• Fuchs named Signature Sinfonian

  Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the collegiate music fraternity, has named Kenneth Fuchs a Signature Sinfonian. An induction ceremony will be held at the Sinfonia's annual convention July 15–19 in Orlando, Florida. The designation "recognizes alumni members who have achieved a high standard of accomplishment in their field or profession, thereby bringing honor to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia."

• Meet The Composer supports three Fuchs premières

  Meet The Composer announces the première performances of three new orchestral works with the Adrian Symphony in Michigan, April 26 and May 29–30. The premières are funded in part through the MetLife Creative Connections Program.
  Discover the Wild, for orchestra, and American Rhapsody (Romance for Violin and Orchestra)
  Concerto Grosso, for string quartet and string orchestra

• Adrian Symphony appoints Fuchs Composer in Residence

  The Adrian Symphony in Michigan has appointed Kenneth Fuchs as Composer in Residence through the 2009–10 season. Hear the ASO perform Discover the Wild and an excerpt from American Rhapsody, with conductor John Thomas Dodson and violin soloist Janet Sung:
  

  Discover the Wild
  

  American Rhapsody
  Sung, Dodson and Fuchs

• Chamber Music America Annual Conference

  Kenneth Fuchs joined violinist and composer Mark O’Connor in a panel discussion, American Made (What is American Music?), at the 2009 Chamber Music America annual conference, January 18, 2009, 9–10 a.m., Westin New York at Times Square.

• WILI-AM interviews Kenneth Fuchs

  Wayne Norman, host of the popular morning show at WILI-AM in Willimantic, Connecticut, interviewed Kenneth Fuchs on December 12, 2008. Norman’s interviews are archived at http://www.wili-am.com/wp_bows.htm. See the entry for December 12 to download the interview.

• Virginia Symphony Orchestra performs Canticle to the Sun

  
  Music Director JoAnn Falletta led the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, with soloist David Wick, principal horn of the orchestra, in a performance of Kenneth Fuchs’s Canticle to the Sun (Concerto for French Horn and Orchestra) on September 18th and 20th in Norfolk, Virginia. Maestro Falletta conducted the piece with the London Symphony Orchestra for the Naxos recording released earlier in 2008. Left to right: Wick, Falletta and Fuchs.   Photo: John Lindberg

• The Chicago Tribune and The Hartford Courant write about Kenneth Fuchs

  The Chicago Tribune, on September 3, 2008, published a version of an article about Kenneth Fuchs that first appeared in The Hartford Courant, on July 13: “The Hard Sell of New Music: The Struggle to Find an Audience for Contemporary Classical Works.” The article is available as a PDF.

• Fuchs concerto at 40th International Horn Symposium

  The Colorado Symphony, wth horn soloist Randy Gardner and Associate Conductor Scott O’Neil, performed Kenneth Fuchs’s horn concerto, Canticle to the Sun, in Denver on July 23, 2008. Some 800 hornists, including a sizable group from abroad, attended the symposium.

• Recorded interview with Kenneth Fuchs

  Fuchs discusses his latest Naxos release at the Naxos Blog. (Click on the right arrow below the CD cover.)

• Naxos releases second Fuchs CD with the London Symphony Orchestra

  In January 2008, Naxos released a new disc of orchestral and chamber works by Kenneth Fuchs recorded by conductor JoAnn Falletta leading the LSO. A conductor visiting London reported, "The orchestra started raving about your music the moment I got here! And don’t forget: that praise is coming from the musicians." The disc is available for sampling and downloading at Amazon, Naxos and iTunes, and available for purchase as a CD at Amazon. Repertoire includes
  • United Artists (for Orchestra)
  • Canticle to the Sun (Concerto for Horn and Orchestra), composed especially for principal Timothy Jones
  • Autumn Rhythm (Idyll for Woodwind Quintet After a Painting by Jackson Pollock)
  • Fire, Ice, and Summer Bronze (After Two Works on Paper by Helen Frankenthaler), for brass quintet
  • Quiet in the Land (American Idyll), for flute, clarinet, English horn, viola, and cello.
  See photos from the recording sessions here.   Falletta photo: Jim Bush

• Kenneth Fuchs tracks available on iTunes

  Three albums of music by Kenneth Fuchs — Canticle to the Sun and An American Place, both recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, and String Quartets 2, 3, 4, recorded by the American String Quartet — are available for sampling and downloading from iTunes. Also available is Christina’s World, recorded by the University of Miami Wind Ensemble. See links here.
  Left: 2005 Grammy^®Award nominee, "Best Instrumental soloist with Orchestra" (Thomas Stacy, English horn, and JoAnn Falletta, conductor, for Eventide) and "Producer of the Year, Classical" (Michael Fine)

• Air Force Band of Liberty records On Silver Wings

  The U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty (Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts), has released On Silver Wings, a disc that includes Kenneth Fuchs’s piece of the same title. Lt. Col. Larry H. Lang, commander and conductor, commissioned three of the nine works, including On Silver Wings. The CD is sent primarily to the military, libraries, schools, and universities. To request a copy, write to
  SSgt Jason Millot
  NCOIC Media
  USAF Band of Liberty
  25 Chennault St.
  HAFB MA, 01731
  Five tracks are available online in MP3 format. Hear an excerpt from On Silver Wings, by Kenneth Fuchs:
  

  On Silver Wings

• New compositions

  • In progress: Falling Man (for Baritone Voice and Orchestra), text by Don DeLillo from his novel Falling Man, adapted by J. D. McClatchy, composed especially for Nathan Gunn.
  • Falling Canons, completed June 2009, develop the descending 12-note Falling Man theme in seven canons for piano.
  • United Artists (Fanfare-Overture for Winds, Brass and Percussion), transcribed from the orchestral original, completed in August 2008.
  • American Rhapsody (Romance for Violin and Orchestra), completed in July 2008.
  • Atlantic Riband (for Orchestra), completed in July 2008.
  • Divinum Mysterium (Concerto for Viola and Orchestra), completed in March 2008, was composed especially for Paul Silverthorne, principal violist of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Performances

• Four selections from In the Clearing (Eight Poems by Robert Frost)

  "Fireflies in the Garden," "October," "Stars," and "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
  Chicago Choral Artists, Donald Nally, guest conductor
  March 7, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Sisters of St. Joseph Chapel, LaGrange, Illinois
  March 8, 2009, 4 p.m., St. Luke Lutheran Church, Chicago

• Discover the Wild (for Orchestra) — world première
  American Rhapsody (Romance for Violin and Orchestra) — world première

  Adrian Symphony Orchestra, John Dodson, conductor
  Janet Sung, violin
  April 26, 2009, 3 p.m.
  Dawson Auditorium
  Adrian, Michigan

• In the Clearing (Six Poems by Robert Frost)

  Coro Allegro, David Hodgkins, conductor
  May 17, 2009, 3 p.m.
  Church of the Covenant
  Boston, Massachusetts

• Concerto Grosso (for String Quartet and Orchestra) — world première

  Adrian Symphony Orchestra, John Dodson, conductor
  May 29 and 30, 2009, 8 p.m.
  St. Joseph Church
  Adrian, Michigan

• Residency at Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia

  Concert, September 25, 2009
  
  Program
  Canticle to the Sun (for horn and piano)
  Christina's World (for wind ensemble, after a painting by Andrew Wyeth)
  Evensong (for horn and guitar) — world premiere
  Fire, Ice, and Summer Bronze (brass quintet, after paintings by Helen Frankenthaler)
  Summer Banner (for horn and chamber ensemble, after a painting by Helen Frankenthaler)
  Artists
  David Wick, horn
  JoAnn Falletta, guitar and conductor
  Mark Reimer, conductor
  Christopher Newport University Wind Ensemble
  Members of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
  

• An American Place (for Orchestra)

  Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
  JoAnn Falletta, conductor
  October 17 (8 p.m.) and 18 (2:30 p.m.), 2009
  Kleinhans Music Hall
  Buffalo, New York

• Atlantic Riband (for Orchestra) — world première

  Adrian Symphony Orchestra, John Dodson, conductor
  October 24, 2009, 8 p.m.
  Dawson Auditorium
  Adrian, Michigan

• The Great Nebula in Orion
  A Betrothal

  Two chamber musicals by Lanford Wilson and Kenneth Fuchs
  Jewel Theatre Company, Santa Cruz, California
  November 5–8 and 12–15

• Divinum Mysterium (Concerto for Viola and Orchestra) — world première

  Adrian Symphony Orchestra, John Dodson, conductor
  Paul Silverthorne, viola
  April 10, 2010, 8 p.m.
  Dawson Auditorium
  Adrian, Michigan