Music Academy Live Streams World Premiere by Cellist Joshua Roman Tonight

The Music Academy of the West will live stream the world premiere of we do it to one another, cellist extraordinaire Joshua Roman's new setting of verse from Tracy K. Smith's Pulitzer Prize-winning collection Life on Mars, at 8 pm tonight, August 2. Also featuring works by exciting young composers Sean Friar and Christopher Cerrone, the performance will take place in the Music Academy's Hahn Hall, with streaming viewable at www.musicacademy.org.

Commissioned by the Music Academy, we do it to one another is scored for Pierrot ensemble (violin, cello, flute, clarinet, and piano) and soprano. Mr. Friar's Scale 9 and Mr. Cerrone's The Night Mare feature the same instrumentation, sans vocalist, with the latter also making use of an electronic drone. Mr. Roman will perform the works with Academy Fellows. Mr. Cerrone was a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year for his composition Invisible Cities, while Mr. Friar was awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome for 2011-12.

Mr. Roman, who attended the Music Academy in 2002, has been widely lauded as a performer of exceptional depth and passion. The San Francisco Chronicle has described him as "a cellist of extraordinary technical and musical gifts." Mr. Roman also is an accomplished composer, curator, and programmer, particularly in his work as artistic director of Seattle's TownMusic series, with a vision to engage and expand the classical music audience. For his ongoing creative initiatives on behalf of classical music, he was named a 2011 TED Fellow. Before embarking on a solo career, Mr. Roman served as principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony for two seasons, a position he won in 2006 at the age of 22. Since then he has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony, where he gave the world premiere of David Stock's Cello Concerto, as well as with the Albany and Santa Barbara symphonies, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Ecuador, among many others. He is also an active chamber music performer. Beyond the performance stage, Mr. Roman is dedicated to exploring emerging platforms to harness new audiences, in particular social media.

A faculty member at Princeton University, Ms. Smith is the author of three highly regarded collections of poetry. According to Publishers Weekly, Life on Mars "blends pop culture, history, elegy, anecdote, and sociopolitical commentary to illustrate the weirdness of contemporary living."

The Music Academy also will live stream a chamber music performance by Academy Fellows in Hahn Hall at 7:30 pm on Thursday, July 31, as well as a masterclass led by renowned clarinetist Richie Hawley in the Music Academy's Lehmann Hall at 1 pm on Friday, August 1. The streaming will be produced by the New York City-based firm Little Dog Live.

Remaining highlights of the Music Academy's 2014 season include a new production of Georges Bizet's popular opera Carmen as well as a conducting turn by Thomas Adès. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events are being presented in venues throughout Santa Barbara. The Music Academy's 67th annual Summer Festival concludes August 9.

For tickets and information, call 805.969.8787 or visit musicacademy.org.

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