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Master Class with Bruce Polay in September
We're excited to announce a September Master Class for Piano students with Bruce Polay. Saturday, September 18th, starting at 1pm. All students are welcome to attend.
Please RSVP to:
Brandon
bsparks@westmusic.com
309.764.9300
Bruce Polay is the Chair of the Music Department at Knox College, Conductor and Music Director of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony Orchestra.
Bio
Dr. Bruce Polay, chair of the Knox College Music Department, has been artistic director/conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony (KGS) and professor of music at Knox where he teaches courses in theory, history, orchestration, and composition since 1983. Bruce has most recently been recognized with the 2010 Conductor of the Year Award for Professional Orchestras by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. Bruce is the award’s only three-time recipient. In 2008 Bruce was awarded the ICO’s prestigious 2008 Cultural Leadership Award, recognizing “a person who has demonstrated sustained leadership that extends beyond his or her own organization and community and who has impacted the state of arts in Illinois.” In addition, under Bruce’s tenure the KGS was recognized 2008 Illinois Orchestra of the Year for an unprecedented third time! In 2006, Bruce was awarded the ICO’s coveted Programming of the Year Award. He has also served as composer-in-residence at the Lynn University Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida, where Lynn University and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University commissioned his First String Quartet (2007) that was published by Editions Rassel (NY) in February, 2008.
Bruce's recent appearances as guest conductor have included performances in Belarus, England, Italy, Mexico, Romania, Russia, Spain, Ukraine and in the US, all resulting in requests for re-engagements, conducting orchestras such as the State Orchestra of Mexico, the Belarussian State Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of the Emporda (Spain), the Arad Philharmonic (Romania), Kharkiv Philharmonic (Ukraine), and Moscow’s famed Bolshoi Theater Chamber Orchestra, performing is many major cities including Barcelona, Girona, Minsk, Mexico City, Moscow, and Rome. He has performed as soloist and recitalist in Europe and in the US, has served as judge for international piano competitions in Canada and Italy, continues to judge the Midwest Young Artists Competition in Chicago, has performed in New York City's famed Carnegie Hall and has been invited to give a conducting masterclass at the prestigious Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Bruce's recognition as a composer has been enhanced with awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers in ASCAP/Plus Awards received each year since l993. Sparkle for Orchestra (2006), commissioned by Blick Art Materials, received its world premiere last season with the KGS then its Chicago premiere a month later in Chicago. Zimbel Records (NY) released Pictures For an Exhibition: Selected Chamber Music by Bruce Polay on compact disc in 2006. Semi-Suite for Violin, Cello and Piano (2000) was published by Editions Rassel, NY in 2006. In 2005, Golden Oldie (2001), on commission from the Galesburg Symphony Society, was released on an ERM CD entitled “Masterworks of the New Era.” Suite on Catalonian Folksongs for String Orchestra (2004), commissioned by Orquestra de Cambra de l’Emporda (Spain), is published by Editions Rassel (NY). Solemnity for Brass Ensemble (2001) was given its world premiere with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass in Symphony Center, Chicago in 2001 and will be published this fall. Cathedral Images for Orchestra (1992) appears on a Master Musicians Collective compact disc. Other published works include Elegy for Solo Violin and Small Orchestra (2001), Consolation for Organ (1998), Prelude for Kingsfold for Organ (2001) and Amazing Grace for Violin and Piano (2002). His Encomium for Narrator, Three-Part Children's Chorus and Orchestra (1986) on text by Carl Sandburg, was commissioned by the Knox College Sesquicentennial Committee in commemoration of the co-founding of Knox College and the City of Galesburg and was published by MMB (St. Louis) the following year. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, (2003) arranged for violin and piano will be published in the fall of 2009. Bruce’s works are published by MMB (St. Louis), ER (New York), Kargarice Brass Editions, and Zimbel Press (New York).
This past year Bruce was again invited to serve on the Music Panel for Symphonies, Opera and Ensembles and the “Partners in Excellence” Panel of the Illinois Arts Council. He has served on the Board of Advisors of the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, judging in both the International Composition Competition and the National Commissioning Program and continues on the Advisory Board of the Foundation for New Music.
