Ulysses Kay's Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra premiered on April 17, 1940 — performed by the Rochester Civic Orchestra, featuring Robert Sprenkle as the soloist.
The composition served as Kay's graduate thesis for his final semester at the Eastman School of Music. Unfortunately the performance was not recorded, and after graduation, Kay did not publish the work, which would have added it to the general oboe repertoire.
DMA candidate Leland Greene has focused his research on Black composers who have written for the oboe family. He sought out the archived collection known as "The Kay Papers" at Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library to find Kay's original manuscripts for the Concerto. With the help of the American Composers Alliance, he is in the process of copying and editing Kay's Concerto to have it published, which will expand the available works for both the oboe repertoire and underrepresented composers.
This performance, streamed from Hughes Hall Auditorium, will be the first time the piece has been realized for an audience in 81 years, as well as the first-ever recording.
Miriam Burns, conductor
