Duke music professor premieres composition

Professor Stephen Jaffe, Mary and James H. Semans Professor of Music Composition, has made numerous concertos, recordings and compositions. His music has been performed by world-renowned symphony orchestras. But on April 14, audiences can hear the world premiere of his new composition “Southern Lights” performed by Durham’s own symphony orchestra.

This will be the first time the Durham Symphony Orchestra has ever performed a world premiere. The collaboration happened when Bill Curry, conductor of DSO, approached Stephen Jaffe about performing one of his concertos. Though Curry expected to play one of Jaffe’s old pieces, Jaffe had a draft of “Southern Lights” and he offered DSO the opportunity to premier it. Curry replied that the orchestra would “be honored to perform it.”

Throughout the process, Jaffe has been a composer in residence for the group. Unlike most guest composers or conductors who tend to meet with an orchestra for fifteen minutes, Jaffe has forged close relationships with the symphony’s musicians. The performers have responded well, and board of directors member Angie Cain said that the musicians are “thrilled” by the opportunity to play Jaffe’s piece.

The concert, called “Celebration,” is not the first collaboration between Curry and Jaffe. Curry, who is also the conductor of the North Carolina Symphony, has played Jaffe’s music previously. Jaffe said that he finds the thoroughness of the collaborations ideal. He most enjoys creating music that is both “meaningful and interesting” but he enjoys the entire process.

“Southern Lights” is a three-movement composition that draws inspiration from Duke Ellington’s “Northern Lights.” “Southern Lights” is rooted in blues, late classical idioms and Jaffe’s own self-titled “boogie feel.” The second movement comes from a short encore piece, “Cut Time,” that Jaffe wrote for the National Symphony Orchestra in 2006 that couldn’t stand alone. While Ellington’s compositions may have inspired “Southern Lights,” Jaffe doesn’t think the title is optimal. He prefers the title of the first movement, “Still Life in Blue,” which is also the only movement that Jaffe said could exist on its own. “Cut Time” and “Smile” are much shorter. “Smile” is one long sustained note overlaid with recordings of youth orchestras and rehearsals of young musicians. The movement exhibits Jaffe’s personal convictions about public music education and the value of music in children’s lives.

Rather than focusing on his accomplishments, Jaffe emphasized community collaboration. Each year the Durham Symphony Orchestra hosts a side-by-side concert with KidZNotes musicians. KidZNotes is a non-profit that provides free instruments and music lessons for children in Durham. For this concert, Jaffe has composed a companion piece to “Southern Lights” that will be performed at this year’s concert on April 20 at the Emily Krzyzewski Center. Jaffe said, “Many at Duke might take for granted that every school and every student had access to music teachers, but in many areas this isn’t the case.” He feels obligated to supplement music programs for communities that don’t have access to them or are at risk for losing them due to budget cuts. Jaffe wishes he could have such an immersive and hands-on experience with the next orchestra that performs “Southern Lights,” but self-promotion and marketing are not his forte. He mentioned being grateful, however, for the opportunity to spend so much time working with musicians and students in his community. Jaffe also discussed the role the Carolina Theatre has played historically and what it provides the Durham art community, though he knows not many Duke students have made the pilgrimage, encouraging them to do so.

The concert on the 14 not only includes the premiere of “Southern Lights” but also the winner of the recent DSO concerto competition and selections from Wagner. As such, Cain hopes the concert will “appeal to a wide audience”­—and an engaged one, at that.

“The upcoming concert is very challenging,” Cain said. “And [it] has provided an opportunity for the musicians to stretch their ability.”