We dream of a world where music is here for everyone, connecting us, inspiring us, and bringing joy and meaning wherever it goes. We are having our Dream Big spring fund drive here at ACG and it’s because of our community and supporters that we are able to share stories like this. Click here to learn more about supporting ACG.
With our spring season wrapping up we have so many incredible things happening. Jorge Caballero will be with us May 6 and 7 at The Rosette just before our Season Finale on May 8 with Jorge and the Miro Quartet!
Jorge’s solo shows at The Rosette are sold out, but if you’d like to tune in and watch the live-stream on Saturday, May 7 at 8pm CT, click here. In-person tickets for our Season finale on May 8 at 4:30 with Miro Quartet are still available online here.
One of the many reasons Jorge’s visit with us at The Rosette is super special is because our Director of Customer Experience and Composer, Justice Phillips, connected with Jorge to compose a piece for this event! Justice shared,
“This past winter ACG Artistic Director, Joe Williams, shared with me that he was trying to find an opportunity for me to write a piece for one of our featured artists in the spring. Then, a few weeks later he told me I’d be composing a piece for Jorge, who I secretly wished to write for because of his insane technical abilities as well as deep understanding of music!”
Justice had full compositional freedom for this project and, in turn, created, Coming Out Party. Justice shared more about what this piece means to him,
“It’s kind of funny to me actually. I’m a huge fan of football, and one of my favorite young players just recently had his first big game. That inspired the essence of the piece and title. The concept expanded as I moved through the compositional process and tried to capture the feeling a person has when they have their first big accomplishment in their field. I also tried to capture the feeling of a literal party as well, like a group of friends celebrating the accomplishment!”
Justice began working and connecting with Jorge for this piece in late December of 2021. Justice spoke a bit about what this experience did for him,
“The experience of working with Jorge has helped me grow as a composer and musician! After I sent him the completed score of Coming Out Party, Jorge pointed out how the way I notated some of the rhythms could be confusing for a performer to read. With the piece having heavy emphasis on the rhythm that was extremely important. He taught me a lot about notation, and has helped me recognize that the goal of notation is to portray a composer’s musical ideas as clearly as possible.”
Justice began this composition as an improvisation. He wanted it to be fast, energetic, and rhythmic. He shared,
“This piece is a good representation of my improvisational style, and I think that’s rad. I made sure to keep the energy high for the entire piece and create interesting and unique harmonic moments. I wouldn’t say I chose to compose it that way, rather that I improvised it that way and enjoyed how it sounded.”
Justice shared that throughout this time his favorite moment with Jorge was in a zoom meeting with him and Joe,
“I was a bit timid initially but once I relaxed and opened up there was great communication between Jorge and I. The biggest lesson I learned from Jorge in that meeting was how to analyze a composition from the perspective of the performer, especially a new one. I am a performer as well, but with Jorge being one of the greatest guitarists in the world, the information he was sharing opened my mind to many different ways performers think about music, notation, color, dynamics, and everything in between.”
EVENT DETAILS
We are so excited to hear the premier of Coming Out Party on May 6 and 7 at 8pm live from The Rosette. In person shows are sold out but the May 7 showing will also be livestreamed. Learn more here.
Our Season Finale with Jorge Caballero and the Miro Quartet is Sunday, May 8 at 4:30 in Bates Recital Hall. This event, and the season it celebrates, is most certainly the stuff of dreams, and we’d love to have you with us!
Our finale includes a fifty-member guitar orchestra, a ten-year reprise of Joe Williams’ magnificent work Austin Pictures, and the world premiere of a new masterpiece by ACG Artist in Residence Clarice Assad.
Our finale celebrates our community, our artistry, our return to in-person concerts, the beauty of humans working together, and a season in which we built our first-ever home at The Rosette. Find tickets here.