Local Professor To Have Symphony Performed

REDDING, Calif. – Simpson University announced today its partnership with the North State Symphony, which will be showcasing the world premiere of Dr. Dan Pinkston’s first full symphony—Symphony No. 1. The concert, Aspects of Enchantment, directed by Dr. Kyle Wiley Pickett, will also include excerpts from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Barber’s Violin Concerto.

Tickets are available now for the concert scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Laxson Theatre in Chico and Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. at the Cascade Theatre in Redding. Tickets are $20 – $48 and can be purchased at the Chico box office or by calling 898-6333 or the Redding box office or by calling 243-8877.

“I am very excited to be giving the premiere of Dan’s first symphony” said Kyle Wiley Pickett, conductor of the North State Symphony. “Dan’s music is beautiful, interesting, dramatic and very accessible. I think our audience is going to really enjoy hearing this thrilling new work, written by a composer right here in our community.”

“I purposely chose to have my first symphony be influenced by the works of 20th-century composer, Dmitri Shostakovich” said Pinkston. “His symphonies were well received and enjoyed by average, every day people and not just by the connoisseurs of the music world. My hope is that my music connects with, and appeals to, a broad range of listeners in the community. With the caliber of talent in the North State Symphony, I have no doubt Symphony No. 1 will sound amazing.”

Dr. Pinkston has won many composition awards including the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers award annually from 2001 to 2010. He won the 2000 American Choral Directors Association Composition Contest and his music has been published by several publishers including Warner Bros. Music. Dr. Pinkston and his wife of 16 years, Lori, reside in Anderson with their two daughters.

For more information about the North State Symphony, visit www.northstatesymphony.org. For more information contact the Simpson University music department at 226-4507 or visit www.simpsonu.edu/musicevents.