Palmer to perform with London orchestra

By Bobbie Hayse Messenger-Inquirer | 

Kentucky Wesleyan College conductor-in-residence Nick Palmer has been invited to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra in September.

 

Palmer, the former conductor and music director of the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, will be working with the group recording the late Arnold Rosner’s work. Rosner was New York City composer who worked with the OSO 15 years ago to commercially record some of his music.

Rosner’s relationship began with the OSO when a soloist from New York performed with Owensboro’s orchestra, Palmer said.

The recording with the OSO is for sale on Amazon.com, and has been featured on a lot of classical music programs throughout the world, Palmer said.

When Rosner passed away, his estate wished to record more of his pieces, at which point Palmer was invited to participate. The recording will take place mid-September at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.

“I’m so honored and humbled that (Rosner’s estate) and everybody connected with the project has faith in me to be able to do this,” Palmer said.

Palmer said he will be spending his summer preparing for this by learning 120 minutes of music that will be recorded onto a compact disc, which will be intense.

“When you go and you do that, it’s seven hours a day of recording, which is a lot,” he said. “It’s very difficult to record that much music in a small amount of time, so I’ll be drinking a lot of coffee.”

According to a release from Palmer, Rosner’s estate is planning this project “to document his sizable musical output for posterity, through a series of recording featuring some of the world’s finest soloists and ensembles.”

Rosner composed three operas, eight symphonies, and several chamber, choral, vocal, and solo instrumental pieces, the release said.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded numerous notable pieces, including film scores from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Hobbit,” according to its website.

Bobbie Hayse, bhayse@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7315, Twitter: @BobbieHayseMI