Julia Adolphe’s N.Y. Philharmonic concerto to premiere next season

A new viola concerto by Julia Adolphe, a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Composition program, will be premiere as part of the New York Philharmonic’s 175th anniversary season in November of 2016. The work, which was commissioned by the Philharmonic in 2015, will be performed Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 by Cynthia Phelps, USC Thornton alumna and principal viola of the orchestra, and will be conducted by incoming music director Jaap van Zweden.

Adolphe has had a working relationship with the New York Philharmonic since 2014, when her composition “Dark Sand, Sifting Light” was performed by the orchestra as part of its biennial festival. She was recently selected for distinction by the ensemble to receive a 2016 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award in March of this year.