Commissioned Composers

57th Commissioned Composer - April 20, 2023 
 

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will welcome featured composer Davor Bobić to Abbott Concert Hall on Thursday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. for the 57th Commissioned Composer concert. The concert is free and open to the public.

Professor Bobić is on campus April 18-20 for a three-day residency working with faculty, students and sharing insights about his music. There will be a free presentation April 20, 3 PM in 129 Kleinpell Fine Arts, where he will discuss his new composition “American Croatian Triptych”. All events are open, and the public is welcomed.

Davor Bobić is one of the most influential musicians of contemporary Croatian musical life. Born in Varaždin, he plays accordion. Davor holds a degree from the P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kiev, Ukraine where he studied composition, theory and accordion.

After finishing his studies, Dr. Bobić started his teaching career at the Varaždin School of Music. He continued his teaching career at the Academy of Arts in Osijek, where he has been a professor since 2003. In 2009, he was appointed to the position of Vice Dean for Science and Art at the Academy of Arts in Osijek and currently serves as an advisor.

Davor Bobić's compositional opus is one of the most comprehensive, diverse and the most performed in contemporary Croatian music. He is a versatile composer of instrumental, vocal, chamber and musical stage works. A pedagogue, he also writes film and theatre music, and his compositions are widely treasured in academic and professional settings. Professor Bobić is the organizer and current director of the Varaždin Baroque Evenings concert series.

Celebrating the annual commissioned composer project at UW-River Falls, Davor makes his first trip to the United States for such a residency. His new composition is for choir and percussion ensemble, entitled “American Croatia Triptych”. The Thursday concert will feature many of his varied works for Symphony Band, piano, and chamber ensembles.

UWRF Professor Emeritus Conrad De Jong began the Commissioned Composer Project in 1967. It is the longest-standing program of its kind in the United States and places a national spotlight on the UW-River Falls Music Department.

Annual Commissioned Composer Project Since 1967

The Commissioned Composer Project, begun 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. Each year, student members of the Commissioned Composer Project select and commission 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 premiere performance of that work.

Conrad De Jong is a highly acclaimed and accomplished composer of international renown. He has 30 published commissions to his credit and, since 1970, has received annual awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. In 1980, he was a featured composer at New Music America. His music has been performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Town Hall in New York City, and on the Today Show.  Internationally, his works have been performed in Canada, South America, Europe, Australia and Japan. One of his numerous commissions, Variations on the Spanish LaFolia, has been recorded by the Dorian Wind Quintet on its Summit Records CD, American Premiers.

As a teacher, he was especially proud of his students' work in composition and their performances with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls New Music Ensemble. He also takes great personal gratification from the establishment and continuation of the UWRF Commissioned Composer Program. 

Commissioned Composer Student Organization

UW-River Falls hosts the longest running collegiate Commissioned Composer Project in the US. Founded by Conrad De Jong, we celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016 with Amy Williams, composer.

Students participate in all aspects of the Commissioned Composer Project. Guided by adviser Patti Cudd, the composers visit campus and share a new work created for the UWRF Music Department. Students of this organization meet on a regular basis to plan, prepare, and host the week-long residency in spring semester. Join this group of creative thinkers who make a difference in the world of music.

Commissioned Composers - 57 Years

• 1967 Vincent Persichetti - CELEBRATION  
• 1968 Donald Erb - THREE PIECES  
• 1969 Chou Wen-Chung - YUN  
• 1970 Ross Lee Finney - THE REMORSELESS RUSH OF TIME  
• 1971 Barney Childs - WHEN LILACS LAST IN THE DOORYARD BLOOM’D  
• 1972 Mel Powell - SETTING  
• 1973 Stephen Chambers - SKETCHY BLUE BOP AND TONE PRAYERS  
• 1974 William Albright - INTRODUCTION, PASSACAGLIA, AND RONDO CAPRICCIOSO  
• 1975 Henry Brant - A PLAN OF THE AIR  
• 1976 Leslie Bassett - WIND MUSIC  
• 1977 John Cage - QUARTET  
• 1978 Richard Felciano - THE SEASONS  
• 1979 Barbara Kolb - CHROMATIC FANTASY  
• 1980 Edwin London - PSALM OF THESE DAYS V  
• 1981 Stephan Chatman - SCREAMS AND WHIMPERS  
• 1982 Sydney Hodkinson - ALTE LIEBESLIEDER (Book III)  
• 1983 Frederic Rzewski - SATYRICA  
• 1984 Fisher Tull - QUODLIBET  
• 1985 Irwin Bazelon - FOURSCORE  
• 1986 Harold Budd - ODD ANTHEMS AND STILL ROOMS  
• 1987 Morton Feldman - FOR STEFAN WOLPE  
• 1988 Libby Larson - BAC  
• 1989 John Zorn - RUAN LINQYU  
• 1990 Joel Chadabe - JAM  
• 1991 Mary Ellen Childs - IN EACH OTHER’S PRESENCE  
• 1992 Lois V Vierk - PLAIN OF SIX GLACIERS  
• 1993 James Fritschel - COME LET US SOUND WITH MELODY  
• 1994 David Revill - ORENDA  
• 1995 Jennifer Higdon - WILD MAN DANCES  
• 1996 Conrad De Jong - EARTH SONGS  
• 1997 Joseph Turrin - SOUNDINGS  
• 1998 Fred Sturm - RIVERSCAPE  
• 1999 Judith Lang Zaimont - PARALLEL PLAY  
• 2000 Jared Spears - LEGACY  
• 2001 Pauline Oliveros - SOUND PATTERNS AND TROPES  
• 2002 Anthony Braxton - COMPOSITION NO. 307  
• 2003 Christian Wolff - PEACE MARCH 9  
• 2004 Michael Torke - FOUR WHEEL DRIVE  
• 2005 Stephen Paulus - JUBILATE!  
• 2006 John Luther Adams - ... and bells remembered ...  
• 2007 Lars Jansson - RIVER FALLS SUITE  
• 2008 Marc Mellits - PRIME  
• 2009 Julia Wolfe - GUARD MY TONGUE  
• 2010 Michael Colgrass ZULULAND  
• 2011 Conrad De Jong - EARTHSONGS II  
• 2012 Cort Lippe - MUSIC FOR OCTET AND COMPUTER  
• 2013 Fang Man - CONCERTO FOR PIANO, PERCUSSION AND WIND INSTRUMENTS  
• 2014 Guy Klucevsek - LITTLE BIG TOP (SUITE)  
• 2015 Mark Applebaum - CLICKTRACK  
• 2016 Amy Williams Mise-en-Scène - FOR SMALL WIND ENSEMBLE  
• 2017 Jocelyn Hagen - CROWN OF WEEDS 
• 2018 Young Jo Lee - ENCOUNTER – VI  
• 2019 Alan Ferber - SECOND WIND  
• 2020 Nirmala Rajasekar - ELEMENTAL SPIRIT: RESPECT & RESPONSIBILITY  
• 2021 Evan WIlliams - SOUND AN ALARM  
• 2022 Alex Shapiro - FREE 
• 2023 Davor Bobic - AMERICAN CROATIAN TRIPTYCH 

Conrad De Jong

Conrad De Jong, composer and professor emeritus, initiated the commissioned composer event in 1967 at the school's Spring Fine Arts Festival. De Jong's intention from the beginning was to ensure that contemporary trends in American music would become part of the repertoire of UW-River Falls music students.

For more information, view "Bravo Maestro!"