Jocelyn Hagen is 51st commissioned composer at UW-River Falls

March 9, 2017--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is celebrating the 51st year of the Commissioned Composer Project by hosting Twin Cities based composer Jocelyn Hagen for a three-day residency March 21-23. The 51st Anniversary Concert is Thursday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Abbott Concert Hall in the Kleinpell Fine Arts building. The public is invited to attend this free concert.

Each year, UW-River Falls commissions a composer to write a piece of music for the student body, and arranges for that composer to come to the campus in the spring to interact with the students, and take part in the premier performance of that work.  

The Commissioned Composer Project, which began in 1967 by Professor Emeritus Conrad De Jong, is the longest standing program of its kind in the United States, putting a national spotlight on the UW-River Falls Music Department.

Hagen is a composer and performer. She composes music that has been described as "simply magical" (Fanfare Magazine) and "dramatic and deeply moving" (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul).  Her commissions include Conspirare, The Minnesota Orchestra, the American Choral Directors Associations of Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut and Texas, the North Dakota Music Teacher's Association, Cantus, the Boston Brass, The Metropolitan Symphony, and The Houston Chamber Choir, among many others. She is currently an artist-in-residence at North Dakota State University and regularly composes for their ensembles. Read more about Hagen at www.jocelynhagen.com

Hagen will discuss her commission on Thursday, March 23, at 3 p.m. in 129 Kleinpell Fine Arts. All commissioned composer events are free and open to the public.

The residency is sponsored by the UWRF Commissioned Composer Project, a student organization that aims to bring the works of contemporary composers to UW-River Falls and the community.

For more information, visit https://www.uwrf.edu/MUS/CommissionedComposers.cfm, email patti.cudd@uwrf.edu or call the UW-River Falls Music Department at 715-425-3183.