Pacific Serenades Commissions Yalil Guerra for the 2016 HEAR NOW Festival

Pacific Serenades has commissioned Latin Grammy Award-winning composer Yalil Guerra to write a new piece for the 2016 HEAR NOW Festival of New Music by Contemporary Los Angeles Composers.  This commission was made possible by the generous support of our long-time board member, Ursula Krummel.  The world premiere of composer Guerra’s piece will be on Sunday, April 24th, 2016 at First Lutheran Church in Venice, CA.

As our Artistic Director Mark Carlson notes, “I always wanted Pacific Serenades to commission new works by Southern California composers for other ensembles, festivals, or presenters.  After 27 concert seasons and 111 new chamber works commissioned and premiered by us, by 63 different composers, we now have the opportunity to experiment with commissioning a work for another organization.

“Our first foray into this territory is commissioning a work for the HEAR NOW Music Festival, with whom we share a strong core value: a passionate commitment to supporting composers of Southern California.  Our mutual choice for this commission is Yalil Guerra.”

Composer Guerra notes, “I am thrilled and honored for receiving this commission.  This sets a new step in my composing career, and I am truly excited about it.”

HEAR NOW is dedicated to providing an ever-broadening spotlight on the musical imagination of composers based in the Los Angeles area.  The results from the last five festivals are 90 new and recent works by 80 individual Los Angeles-based composers, both well known and less-well known.  The Festival will take place from April 21-24, and will also feature collaborations with the LA Chamber Orchestra, UCLA Philharmonia, and People Inside Electronics.

For more information, please visit: http://www.hearnowmusicfestival.com.