Premieres

In addition to performing the fundamental works that make up the classical canon, the YSO is exceptionally proud of its legacy as an advocate for premiering new works and obscure pieces in the catalogue of established composers.  We have given US and World premieres of works by Benjamin Britten, Claude Debussy, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Strauss, and Alexander Scriabin; debuted new editions and orchestrations of major works by Charles Ives and Robert Schumann, and premiered and commissioned new works by contemporary composers.  All of which makes up the fabric of an orchestra dedicated to promoting a living artistic medium while respecting its cherished history. 

It is our goal to have enough discretionary funding available to the YSO to allow us to perform and commission even more new music, and champion 20th- and 21st-century works that don’t get nearly the frequency of performances they deserve.  We hope that by introducing new music to the Yale undergraduate community, we can demystify contemporary works and keep classical music alive in the cultural mindset of future generations. 

3/4/1966 Janacek Sinfonietta New England  
3/10/1968 Benjamin Britten The Building of the House East Coast  
11/16/1968 Humphrey Evans III Night Sky Music 2 World  
11/22/1969 Alexander Scriabin Prometheus, the Poem of Fire U.S.  
11/22/1969 Claude Debussy Khamma U.S.  
2/20/1970 Alvin Singleton Mestizo II World  
2/17/1973 Leonard Bernstein Mass European  
3/4/1973 Stephen Paul Hartke Passion, Poison, and Petrifaction:
The Romantic Gesture in Aspic
World  
2/9/1974 Charles Ives Three Places in New England World (new edition)  
3/29/1974 Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier U.S.  
2/14/1976 Carl Ruggles Sun-treader New Haven  
2/14/1976 Robert Carl Raptures World  won the Yale Symphony Orchestra Composition contest in 1975
2/14/1976 Yehudi Wyner Concerto da Camera New Haven  
2/14/1976 Charles Ives The Yale-Princeton Game World (new edition)  
3/13/1976 Charles Ives The Yale-Princeton Game Chicago  
3/13/1976 Yehudi Wyner Concerto da Camera Chicago  
4/23/1977 Claude Debussy La Chute de la Maison Usher World  
3/2/1985 William Holab Ode to a Nightingale World  
3/1/1986 Franz Schreker Vom Ewigen Leben U.S.  
2/28/1987 Adam Guettel Bayotta’s Inauguration World  
4/23/1988 Robert Kyr The Fifth Season World  commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra with funds from Friends of Music at Yale
10/11/1991 Hans-Christian Bartel Concerto for Orchestra U.S.  
4/27/1991 Curt Caccioppo Tuscan Folio World commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra with support from the Howard Foundation & AMC
2/1/1992 Alexander Glantz The Confidence Man:
His Masquerade
World  
4/24/1993 Peter Askim   World  
2/5/1994 Mark Bradley (orchestrator) Phantasie in C, Op. 17 (Schumann) World?  
10/15/1995 Syam Gadde Three Dances World  won the Yale Symphony Orchestra Composition contest in 1993
3/1/1997 Jeffrey Louie Sentimezzo and Fugit World  
4/19/1997 Delvyn Case Protean Slip World  
2/28/2004 Eric Nathan Symphonic Fantasy World  
4/10/2004 Stephen Louis Bayne Palace of Memories World  
10/15/2005 Thomas Duffy Tempus Fugit III World  
5/2006 Eric Nathan Collage Ritmico West Coast  
2/3/2007 Brian Samuel Robinson The Revelation World  
11/10/2007 Nancy Van de Vate Western Front U.S.  
4/18/2009 Timo Andres Bathtub Shrine World  
10/16/2009 Daniel Schlosberg Five Stuck World  
4/2/2011 Ted Hearne Partitions World  
2/18/2012 Brian Samuel Robinson Music of Unexpected Enthusiasm and Naïveté World  
10/11/2014 Philip Anthony Heinrich The Columbiad North American  
10/3/2015 Brian Samuel Robinson Anniversary Fanfare World dedicated to Toshiyuki Shimada’s 10th Anniversary as Music Director of the YSO
11/14/2015 Eric Nathan This Old Place World commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary
4/2/2016 Loren Loiacono Bossa Continuo World commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary
4/16/2016 Daniel Schlosberg Small Talk World commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary
4/21/2016 Daniel Schlosberg Small Talk New York

commissioned by the Yale Symphony Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, dedicated to Toshi’s 10th Anniversary

10/8/2016 Florence Price Symphony No. 3 in C minor East Coast  
2/10/2018 Caroline Shaw Music in Common Time World