CHRISTOPHER ROUSE Ku-Ka-Ilimoku
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1949 in Baltimore , MD ; died 2019 in Towson , MD
• Born in Baltimore , Rouse earned degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Cornell University .
• Rouse ’ s first symphony reached great acclaim , and as his career progressed , he was appointed teaching positions at the University of Michigan , Eastman Conservatory , and The Juilliard School .
• He received numerous accolades in his lifetime , and in addition to serving as the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic , Baltimore Symphony Orchestra , Peabody Institute , and Tanglewood Music Festival , he also received a Kennedy Center Friedheim Award , a Grammy , and a Pulitzer Prize for his trombone concerto .
FUN FACT
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra commissioned Rouse ’ s very first symphony .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1978
MUSIC Bee Gees ’ “ Stayin ’ Alive ”
FILM Grease
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Ku-Ka-Ilimoku was written in 1978 for percussion quartet .
• The piece pays homage to Hawaiian mythology . In notes from Rouse , “ Ku is perhaps the most fundamental and important of gods , occupying a place similar to that of Zeus in Greek mythology or Odin in Norse legend . Ku is manifested in several forms : as Ku-Ka-Ilimoku he represents the god of war .”
LITERATURE Maya Angelou ’ s And Still I Rise
HISTORY Dominica gains independence from Great Britain
BSO SESSIONS | FEBRUARY 2021
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