I know that the twelve notes in each octave and the variety of rhythm offer me opportunities that all of human genius will never exhaust.

Lowell Liebermann's opera, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, premieres a new version with chamber orchestra, as presented by the Center City Opera Theater at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, PA...thru June 12th. The original version with large orchestra premiered in 1996 at L'Opera de Monte Carlo, and had its first U.S. performance in 1999 at Milwaukee's Florentine Opera.

Find out more: L LIEBERMANN | OperaTheater.Org

H. Owen Reed was born in Odessa, Missouri, on June 17, 1910. He was a pupil of both Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. He also studied with Roy Harris and Helen Gunderson. Beginning his long association with the Michigan State University in 1939, he served as professor of music and head of composition until his retirement in 1976. He is the author of several books on theory and composition. In the thirties, Reed traveled a good deal in the Americas and Europe, capturing the diversity of folk music he heard in Scandinavia, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands. His La Fiesta Mexicana, a suite for full wind ensemble has been transcribed for orchestra and premiered by the Detroit Symphony. In 1975, Reed won the Neil A. Kjos Memorial Award with his unorthodox band score, For the Unfortunate. Among his other compositions are the ballet The Masque of the Red Death, the opera Peter Homan's Dream, a symphony, concertos for violin and cello, and choral and chamber works.

La Fiesta Mexicana is one of Reed's most performed pieces...
Subtitled 'A Mexican Folk Song Symphony for Concert Band', this work was written in 1949, based on experiences gained during a five-month sojourn in Mexico on a Guggenheim Fellowship. The authentic folk tunes Reed used can be found in Chapala, Jalisco, and Guadalajara; other themes were borrowed from Gregorian motifs and Aztec dances.

(More links to Reed on the Web)