The New York Times has called Joseph Horowitz, “a force in classical music today.” Not only is he a scholar of music, he has written eight books, including his young readers book, “Dvorak and America,” chronicling Dvorak’s brief period in America. He also produces concert festivals and once served as Executive Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. For many years he served as a critic for the New York Times.

When I heard Horowitz is conducting a summer institute through the National Endowment for the Humanities for 25 middle and high school teachers, sponsored by the Pittsburg Symphony and held on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, I knew it was a place I wanted to be. He calls the institute: “Dvorak in America: In Search of the New World,” and he has enlisted leading scholars and educators from around the country who are experts in American culture to serve as faculty: Robert Winter, UCLA music professor; Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University; Michael Beckerman, Professor of Music at NYU; Dale Cockrell, Professor of Music in the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University; Harry Dawe, esteemed Independent School educator; Steven Mayer, pianist; Jean Snyder, Professor of Music at Edinboro University; and Mariana Whitmer, who teaches in the University of Pittsburgh Music Department. That’s quite a lineup!

Why spend a summer studying Dvorak in America?

Czech composer of the Romantic period, Antonin Leopold Dvorak (1841-1904), lived in America from 1892 to 1895, where he served as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, at the request of wealthy philanthropist, Jeannette Thurber. His objective was to “discover” American music.

Horowitz puts it this way: “Jeanette Thurber, a visionary educator, had lured Dvorak from Bohemia to direct her National Conservatory of Music. She handed him a mandate: to help New World composers create a concert idiom Americans would recognize as their own. ‘It is to the poor that I turn for musical greatness,’ Dvorak told a New York reporter. ‘The poor work hard; they study seriously.’”

Dvorak was fascinated by Buffalo Bill, the slave trade, the plantation songs, Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha,” blackface minstrels, and the creations of Stephen Foster. He loved the Indian dances, the American folk music, and the songs. He was captivated with the variety of landscapes and populations. In Iowa he relished what writer Willa Cather called “the sadness of all flat lands.”

Dvorak then composed his “New World Symphony” inspired by America’s wide-ranging culture—“an intended catalyst for an ‘American School’ of composition.” The symphony electrified New York audiences when it was first performed.

Horowitz wants young Americans to consider the idea that “great music” is not limited to a “pantheon of dead Europeans.” Thus with missionary-like zeal, he spreads the magic and magnitude of Dvorak’s American landscape. Horowitz adds: “This program offers a singular opportunity to infuse the arts and humanities into Social Studies, Art, English, and Music instruction in the classroom.”

It’s going to be a great summer!

JJ Abernathy may be contacted at jjabernathy@myway.com.

One of the highlights of the Southwest Symphony Orchestra’s season is the popular “Salute to Youth” extravaganza, and on Friday, music patrons are certain to be energized with the sparkling array of talent displayed by some of the area’s most dazzling young soloists.

Kendra Kaneversky, who studies with Ami Porter, plays the “Concertino for Flute and Orchestra” by Cecile Chaminade, a piece said to be the dream of every flautist. Kendra began playing the piano at age five and the flute at age nine and has performed and competed in programs in California, Iowa, and Utah. A recipient of many music awards, Kendra serves as principal flautist in the Dixie State College Symphonic Band. Her future plans include a degree in Music Pedagogy.

JessiKate Riley, the daughter of Douglas and Amanda Riley of Beaver, began studying the violin at age three with Sara Penny. She has studied with Xun Sun and currently studies with Dr. Paul Abegg. In 2006 JessiKate participated in the World Suzuki Conference in Turin, Italy, where she soloed in a children’s recital. She will play the first movement in “Violin Concerto No. 22 in A minor by Giovanni Viotti, an exquisite work for any classical violinist. Viotti has been called the “father of modern violin playing.”

Kirstin Hoyt, daughter of Steve and Jana Hoyt of Price, is a junior at Dixie State College majoring in music. At age four, Kristin studied piano from her mother, and by sixth grade she began playing the clarinet, ultimately switching to oboe. She has studied with Rhonda Rhodes and currently studies oboe with Dr. Virginia Stitt and piano with Dr. Nancy Allred. Kirstin will play the second and third movements of “Concerto for Oboe and Strings in C minor” by Benedetto Marcello. This composer was considered among the most prominent Venetian musicians of his time.

Elizabeth Bown has studied piano for twelve years, first with D’On Snow and currently with Dr. Lynn Dean. She has played for Utah Music Teachers Convention and also for the Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival. Elizabeth graduates in May from Dixie State College. She will perform the third movement of “Piano Concerto No. 2 in F” by Dmitri Shostakovich, a work Shostakovich composed for his son’s nineteenth birthday and graduation from the Moscow Conservatory. The tone of this movement is lively and cheerful, with surprising motifs throughout the work. Elizabeth is the daughter of James and Paula Bown.

Aubrey Shirts, daughter of Steve and Jill Shirts of Cedar City, is a senior at Southern Utah University in Music Education where she studies the clarinet and piano. She has studied with Dr. Holly Haddad, Dr. George Stofan, Dr. Virginia Stitt, and Greg Johnson. Aubrey plays principal clarinet with the Orchestra of Southern Utah and has performed in pit orchestras with the Utah Shakespearean Festival and the Neil Simon Festival. Aubrey will play the third movement of Carl Maria von Weber’s “Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-flat,” a work often said to scrutinize the soul of the clarinet.

Steven Bennett of Sandy has studied cello since age eight. He has received numerous awards and honors, including first place in the American String Teachers Association state competition. He serves as principal cellist with the Utah Youth Symphony and studies with Amy Leung. Steven will play the first movement of “Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Camille Saint-Saëns, a work considered by many to be the greatest of all cello concerti.

I am not alone in being in awe of these delightful, dedicated prodigies. Maestro Gary Caldwell says: “The audience will find them absolutely astonishing.”

At the wave of his baton, Caldwell begins the performance at 7:30 p.m. at the Cox Performing Arts Center on the campus of Dixie State College. Tickets may be purchased online at southwestsymphony.org or by phone at 435.652.7800. For more information, contact Cheryl Lynn Scott at 435.688.8183.

JJ may be contacted at jjabernathy@myway.com.