Next is the world premiere of Waves and Raves, written by Festival keyboardist Emily Wong for piano and orchestra. Emily composed Waves and Raves following the successful performance of her piano work Circle Dances at Cabrillo Music Festival in 1997. Marin was so impressed with that composition that she requested an orchestral piece. Waves and Raves is the result and has been dedicated to Maestra Alsop.

The Festival's dedication to the work of living composers has caused more than one love affair between Festival audiences and the composers of our time. Composer Michael Hersch thrilled Festival audiences in 1998 with the premiere of his Prelude and Fugue. He was 26 then, had just become one of the youngest Guggenheim Award winners, and was considered a promising up and comer. Just two years later, his schedule is filled with commissions from major orchestras and recognition for his work has skyrocketed. His only request of his manager was that he please be able to return to Cabrillo Music Festival some day, as his first experience was so inspiring. We are delighted to welcome him back to the Civic Auditorium for his second visit to the Festival. He returns tonight for the West Coast premiere of his Symphony No. 1, which USA Today ranked as one of the "Ten Best Music Moments of 1999." "His symphony...is like Gustav Mahler, Alfred Schnittke and Christopher Rouse at their most depressive, but also deeply impressive, thanks to a characteristically American desire to be understood."

One of the great pleasures of Cabrillo is getting to really know a composer's work. Pulitzer Prize winner Christopher Rouse makes his third visit to Santa Cruz. Since 1993, Festival audiences have roared ovations each and every time Rouse was performed. His return this year is more than a homecoming, it is a Cabrillo happening. Tonight, we experience one of two of his major works this season - the California premiere of Der gerettete Alberich (Alberich Saved), a concerto for percussion and orchestra featuring soloist Colin Currie. The Scottish percussionist made his debut in this country in 1996, brought here by an invitation from Marin Alsop to perform Veni, Veni Emmanuel at the Mission. Anyone there remembers it was love at first sight, and Colin is back for a tumultuous rendition of Rouse's Wagnerian fantasy! Taking up where Wagner left off in The Ring, Rouse revives the evil dwarf, Alberich, who will be sonically and malevolently portrayed by Currie's percussive instruments.

Four pieces, four premieres, plus three participating composers and you. Marin invites you to stay and engage in conversation with the composers, soloists, and members of the orchestra at a post-concert TalkBack Session.