more than 40 albums, ranging from chamber music to Broadway shows to jazz, including the Grammy Award-winning recording of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" with the Houston Grand Opera.
While pursuing an active performing career in New York City, Hedwig simultaneously lectured on music history as a faculty member of The Juilliard School, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1986. He later served on the faculty of the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (City University of New York), where he is now professor emeritus.
During his time in Brooklyn, Hedwig conducted various ensembles and created and taught seminars in contemporary performance practice. He also served as commander and conductor of the 89th Army Band, New York Guard (Major, retired), having enlisted following the events of Sept. 11, and was guest conductor with the U.S. Army Band at West Point.
Long interested in musical composition, Hedwig was commissioned by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2009 to compose music for his second inauguration ceremony.
Since then, Hedwig's musical life has centered primarily on creating multiple new works for strings, brass, percussion, organ and concert band, including the recent premiere of a commissioned work by St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chattanooga (May 2015). He and his wife, Mimi Jones Hedwig, moved to Chattanooga in 2013.
"Gems From the CSO Principals" is the last Chamber Series performance of the season. Concerts are held in the intimate setting of the Read House Silver Ballroom.