Jim Self, a
Venango County native and internationally acclaimed tuba player and
musician, has stretched his talents to reach a new milestone - a new
piece for a symphony orchestra.
The Los
Angeles resident, born in Franklin and raised in Oil City, has written
"Tour de Force," a 13-minute composition for orchestra.
The world
premiere performance of the new work - Self's first symphony orchestra
piece - is set for April 17-20 at the Henry and Renee Segerstrom Hall in
Costa Mesa, Calif.
The work
was commissioned by the Pacific Symphony, an 88-member orchestra founded
in 1978 in Orange County, Calif. It will be performed in a concert that
will also feature Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis" and Grammy Award
winning violinist Hilary Hahn playing Beethoven's "Violin Concerto'.
Self's
composition will be broadcast live on KUSC FM 91.5 on April 19.
The April
20 concert will feature a conversation about "Tour de Force" between
Self and the concert maestro.
Self, a
1961 graduate of Oil City High School who earned a doctor of musical
arts degree from the University of Southern California, has worked for
all the major Hollywood studios and has performed for more than 1,300
movies and hundreds of television shows and records.
His solos
have been featured in numerous major motion pictures, including
"Jurassic Park,", "Home Alone," "Casper," and more. One of his most
famous solos came in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" when he
performed the voice of the mother ship.
His recent
films include "Spiderwick Chronicles" and "I Am Legend."
Self has
performed with orchestras and bands on an international scale and holds
principal positions with the Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony,
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera and more.
His latest
venture is his first piece for a symphony orchestra and "an important
part of my musical efforts for the last couple of years," he said.
More
information about the symphony production and Self's career is available
on his Web site at www.bassethoundmusic.com.