By SPCO Paul Neubauer and Aaron Jay Kernis

This past weekend, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra continued its tradition of championing new works and supporting modern composers with the premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis’s Viola Concerto. Co-commissioned by the SPCO, with the leadership support of Linda and Stuart Nelson, Idlyllwild Arts Academy, Chautauqua Institution, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the piece was composed for and performed by Paul Neubauer, one of today’s finest viola proponents. This was the last of the SPCO’s six 2013-14 season premieres, adding to the list of 139 new works the SPCO has commissioned in its 55-year history.

Kernis has lived in New York City most of his life but has been an important presence in Twin Cities music for more than two decades. He is the winner of the two biggest prizes in music — the Pulitzer Prize and the Grawemeyer Award — and has held numerous positions in Minnesota: New Music Advisor of the Minnesota Orchestra, Composer-In-Residence with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the American Composers Forum and, most recently, Co-Founder and Director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Composer Institute. On Thursday, April 24, Kernis was also inducted in to the Classical Music Hall of Fame during the premiere of his Viola Concerto at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

The premiere was well-received by the press, and reviews of the performances can be found through the Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune. A preview video of the piece can be viewed on YouTube.