RICHARDSON, Texas (April 10, 2006) — Robert Xavier Rodríguez, a professor and composer-conductor at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) later this month will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth with the premiere of three major works, commissioned in honor of the occasion, at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO). 

The DSO, conducted by Andrew Litton, will perform Musical Dice Game at 8 p.m. April 20-22. The work is a set of variations for two string quartets and two string orchestras on themes by Mozart. The concert also will feature Johann Strauss’ tone poem Ein Heldenleben and Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D, featuring cellist Lynn Harrell .

A second set of performances of Musical Dice Game will follow on May 20-21 at the Dayton Philharmonic in Ohio, conducted by Neal Gittleman. The Dayton Philharmonic also will perform Rodríguez’s new Agnus Deifor Mozart’s unfinished Mass in C-Minor.

Separately, on May 13, 14, 16, 18, 19 and 21, Opera Colorado in Denver will perform Rodríguez’s one-act comic opera La Curanderain a production supported by the National Endowment for the Artsand Opera America. Rodriguez will conduct the first four performances of the opera, which will be presented on a double bill with Mozart’s first opera, Bastien und Bastienne. The libretto of La Curandera ,by Mary Medrick, a senior lecturer at UTD, follows the same story as Mozart’s opera, but in a contemporary Mexican setting. The second production of La Curandera will be in 2007 at the Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma, California.

Other Rodríguez compositions scheduled for premiere performances in 2006 include Son Risa for solo harp, commissioned by Elisabeth Remy Johnson (American Harp Society National Conference), and new works commissioned for the New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble, Frank Epstein director, and for cellist Carlos Prieto.

Additional performances of Rodriguez’s work during the current art season include The Dot and the Line  (Southern Methodist University and Bowdoin International Music Festival in Brunswick, Maine); A Gathering of Angels (Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra); A Colorful Symphony (Kansas City Symphony); Con Flor y Canto (San Antonio Mastersingers); Monkey See, Monkey Do(Grand Rapids Second Act Opera, Hudson Vagabond Puppets and Opera Colorado); Tango di Tango (University of Wisconsin, Madison); and a concert in July at Fort Worth’s Museum of Modern Art featuring Rodríguez’s complete works for guitar.

This summer, Rodriguez will be composer-in-residence at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and guest composer at the European American Musical Alliance, where he will give a composition master class at the Ecole Normale in Paris.

Tickets for the April 20-22 performances of Musical Dice Game may be obtained from the Dallas Symphony Box Office at (214) 871-4000.

 About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls nearly 14,500 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.