News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 1/10/03 LOUISIANA PURCHASE BICENTENNIAL CONCERT OPENS NEW CTPA SEASON       HAMMOND -- The Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts’ 2003 season will open January 19 with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s symphonic celebration of the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase.       American composer Robert Kapilow will conduct the orchestra and an 80-voice chorus in the world premiere of his composition “‘03: This New, Immense, Unbounded World” at the 3 p.m. concert at Southeastern Louisiana University’s historic downtown theater.        Commissioned by the LPO and the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, the piece will debut in Baton Rouge on January 18. The Columbia Theatre performance will be the first stop on a eight-city tour.        The concert program will include the Bicentennial tribute and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 3 (Eroica).”       Tickets for concert are $30, Orchestra 1; $25, Orchestra 2; $30, Loge; $25, Balcony 1 $20, Balcony 2. Tickets will go on sale on January 13 through Ticketweb – www.ticketweb.com – or at the Columbia box office, 985-543-4371. The box office is located in the theater’s lobby at 220 E. Thomas Street. Box office hours are noon to 5 p.m.       In creating “‘03: This New, Immense, Unbounded World,” Kapilow has traveled across Louisiana, inviting citizens to participate in his musical and cultural research. Hibernia National Bank sponsored a series of town meetings and creative workshops throughout Louisiana, tagged the “Unbounded World” tour, to help Kapilow gather inspirational feedback for his composition. Mayors, tribal elders, students and retirees joined the composer in the creative process and discussed the significance of the Louisiana Purchase.       The inspiration for the title of Kapilow’s “‘03: This New, Immense, Unbounded World” was the passionate congressional debate surrounding the Louisiana Purchase. The composer engaged in similarly lively discussions with the citizens of Louisiana, which have given him insight into the historic event itself. While touring Louisiana, Kapilow previewed his newest composition, giving people the rare opportunity to influence a classical work-in-progress. He has also engaged in an ongoing dialogue with Louisianians through a special Web site, www.lplpo.com.       Kapilow’s “‘03: This New, Immense, Unbounded World” is a 20-minute composition in five movements for orchestra and chorus. Combining the thoughtful and evocative words of New Orleans writer Dalt Wonk, and the powerful poetry of African American poet Lucille Clifton, poet laureate of Maryland, Kapilow marries thought and melody into a remarkable musical creation.        It is a musical tribute to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, in which President Thomas Jefferson and his representatives negotiated the acquisition of the immense Louisiana Territory from French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The territory’s 820,000 square miles was the largest single parcel of land ever acquired by the United Sates, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border and from the Mississippi River westward to the Rocky Mountains. The transfer was effected Dec. 20, 1803, at what is now Jackson Square in New Orleans.       According to Kapilow, interpreting the landscape of the Louisiana Purchase through music requires the participation of as many people as possible, because the purchase’s effects were profound. “Lives were both ended and expanded; it (the era) was simultaneously wonderful and terrible,” he said. “While (the Louisiana Purchase) set the tone and very much laid down the path for what America was to become, the deal was the death knell for the American Indians and forced many of the blacks in the territory to lose their freedom. The Louisiana Purchase was a kaleidoscope of experiences, and, through an ongoing discussion with the people of Louisiana we hope to pay homage to them all.”       The interactive process is similar to the one Kapilow has used in such previous compositions as “Union Station” for the Kansas City Symphony and “D.C.: Monuments,” which was commissioned by the Kreeger Museum and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. But the Louisiana Purchase tribute marks the first time he has invited a state to take part in the creative process.       Kapilow is celebrated for his ability to bring the wonder of classical music to new  audiences. He studied at the age of 21 with famed composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, two years before receiving his master’s degree from Yale University. The following spring he graduated from the Eastman Conservatory and immediately returned to Yale as assistant conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Less than a year later, at the age of 24, he was appointed music director and lecturer at the university.       Since then, as conductor or collaborator, Kapilow has performed with the symphony orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Louis, Toronto, Atlanta, Indianapolis and Milwaukee, as well as those of New Jersey and North Carolina.       He regularly hosts and conducts three of his best-known works – “Green Eggs and Ham” and “Gertrude McFuzz” – both based on stories by Dr. Seuss, and his own adaptation of Chris Van Alsburgh’s “Polar Express.”       For additional information about the LPO Bicentennial Concert and other Columbia 2003 performances, call the Fanfare-Columbia office, 985-543-4366 or e-mail fanfare_ctpa@selu.edu. Return to News Releases