SAYKALY GARBULINSKA
COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Founded in 2012 through the generous support by the late Dr. Ronald Saykaly, LexPhil is proud to be an orchestra that supports the creation of new orchestral music by living composers.
LEXINGTON HOMECOMING
For the 2023-2024 Season, LexPhil reignited and reimagined the Saykaly Garbulinska Composer-in-Residence Program through the appointment of Lexington-born composer Shawn E. Okpebholo. Shawn was the sixth composer to be named LexPhil’s Composer-in-Residence with his works performed on multiple programs throughout the season. The Season Finale included the world premiere performance of the LexPhil co-commissioned orchestral arrangement of, Two Black Churches featuring baritone Will Liverman.
SING DUMB (2016)
Okpebholo’s piece Sing Dumb opened the first concert of LexPhil’s 2023-2024 Season. Written for SATB choir and percussion, the work is responding to “a shared feeling of dumbfoundedness,” in the wake of violence and political turmoil in the United States.
TWO BLACK CHURCHES (2024)
The world premiere of Okpebholo’s piece Two Black Churches was performed on Saturday, May 18, 2024 featuring acclaimed baritone Will Liverman. Co-commissioned with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, the piece was a new orchestral arrangement that reflects on the racist attacks on the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, and the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015.
Past Saykaly Garbulinska Composers-in-Residence
2011 - 2012: Daniel Kellogg - How Radiant the Dawn
2013 - 2014: Adam Schoenberg - Canto
2015 - 2016: Avner Dorman - After Brahms
2017 - 2018: Chris Brubeck - No Borders: Concerto for Canadian Brass and Orchestra *
2021 - 2022: Duke Ellington arr. Marc Bolin - Queenie Pie Suite (commissioned arrangement)
2023 - 2024: Shawn E. Okpebholo - Two Black Churches for Baritone and Orchestra
*Featured on NPR’s Performance Today