The music composition department is presenting the Emerging Sounds Spring Concert this Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the O’Donnell Hall at Owen Arts Center. It will feature the world premieres of new music by student composers, showcasing their diverse and creative styles.
What is unique about this series is that it is completely organized and produced by the students, Robert Frank, associate professor of composition and theory and director of electronic music, said. Students are in charge of electing a committee, doing all the marketing setup, jurying and selecting pieces for the concert.
“Of course, the faculty is there to help in oversight,” Frank said. “But we want to give them that professional training.”
The theme of the concert is decided after everyone has written their pieces and submitted their application before spring break, Kaitlin Kleinau, the media coordinator and first-year master’s student in music theory and composition, said.
“We reviewed everybody’s concepts, and we think we can fit everybody,” Kleinau said. “And then [it] just so happens that everybody’s doing nature adjacent.”
This made designing the poster easy, Kleinau said. She was able to add Easter eggs to the performances, such as the dragon, rabbits, birds and many more.
“I designed the Instagram posts and in doing that I handed out invitations,” Kleinau said. “I even brought a poster to the president, I was like, ‘you want to come?’ He couldn’t come, but no harm in asking.”
After their pieces were submitted and approved, the composers then needed to find their musicians by filling out a player agreement form, scheduling practices and booking the practice rooms.
“It’s the world premiere of all these pieces, so they’ve never been performed before,” Kleinau said. “And it’s a really valuable opportunity for composers to write their work, perform their work, collaborate with fellow musicians and on a student level. It’s awesome.”
This concert helps many students grow professionally and kickstart their careers as composers, Frank said. One alumnus who gained valuable experience from this series is Jesus Martinez, who founded Emerge in Dallas, which holds concerts at the AT&T Performing Arts Center downtown and many other places. Besides learning how to showcase their works or found a music ensemble, students also learn how to secure grants and funding, advertise, file taxes and other business aspects.
“We always say their professional career doesn’t start after graduation, it starts during their studies here,” Frank said. “And then it’s just when they get out, now they’re doing it on their own.”
Writing and performing the piece is similar to a scientific experiment, Frank said.
“You come up with a hypothesis, that’s where you write the piece, but then there’s experimentation, which is when it’s performed on stage,” Frank said. “And the audience reaction, that’s the result. So that’s kind of the process and it’s real exciting.”
To listen to this concert online, go to the SMU Meadows YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@smumeadows.
Names of Composers and Pieces
Brandon Morrison -” Into Dust” (2026)
Madeleine Bolz – “Piano Quintet Mvt. III. Pastorale” (2026)
Kaitlin Kleinau – “Rabbits Running” (2026)
Kingston Solecki – “In the River” (2025)
Daniel Bartley – “Subliminal Unveiled” (2026)
Duncan McVety – “Journey Along the Hudson” (2026)
Paul Johnson – “String Quartet No. 1 in C Major ‘Allegro con brio’” (2026)
Yuxi Wang – “Beneath the Forest” (2026)
Anika Saiprabhu – “The Dragon’s Journey” (2026)
Dominick Benedetto – “Nature’s Reclamation” (2026)
