Minnesota Orchestra to perform work by 20-year-old McNally Smith student

Tomorrow night the Minnesota Orchestra will perform six works by young talents deemed to be "future classics."

One of those works is Rhythm: Theta Beta Theta by 20-year-old Michael Holloway.

Holloway, a native of Illinois, is pursuing a bachelor's degree in composition at the McNally Smith College of Music in downtown St. Paul. He's among the youngest ever chosen for this event, and was chosen from a nationwide seletion process.

In addition to having his work performed by a professional orchestra, Holloway, along with the five other selected composers, has been taking part in the Minnesota Orchestra's week-long professional training program.

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So what does Holloway think of this opportunity?

As a composer you spend many months alone with a pencil and paper working on a piece of this length and the unfortunate reality is that you may never hear your work realized in its entirety. I am fortunate that I have The Minnesota Orchestra to finish this piece with me and give it a world premiere.

Holloway's chosen piece, Rhythm: Theta Beta Theta, was inspired by different types of brainwaves. Another recent work, Cantor, explores the mathematical theorems of Georg Cantor with a string quartet.

The Minnesota Orchestra's 11th annual Composer Institute is directed by composer Aaron Jay Kernis. 153 candidates applied.