Following a one-year hiatus because of the pandemic, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra welcomed four emerging composers for its week-long Cone Composition Institute in mid-July, offering each an opportunity to work on one of their compositions with musicians, composer and Institute Director Steven Mackey and this year's conductor Ludovic Morlot. But perhaps as important as any of that this year was simply the chance to return to gather in person and to hear their works being performed after more than a year of shut-downs. A Tempo host Rachel Katz spent an afternoon at the Institute, sitting in on a rehearsal and speaking with the composers - Elise Arancio, Kevin Day, Erin Graham and Jared Miller - and A Tempo this Saturday (7/31 at 7 pm) features that conversation, as well as comments by Mackey and Morlot about the learning experience and returning to live music-making.
[Photos: Top (l-r facing camera) Elise Arancio, Erin Graham, Kevin Day and Jared Miller listen to feedback from NJSO musicians about their works; bottom: Institute Director Steven Mackey (l) and conductor Ludovic Morlot. Photos courtesy of the NJSO]
