By Peter Alexander

David A. Jaffe’s new Violin Concerto grew out of a friendship between the composer and a Colorado violinist.

Karen Bentley Police in her Evergreen home

Karen Bentley Pollick, who lives in Evergreen, will play the American premiere of the concerto, titled How Did it Get so Late so Soon?, Friday in Broomfield and Saturday in Boulder. The concerto is part of “The Americans,” a program by the Boulder Chamber Orchestra (BCO)and conductor Bahman Saless. 

Other works on the program are the Air and Gavotte for strings by Arthur Foote, the Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, and Aaron Copland’s much loved Appalachian Spring. The all-American program is designed as a tribute for Veteran’s Day, which coincides with the Friday concert. As part of the observation, BCO is offering free tickets to all veterans, available at the door both dates.

Pollick played the world premiere of Jaffe’s concerto, which was written for her, at the Tytuvenai Festival in Lithuania on Aug. 27 of this year. “I strongly believe music is made between people who know each other,” she says. “The history of music is people writing with and for people that they’re fond of.”

Pollick and Jaffe met in the 1980s, when the composer was working at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. Since then, the violinist has played several of his works, including Impossible Animals for violin and computer-generated voices, and his Cluck Old Hen Variations for solo violin.

“Come with open minds, and we’ll have a love fest through Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Barber’s Adagio, and the U.S. premiere of this concerto” Pollick says.“My dream is to unite our audience through the celebration of eloquent varieties of American music, and the U.S. premiere of the violin concerto, creating a transcendent and memorable experience for all present.”

Read more in Boulder Weekly.

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“The Americans”
Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Bahman Saless, conductor
With Karen Bentley Pollick, violin

Arthur Foote: Air and Gavotte
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring
David A Jaffe: Violin Concerto, How Did it Get so Late so Soon? (U.S. premiere)

7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11
Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Rd., Broomfield

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12
Boulder Adventist Church, 345 Mapleton Ave., Boulder

Concerts free for Veterans
Tickets