Catherine Likhuta Residency (with concerts) December 2-8, 2024

The CWU Music Department is pleased to announce a pair of special concerts as part of a residency by one of the leading Australian composers of this generation, Catherine Likhuta. Likhuta’s, music has been performed all over the world, commissioned by world-class orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists in a variety of genres. Her reputation for composing music for the French horn is internationally renowned, and this residency at CWU will featured two concerts and a range of activities that will feature the horn in a variety of settings. On Wednesday, December 4, at 7:00 pm, a free concert of Likhuta’s chamber works will be presented by CWU faculty and students. The concert will open with a fanfare for eight horns, and pieces combining brass, woodwinds, strings, and piano will fill out the evening with poignant and satisfying musical experiences for all ages. Some pieces have very real-life inspirations, like being surprised by a very large Australian spider, and others have more philosophical or profound meanings, like dealing with dementia or the entangling/untangling of life-threads. There is even a short piece inspired by injuries sustained when throwing a shoe at a cat. The concert will end with The Valley Whispers, a work inspired by a landscape very similar to Ellensburg, performed by a larger chamber ensemble directed by Nikolas Caoile. On Sunday, December 8, the residency will close with a world premiere of Likhuta’s Bad Neighbours, a concerto for two horn soloists and full symphony orchestra. This piece features inspirations from Likhuta’s Ukrainian heritage and her native country’s relationship with Russia. The CWU Symphony Orchestra, led by Nikolas Caoile, will perform the premiere, with CWU professor Jeffrey Snedeker and CWU senior Julia McConnachie as soloists. This concert will be ticketed, and audience members can purchase tickets in advance through CWU Wildcat Tickets or at the door. For both concerts, Likhuta will introduce and describe all the works being performed. In addition, she will be working with each performing ensemble, as well as music students all week long in a series of presentations, lessons, and coaching sessions for young performers and composers. This residency is supported by the CWU Music Department Guest Artist Fund and the CWU Horn Club. Likhuta’s works have been heard at: Carnegie Hall Glyndebourne Opera House Meyerson Symphony Centre Queensland Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Winds Orchestra of the National Radio of Ukraine. The Midwest Clinic College Band Directors National Association Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet Atlantic Brass Quintet Ensemble Q ICE Lyrebird Brass NU CORNO U.S. Army Field Band Horns. Awards: Two-time winner of the International Horn Society Composition Contest (Virtuoso Division) Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award from the University of Queensland (2023).