Alabama Symphony Director Composes Symphony For ASFA Students

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The opportunity to work alongside a world-renown composer on a music project comes along perhaps once in a lifetime, and students at the Alabama School of Fine Arts are getting that opportunity.

The school announced Friday a collaborative performance — "Symphony of Colors" — created by Alabama Symphony Orchestra music director Carlos Izcaray and ASFA. "Symphony of Colors" is a digital symphony composed and conducted by Izcaray specifically for ASFA students.

"This was a way to overcome the dark days brought to us by a worldwide pandemic, and I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and love that all these talented students have given to the project," Izcaray said. "Their artistry and achievement fill me with hope, both in terms of our community, and of music as an art form."

ASFA music students play in a full orchestra and this year has been particularly challenging for them to perform and rehearse, as school has been conducted in a hybrid or virtual model. Students at ASFA in-person followed rigorous COVID-19 health and safety guidelines which meant that they couldn’t sing together in a choir or rehearse together as an orchestra.

"Working with Carlos Izcaray gave me a much-needed pause from my typical routine," ASFA music senior Clarisse Nacilla said. "Especially in times like these, it was refreshing to have the opportunity to creatively collaborate with others and produce music."

In an ordinary year, there likely wouldn’t have been the opportunity to commission and learn a work by a renowned composer like Izcaray. Sections of the piece were challenging even for talented ASFA students. Every student in the music department plays a part in the piece.

"The way the piece works is that each color of the rainbow has a musical personality, Red is warrior color - strength and passion, orange is energized - a bit jazzy, yellow brings joy and sunshine, while green brings us the strength of nature," Izcaray said. "Blue is a bit mellow and melancholic, while indigo is full of wonder and mystery. Violet like a flower, blossoms in the Spring, bringing us all back to life."

The result is an eight-minute video with each of ASFA’s 53 music students playing a part. Students recorded their part at home, and then the videos were sent to Paxeros, a video production company in Los Angeles, who synched and edited the individual videos to create the digital symphony.

The piece will be available on the school’s social media and YouTube channel on April 8. It is available to view free of charge.