Thierry Fischer, together with the Utah Symphony, have premiered a new commission by composer Augusta Read Thomas.

The new piece was commissioned in April this year, and it came about through contact made by Clovis Lark, principal librarian of the Utah Symphony and Thierry Fischer with the composer. Augusta Read Thomas was to create a new, four-minute fanfare that could be performed by the Utah Symphony, with the stipulation that each musician would be performing alone from their homes.

The resulting piece, Fanfare of Hope and Solidarity, was composed in late April and early May, and it was a mere two weeks from that phone call until the time that Augusta delivered a full orchestral score and set up orchestral parts.

Watch and listen to the virtual world premiere here:

“The world has momentarily stopped. Our desire for creativity is multiplied,” said Maestro Fischer, whose active support of contemporary composers has been one of the calling cards of his decade-long tenure as music director. “New music is a call to look, listen, and guess what is rarely said. New music reveals the gods and demons hiding in the depths of our souls, and then transforms them into a transfiguring beauty’.”

“How fortunate to have been able to collaborate on the world premiere of a new piece of hope with the dear talented, imaginative, poetic and understanding composer Augusta Read Thomas,” said Maestro Fischer. “She has immediately responded to our offer with the same urgency for new ideas and innovation which are driving the Utah Symphony during this unprecedented times.”