The New York Philharmonic to premiere viola concerto by Julia Adolphe

The New York Philharmonic has commissioned USC Thornton DMA student Julia Adolphe to write a viola concerto for a future season. The work will be written for Cynthia Phelps, USC Thornton alumna and principal viola for the New York Philharmonic. Part of the League of American Orchestras initiative to support women composers through the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, the commission is also part of a collaboration with EarShot and the American Composers Orchestra. In 2014, the New York Philharmonic performed Adolphe’s Dark Sand, Sifting Light. The New York Times senior music critic Anthony Tommasini called it “a colorful, mercurial, deftly orchestrated piece.” Adolphe received her Master’s in Music in composition from USC Thornton in 2012.