Renowned composer to perform two concerts at CWU next week

The CWU Music Department will be hosting a pair of special concerts next week as part of a residency by Catherine Likhuta, one of the leading Australian composers of her generation.

Likhuta’s music has been performed all over the world, commissioned by world-class orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists in a variety of genres. Her reputation for composing French horn music is internationally renowned, and her CWU residency will feature a range of activities that involve the horn in a variety of settings.

The first concert will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 4, in McIntyre Hall, with Likhuta’s chamber works being presented by CWU faculty and students. The free concert will open with a fanfare for eight horns, and pieces combining brass, woodwinds, strings, and piano. The concert will conclude with The Valley Whispers, a work inspired by a landscape very similar to Ellensburg, performed by a larger chamber ensemble and directed by CWU Professor Nikolas Caoile.

On Sunday, December 8, at 4 p.m., Likhuta’s residency will come to a close with a world premiere of Bad Neighbours, a concerto for two horn soloists and full symphony orchestra. The piece features inspirations from Likhuta’s Ukrainian heritage and her native country’s relationship with Russia.

The CWU Symphony Orchestra, led by Caoile, will perform the piece, with fellow CWU Professor Jeffrey Snedeker and senior musician Julia McConnachie as soloists. The Sunday concert will be ticketed, and audience members can purchase tickets in advance through Wildcat Tickets or at the door.

For both concerts, Likhuta will introduce and describe all the works being performed. She will also be working with each performing ensemble and other music students throughout the week on a series of presentations, lessons, and coaching sessions for young performers and composers.

Likhuta is a two-time winner of the International Horn Society Composition Contest (Virtuoso Division) and also received the Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award from the University of Queensland in 2023.

Her residency is supported by the CWU Music Department Guest Artist Fund and the CWU Horn Club.