Four early-career composers will hear their music played by a professional orchestra at the University of Arizona on Wednesday, and anyone with a free ticket can listen.

The Tucson Symphony Orchestra is partnering with the American Composers Orchestra and the UA for EarShot Readings at Crowder Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. A Q&A session with the four featured composers will precede the concert, beginning at 5:45 p.m. While the event is free, tickets are required for entry and can be secured on Ticketmaster.

EarShot Readings gives four early-career composers, chosen through a nationwide application process, the chance to work with mentor composers and hear their new pieces conducted by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s José Luis Gómez. The event will feature new pieces by the four composers, who worked alongside mentor composers Vincent Calianno, Jimmy Lopez and Dan Coleman.

This is the third time in four years that the Tucson Symphony Orchestra has partnered with the American Composers Orchestra and the first time that the two are working in collaboration with the UA’s School of Music.

“We are proud to provide a home for this concert, and excited to celebrate the creativity and innovation that will shape the next generation of American orchestral music,” said Lia Uribe, School of Music director, in a news release.

EarShot Readings is open to composers who have had two or fewer pieces performed by a professional orchestra. There is no age limit, but applicants should be at the beginning stages of their careers.

Applicants submit one work shorter than 13 minutes. If selected, composers rehearse a score with a professional orchestra and receive feedback from mentor composers, conductors and performers throughout the process.

Composer Adam Harrington said his piece “Fireworks” focuses on the moment of excitement he experienced after moving to New York City to earn his master’s degree in composition.

“I wanted to describe the sights and sounds I felt the first night I went up to my roof in Brooklyn and observed the energy of the city. The shared association of these feelings presented themselves as fireworks in my mind,” Harrington told Tucson Spotlight. “This is an exciting and entertaining piece that I think everyone can find joy in.”

Harrington’s selected piece earned a top prize at the Mostly Modern Festival’s orchestral competition in June 2025 and won NYC Orchestra Project’s first call for scores in February.

“The opportunity given to me by ACO has meant everything to me. It is extraordinarily difficult to get opportunities to work with professional orchestras as a young composer and the opportunity given to my colleagues and I is almost a miracle,” Harrington said. “Fortunately I have had a few chances to hear my pieces by orchestras and it has been a wonderful experience every time.”

Fellow composer Aidan Vass’ piece “Spilling” also aims to invite listeners to share in a specific feeling. As a child, he developed a mental mechanism in which he imagined himself turning into water and melting into the ground.

“‘Spilling’ is a piece that reflects on this mental state, where motion forward is constantly driven by a desire to find states of low tension, which feels ‘hidden’ from the real world,” Vass said. “I’ve always had a fascination with very ‘organic’ musical gestures, meaning music where each moment is in some fluid continuity with the music that came before it. This creates the effect that the music is a ‘thing’ you almost interact with, instead of a traditional story you sit along for the ride on.”

Vass said he has long been interested in the idea, but “Spilling” takes those organic gestures more literally than many of his other pieces.

Vass’ music has been performed by a variety of soloists and ensembles around the world, including at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Vatican. Vass is also the founder of Cleome, a non-AI generative music company.

Both Harrington and Vass believe the program will bring newfound clarity to their work and study of music, since most of their time with mentor composers will happen in Tucson.

David Vess’ piece “Perpetual Dream Machine” focuses on themes of endless spaces, dreams and extraterrestrial encounters. Originally written in 2024, the piece premiered with the New Conductors Orchestra in New York City in February.

Marie Gabrielle Blix made her symphonic debut with her chosen piece, “Terra Fungorum,” in March 2024, performed by the Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata under Mark Kadin. Blix has composed scores for more than a dozen independent short films and has recently founded SUL, a music services company through which she develops collaborations with companies such as Disney and Netflix.

EarShot Readings has been running for more than 35 years and has advanced the careers of more than 360 composers, according to the American Composers Orchestra. More than half report receiving a commission or performance as a direct result of the program.

Each piece will be conducted by Gómez, who is celebrating his 10th season as music director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Gómez has led performances at the Frankfurt Opera, Stuttgart Opera, the New National Theatre in Tokyo and many more. Since beginning to work with the orchestra, Gómez has worked to provide outreach activities, education projects and new commissions to help expand its range.

The Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s first collaboration with the American Composers Orchestra in May 2022 reinforced its longstanding commitment to developing the next generation of classical music composers, according to a news release. Its Young Composers Project, now in its 35th year, has produced more than 500 works by composers ages 8 to 18.

Gabrielle Cotnoir is a University of Arizona journalism alum and freelance journalist based in Tucson. Contact her at gabriellecnews@gmail.com.

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