Louisville Orchestra announces inaugural group of composers for new residency program

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Orchestra and Music Director Teddy Abrams announced the group of composers part of the new Louisville Orchestra Creator Corps residency program.

The Creator Corps is an innovative program that puts artists in the community for a deeper integration with the orchestra and the city of Louisville. The selected creators are Lisa Bielawa, TJ Cole and Tyler Taylor.

"This is a unique program that builds on the Louisville Orchestra's history," Abrams said. "Actually, a lot of people don't realize the Louisville Orchestra is one the most important orchestras in history for commissioning new music back in the late 1940s and 1950s."

The three creators will move to Louisville for the upcoming season and live in the Shelby neighborhood for at least 30 weeks. Throughout their residencies, the creators will compose new music to be performed by the orchestra and participate in community engagement activities.

"One of the things we really want is to develop this relationship between people who create music and the town itself," Abrams said.

The three selected creators will perform pre-existing work performed on the opening night program Sept. 17. The world premiere of their works will be performed during the 2022-23 season.

Abrams and Taylor made an appearance Tuesday on WDRB in the Morning to talk about the program. Taylor is a Louisville native.

"An opportunity like this means I'm able to be completely independent and write music as my primary thing," Taylor said. "To be involved with the orchestra in this way is something I have dreamed of for several years now, so it's a dream come true for me."