Professor's work premieres in Prague

The Prague Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic recently presented the world premiere of "ICPC Fanfare" by Auburn Music Professor Robert Greenleaf.

The world-renowned orchestra performed Greenleaf's work at one of Prague's leading concert halls for the opening and closing ceremonies of a worldwide computer software-writing competition sponsored by IBM. The Prague orchestra also presented the European premiere of Greenleaf's "Celebration" at the event, the International Collegiate Programming Contest of the Association for Computing Machinery.

Greenleaf also served as music director for the event in the musical heart of Europe. He traveled to the Czech Republic during Auburn's spring break in late March and early April as a guest of IBM and the event's host, the Czech Technical University.

"Prague has a fantastic tradition of classical music," said Greenleaf, noting that the city shares a cultural heritage with its neighbor, Vienna, Austria, as one of the world's most renowned centers of classical music. "To have my works premiere in Prague, performed by one of the finest metropolitan symphony orchestras in the world, is one of the highlights of my career," he added.

Organizers familiar with his earlier work, "Celebration," turned to Greenleaf to compose a companion piece for the Prague event. "Celebration" received its world premiere in 1997 in Birmingham as the signature music for the rebirth of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. The National Symphony Orchestra later presented the piece in six performances.

Greenleaf gained national prominence in 1992 for his opera "Under the Arbor," which premiered in Birmingham and was televised nationally over PBS. He is currently composing a song cycle based on poems by former AU faculty member Kenneth Walters of Auburn.