The Composium will feature the top three judged orchestral and top three ensemble compositions written by musicians 13 to 18 years old. The selections will be performed and recorded by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and musicians from the 麻豆原创 faculty.

Founded in 2005, the NYCC is a nonprofit charitable organization that promotes the creation of new orchestral music and the next generation of American composers. The purpose of the Composium is to involve and educate the public in the process of music creation in order to build greater understanding and support for symphony orchestras and orchestral music. The Composium is part concert, part rehearsal, part recording session and part seminar.

“The level of sophistication of these orchestral works is mind-blowing,鈥� said Steve Goldman, executive director of the NYCC. 鈥淭his is an amazing afternoon of excitement, unscripted drama and music. It will be a rare chance for Central Floridians to witness incredible orchestra works by America’s top young composers, discussed, rehearsed and conducted by聽maestro Christopher Wilkins鈥�.Once you have attended a Composium, you will never listen to an orchestra performance in quite the same way again.鈥�

This is the second year the 麻豆原创 has been a sponsor of the event. Jeff Moore, dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Arts & Humanities, said this event not only is good for the young composers, but also the Orlando community.

鈥淭he NYCC provides young composers access to professional musicians, and 麻豆原创 is committed to providing access for people to pursue their passions,鈥� said Moore. 鈥淭he longtime partnership between 麻豆原创, the Orlando Philharmonic, and now the NYCC demonstrates Central Florida鈥檚 commitment to the past, present and future of classical music.鈥�

The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra has partnered with the NYCC for several years. 鈥淭his opportunity to support the development of our next generation of composers is both exciting for our audiences and essential to the future of music,鈥� said the orchestra鈥檚 executive director, Christopher Barton.

The 2017 Composium is presented free and will be held in the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The event will run 1-5 p.m. and be followed by a public reception. Dress is casual and the entire family is welcome. More information is available at http://www.youngcomposerschallenge.org.

The free eight-day event based at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando features more than 1,000 students and 100 faculty members showcasing their involvement in theatre, dance, orchestra, choir, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film. Although the event is free, tickets are required for admission to specific events and hall passes are needed to experience the ongoing displays at the center.

(Ticketing and full schedule details are .)

The third-annual festival kicks off with Oklahoma!, the award-winning musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein that won three Academy Awards. The 麻豆原创 presentation will be a collaboration with more than 200 faculty, staff, and students from the theatre and music departments, including an orchestra. Evening showings of the play are scheduled April 7-8.

The festival concludes April 14 with The Bat Swings!, music from the 1960s Batman movie and TV show, as played by the university鈥檚 Flying Horse Big Band, which is made of students in the jazz studies program.

In between these bookend events, other presentations will honor last year鈥檚 Pulse nightclub victims, raise awareness about hunger in the community, showcase music, fine art, film and other fields.

Phoenix Song, a composition remembering the victims of last summer鈥檚 Pulse tragedy in Orlando, will have two performances. The first April 9 will be with 124 voices from 麻豆原创 combined choirs, and then April 11 several hundred singers from invited middle and high school choirs and the 麻豆原创 Alumni Choir will perform. The middle and high school choirs are all part of a day of workshops presented by music alumni. The composition is by David Brunner, interim associate director of the School of Performing Arts and a professor of music.

Events focusing on hunger are a big part of this year鈥檚 festival:

• With a cast of more than 30 麻豆原创 guest artists, faculty, staff, alumni and students, the School of Performing Arts will tell the story of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck鈥檚 account of a dust bowl family in the 1930s after the loss of their farm.
• The art exhibit In the Eyes of the Hungry: Florida鈥檚 Changing Landscape will focus on demographic, geographic and ecological shifts in the country, with an emphasis on human relationships and the environment. The art explores ideas ranging from agriculture and industrialization to migration and tourism to ecology and conservation. The exhibit will be at Terrace Gallery in Orlando City Hall across the street from Dr. Phillips.
• Puddin鈥� and the Grumble, a play about how hunger affects a young girl, is suitable for viewers of all ages and will be in collaboration with the School of Performing Arts students and Second Harvest food bank, which will collect food for those in need.

Returning for the third year is a series of tableau vivant 鈥� or 鈥渓iving art鈥� 鈥� famous artworks recreated by 麻豆原创 art students who will wear costumes to model as people in the life-size paintings. This year there are 22 paintings from 1910-39, including Picasso, Dali, Hopper, Degas and others. The paintings will be on display evenings April 7-8.

In total there are more than two dozen festival performances, displays, workshops and lectures to be offered, including an opportunity for high school music and theater students to attend workshops led by 麻豆原创 faculty and then perform at the arts center.

This is part of a series of stories about the April 7-14 events at 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts 2017. All events are free, but tickets are required for all performances and entrance into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando.聽

The production, a collaboration between the 麻豆原创 music and theatre departments, will be directed by musical theatre coordinator Earl D. Weaver and feature a large cast of 麻豆原创 actors and musicians. Next year, Oklahoma! celebrates its 75th anniversary since first opening on Broadway, and 麻豆原创鈥檚 performing arts team wanted to highlight the beauty of the musical in a big way.

鈥淭here will be more than 200 faculty, staff, and students from both departments working together to produce the show,鈥� said Weaver. 鈥淭here will be a cast of 50 performers/dancers and more than 70 orchestra members onstage together, bringing to life this golden age musical.鈥�

Oklahoma! presents some challenges to the cast and crew, however, as the 麻豆原创 students are more used to performing on stages much smaller than the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts鈥� Walt Disney Theater.

鈥淭he demands of scale for the cast, orchestra, and all the technical/design elements has presented us with new challenges,鈥� said Weaver, 鈥渂ut it is very exciting to get the opportunity to perform in such a prestigious venue.鈥�

麻豆原创 theatre major Kyle Laing, who will play the lead role of Curly, also recognizes the demands of a significantly larger venue.

鈥淭ransferring the production from 麻豆原创 into the Dr. Phillips Center will be a task,鈥� he said, 鈥渘ot necessarily a bad one, but we will all need to be organized and on our A-games.鈥�

Laing was last seen on 麻豆原创 stages last fall as the title character in the university鈥檚 production of Young Frankenstein. He said this production obviously has a very different feel than that show.

鈥淭his is definitely the largest stage I鈥檝e ever performed on. I think of all shows to perform, to have such a classic on our hands and that we鈥檙e doing it in its entirety鈥攚ith a ballet performance in the middle鈥攊t鈥檚 just such an honor to recognize Oklahoma! on its 75th anniversary,鈥� said Laing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a simple show, but a beautiful, lighter evening at the theatre, and I hope that people can just enjoy that and feel good afterwards and be a part of it with us.鈥�

The third annual 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts will feature more than 1,000 university students, 100 faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners to showcase theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

This is part of a series of stories about the April 7-14 events at 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts 2017. All events are free, but a limited number of reserved seats at $20 will be available March 1-8. The free tickets will be available beginning March 9. Tickets are required for all performances and entrance into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando. Ticketing and full schedule details are posted at .

The eight days of music, performances and visual displays, which are open to the public for free, will feature a production of the musical Oklahoma!, concerts, student-created plays and films, a fine arts showcase, panels and other events.

鈥淭his shows the growth and maturity of our student groups, and shows the public what we can do,鈥� said Steven Chicurel-Stein, interim director of the School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival.

鈥淲e have two goals: We want to highlight what 麻豆原创 has to offer, and we want to take 麻豆原创 to downtown to spread the word of how 麻豆原创 celebrates the arts.鈥�

The festival will showcase the university鈥檚 involvement in a variety of ways through theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

Kicking off the week is Oklahoma!, the award-winning musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The duo won a Pulitzer Prize for the play, and a subsequent film adaption won Academy Awards for best music, scoring of a musical picture and best sound recording.

The 麻豆原创 version will be a collaboration of the theatre and music departments, including an orchestra. There will be two evening showings of the play April 7-8.

鈥淲ith this we鈥檙e able to show a really large contingency of students,鈥� Chicurel-Stein said.

A couple events during the festival will be geared toward raising awareness about hunger in the community.

Puddin鈥� and the Grumble, a play about how hunger affects a young girl, will be at a 1 p.m. matinee April 8. The performance is suitable for viewers of all ages and will be in collaboration with the School of Performing Arts students and Second Harvest food bank, which will collect food for those in need.

The school also will present a reading from John Steinbeck鈥檚 The Grapes of Wrath, the story of a family鈥檚 flight from the dust bowl in the 1930s. The 3 p.m. April 8 performance will have a cast of more than 30 students, alumni, faculty members and guest artists, and is part of the National Endowment for the Arts鈥� Big Read program.

Here are some of the festival鈥檚 other highlighted events:

While the public can see all the festival events for free, this year for the first time a limited number of $20 reserved tickets are being offered.

Tickets and lobby passes will be available beginning March 1. There will be three types of tickets available:

For a complete schedule, ticket reservations and other information, go to the festival鈥檚 website at .

More than 10,200 people attended the April 8-16 event at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, which featured university students, faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners at free concerts, presentations, lectures and workshops

Jeff Moore, artistic director of the festival and director of the 麻豆原创 School of Performing Arts, said the attendance jumped from 45 to 60 percent of capacity at the event venues.

鈥淭his shows we鈥檙e moving in the right direction. The festival grew in impact and grew in feedback,鈥� said Moore, a professor of percussion who joined in one of the premiere events of the festival.

He played drums when faculty and student musicians backed up The Warped Side of the Universe, a multimedia performance joining multi-Grammy winner Hans Zimmer, theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, and visual-effects artist and multi-Academy Award winner Paul Franklin. The part space-age music concert and part lecture was coordinated by the three creative forces behind the blockbuster movie Interstellar.

Zimmer interrupted a European tour to attend this presentation, which was made specifically for 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts and debuted at the festival.

鈥淧laying with Zimmer, Thorne and Franklin was unreal,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淭he music and visual imagery were so powerful.鈥�

Other faculty and students from 麻豆原创’s School of Performing Arts and School of Visual Arts & Design showcased theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

After successfully testing out live-streaming for some of the events, more of the performances may be streamed next year for the festival scheduled April 7-15, said Heather Gibson, marketing director for the School of Performing Arts.

One event already planned for next year will be a presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein鈥檚 Oklahoma! as a collaboration of the music and theater departments.

With presentations of ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary, pointe and hip-hop, the program will be a celebration of new dance works created by students, faculty and alumni.

Musical theater senior Ashby Carlos, one of the student choreographers whose routine was chosen for the event, said his dance is about the conflict between Adam and Eve set to a mixture of ballet, African contemporary and Bollywood.

鈥淧ersonally, this has given me an opportunity to do something I鈥檝e never done before. Judi Siegfried [麻豆原创 dance coordinator] has given me permission to expand my horizons,鈥澛燙arlos said. 鈥淚 never thought I鈥檇 be doing this in front of so many people. It is really significant to me.

鈥淲e all need to express ourselves 鈥� because what else do we have to live for?鈥�

Earl D. Weaver, Theatre 麻豆原创 artistic director, said this year鈥檚 concert is significant.

鈥淚t is the 10th anniversary of our annual spring dance concert, which has presented more than 1,000 dancers and 150 new choreographed works by students, faculty, and alumni over the past 10 years,鈥� he said. 聽鈥淗aving the opportunity to showcase the dance works created in our department has been a tremendous boost to the number of students auditioning for our dance minor program.鈥�

More than 70 performers in the concert were selected through an audition process.聽

The participants are primarily in the dance minor and Theatre Department major programs, but there are some other students from around the university and alumni who tried out and were cast for the anniversary performance, too, Weaver said.

The competition among choreographers was rigorous this year.

鈥淭here were more pieces auditioned than could be included in the concert,鈥� Weaver said. 鈥淛udi [Siegfried] and I had a very tough time selecting the best student pieces for the concert.鈥�

Each student choreographed an original piece that was performed at their class final, and from there, eight pieces were chosen to appear in the concert. The other 11 pieces were created by faculty members, alumni, and students who have choreographed for聽previous concerts.鈥�

鈥淭his year we are inviting our dance minor alumni to come back and聽perform in the concert, and we鈥檙e thrilled to welcome old and new faces to the Dr. Phillips Center,鈥� Siegfried said

The student-choreographed works were required to have a story line for the class finals. Some聽of the聽themes are a mother caring for a child with a later role reversal, a community coming together after a natural disaster, and a discovery of companionship.

Some of the other 鈥渇eel good鈥� presentations will include high-energy tap pieces, romantic ballet and a tribute to Frank Sinatra.

The dance concert is one of the many events that will be presented in this second annual 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts which is all free and open to the public.

More than 1,000 university students, 100 faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners will showcase theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

This is part of a series of stories about the April 8-16 events at 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts 2016. All events are free, but tickets are required for performances and entrance into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando. Ticketing and full schedule details will be posted at in mid-February.

The festival, which is all open to the public, will reprise its second season April 8-16 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando with an extended program of student and faculty presentations and collaborations.

Two more days of events have been added to this year鈥檚 festival, which will feature offerings from more than 1,000 university students and 100 faculty members and include some collaborative programs with outside partners.

The festival will showcase the talents of the university鈥檚 artists and practitioners in theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film. There鈥檚 even a concert that organizers think may be the first of its kind: a presentation geared exclusively for expectant parents. (An ambulance will be on hand if needed to respond to any pregnant women who may聽go into labor!)

Collaborative music performances by 麻豆原创 students will be under the direction of visiting composers Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, and more than 150 other films), and Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sense and Sensibility, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and more than 45 other films, including several movie adaptations of Shakespeare works).

鈥淭he festival allows us to show the breadth and depth of 麻豆原创 arts in one location,鈥� said Jeff Moore, director of the 麻豆原创 School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival. 鈥淟ast year someone said to me: 鈥榃e know 麻豆原创 is big, but an event like this brings it home.鈥� This demonstrates the quality of programs we have at 麻豆原创.鈥�

The festival also will provide an opportunity for high school arts students to attend workshops led by 麻豆原创 faculty and perform at the new Dr. Phillips Center鈥檚 state-of-the-art venue in downtown Orlando.

The schedule for 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts is still evolving, but the event will kick off April 8 with a dance concert to showcase about 80 student dancers. Six students were selected in competition to create the choreography of this 10th annual presentation.

Afterward, here are some of the highlighted events:

Events will be scheduled all nine days of 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts, and the calendar is still building. All events will be free, but tickets will be required to enter the building.

鈥淲e had such positive response last year,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淭his platform gives us a chance to share with the community all those things we create and are happening at the university.鈥�

This is part of a series of stories about the April 8-16 events at 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts 2016. The festival will feature studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando.

鈥淭he celebration was designed to showcase the work of the 麻豆原创 and its partners 鈥� and, boy, did it,鈥� Orlando Sentinel arts writer Matt Palm said聽in his review of the April 9-15 event. 鈥淐an’t wait for next year’s celebration.鈥�

More than 13,600 free, advance-ticket reservations were made to see the various performances, said Jeff Moore, director of the 麻豆原创 School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival, adding that the event exceeded his expectations. Ten of the events were 鈥渟old out.鈥�

The festival featured more than 1,000 麻豆原创 students and faculty members showcasing studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. All the presentations were put on by聽the School of Performing Arts and the School of Visual Arts & Design, both in the College of Arts & Humanities. Some of the events included community arts partners and K-12 students.

鈥淲hen you do something the first time, it feels like you need time to ramp up. But this seemed to hit right out of the box,鈥� Moore said.

This was the first time all the university鈥檚 artistic presentations could be experienced in one place.

聽鈥淭here was so much vibrancy,鈥� said Heather Gibson, marketing director for the 麻豆原创 Theatre Department. 鈥淲e in the arts have never felt this much hum going on.鈥�

She said the biggest audiences of the festival attended Icarus at the Edge of Time and Shakespeare Swings!, both of which had people waiting in line to grab any of the seats left open by no-shows in the 2,500-capacity theatre.

Icarus was a multimedia performance by the 麻豆原创 Symphony Orchestra based on a children鈥檚 book by Columbia University physicist Brian Greene and narrated by actress Kate Mulgrew from the Star Trek: Voyager TV series. Shakespeare Swings! featured 麻豆原创鈥檚 Flying Horse Big Band and the Orlando Shakespeare Theater Cabaret Singers.

Moore said he attended every event at the festival and noticed that instead of seeing the same people at each performance, there were different audiences.

鈥淚t was meeting everybody on their own turf,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his was a celebration of the arts, but the arts reach into so many other disciplines. When you walked into the center lobby you were immediately immersed in the arts 鈥� and science, mathematics, literature and computers coming together with art.鈥�

Moore advised marking calendars now for next year鈥檚 festival when 麻豆原创 has the arts center reserved April 4-17, 2016. Next year鈥檚 festival will run during two weekends and the days between, he said.

He hopes to involve more K-12 students through workshops and performance showcases next year, and create more collaborative partnerships with community arts groups.

鈥淭hose were so enjoyable for students and everyone who came,鈥� Moore said.

The Theatre 麻豆原创聽Showcase will have聽performances on Saturday, April 11,聽and Sunday, April 12, directed by Theatre 麻豆原创 artistic director Earl D. Weaver, and will聽include musical selections from Nine and Hair, student monologues,聽stage combat demonstration and more.

Monologues will be performed by a range of students, from first-year acting students to those who are in the Masters of Fine Arts acting program. Be Boyd, theatre faculty member and acting coordinator for this event, says that there is an energy in the air that she hasn鈥檛 seen before.

鈥淚t feels different than a play. The students are presenting studio pieces and they are all very interested in seeing what each other is doing. They are all very excited to be presenting their own work to the public and to each other,鈥� says Boyd.

Visiting professor and Theatre 麻豆原创 alumnus Jordan Reeves is leading a group of students in 鈥淕uerilla Shakespeare.鈥� The students are presenting a scene from A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream, which they will be presenting in entirety later this month.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a student-driven independent study about bringing Shakespeare to a modern audience. Our goal is to make these plays immediate and accessible to today鈥檚 audience, while the students learn how to create, produce, and act. They are learning to use whatever resources are at hand, even if that is only three blankets and a string a lights, to bring one of Shakespeare鈥檚 texts to life. It has instilled training, confidence, and a true sense of joy while working on the bard鈥檚 classics.鈥�

Weaver is incorporating 麻豆原创 alumni into the program鈥檚 finale: 鈥淭he Age of Aquarius鈥� from Hair, which is Theatre 麻豆原创鈥檚 fall musical.

鈥淪ince this is the first celebration, we wanted to include both current students and alumni in the event,鈥� said Weaver. 鈥淲e have alumni spanning 40 years of Theatre 麻豆原创 history participating. It also will provide an opportunity for current students to meet alumni who are working professionals.鈥�

Simply Dance, the dance showcase, also has two performances, on Sunday, April 12,聽and Monday, April 13.聽鈥淥ur patrons will get to see quality student and faculty choreographed works spanning a broad range of dance styles from ballet to jazz to modern to tap,鈥� he said.

Judi Siegfried, director of the Simply Dance showcase, said this year-end performance is important to the students in the dance program. 鈥淭he opportunity to present on a professional stage is valuable to our students, especially those who are focused on choreography. The pieces being performed were selected from the Improvisation Composition class, where the dancers must tell their stories solely through dance.聽 And since the Celebration is so focused on interdisciplinary work, several of our choreographers collaborated with composers to create original music to help tell their stories.鈥�

Advance tickets for the Theatre 麻豆原创 Showcase and Simply Dance are no longer available, however, walk-in seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Guests hoping to attend these performances should join the queue outside of the Jim & Alexis Pugh Theatre at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

All events to 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts 2015 are free, but tickets are required for many of the programs. The April 10-15 festival will feature studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando.聽 Visit 聽for more information, tickets聽and updated scheduling.

The center is planning a year full of concerts, Broadway shows, dance performances and other events, including the 麻豆原创 Pegasus Arts Festival scheduled April 6-16. The new $514 million center is scheduled to open in November.

鈥淭he Dr. Phillips Center is a fantastic space and will be a draw from all over Florida and indeed the whole world,鈥� said Paul Lartonoix, assistant vice provost who attended Thursday鈥檚 schedule announcement at the Aloft Orlando Downtown hotel. 鈥淭his space allows us the opportunity to partner and create an event that will show off the 麻豆原创 arts, including film, music, studio art, theatre, digital media, dance, animation and gaming.

鈥淢uch of the Orlando community knows that 麻豆原创 is arts friendly but few know the depth that the university invests in the arts.聽麻豆原创 is very active in many arts disciplines in our academics, but we are also very involved in the Orlando arts community. We want everyone to know we are an arts university.鈥�

Organizers are still working on details for the festival, but plan to feature the 麻豆原创 Orchestra, 麻豆原创 Big Band, visual/digital media installations, ensemble and dance performances, displays from the School for Visual Arts & Design, video game jam, theatrical performances and other works.

Part of the festival will be set aside for showcasing the arts to recruit high school students from all over the state. Those performances will be designed with a focus on education and to get participation by the high school student audience.聽The performances will encourage innovation and creative thinking across all disciplines, and present examples of that from 麻豆原创.

鈥淭his annual festival will provide the platform to share with all of Orlando and the Central Florida region not just the products and performances of the university鈥檚 arts units, but to feature the collaboration with our community partners,鈥� said Jeff Moore, director of the School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the new festival. 鈥溌槎乖粹�檚 commitment to partnerships is well established and the festival celebrates these relationships as it demonstrates 麻豆原创鈥檚 strong positive impact in Central Florida and beyond.鈥�

Moore said he hopes the festival expands to two weeks at the Dr. Phillips Center in the coming years.