On Wednesday, Sept. 29, Southeastern music theory graduate student Brian Hanson was in New Orleans to watch his composition be performed by one of the top orchestras in the country.

Hanson’s composition, “East of the Garden,” was one of seven pieces performed by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) in the Freeport McMoRan Theatre, which is located in the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.

“It’s a great feeling to have your creation performed by renowned musicians, and the rarity of such an occurrence makes the feeling even better,” said Hanson.

According to its Web site, the LPO is the only musician-owned and collaboratively managed professional symphony in the United States. The group is led by Carlos Miguel Prieto, and they perform an array of classic, casual classic, spotlight, family, educational and outreach concerts.

Twenty musicians were involved in the performance of Hanson’s composition, 12 of whom were members of the LPO. The remaining eight were local musicians from New Orleans.

According to Hanson, “East of the Garden” was composed during the spring for the Louisiana Composers Forum, which is an organization created to foster the development of new classical music in Louisiana.

In addition to having his composition performed by members of the LPO, the composition was recorded by Tim Stambaugh, who is the director of Word of Mouth Studios in New Orleans.

Along with the performance of his composition, Hanson recounted rehearsal as a good experience for him.

“To me, the rehearsal is a more gratifying experience,” said Hanson. “As musicians, you get to work together to make the score come alive and create the most expressive and artistic representation of that score.”

The recent performance of Hanson’s composition is only one of several performances for the young composer. In spring 2008, Hanson was the winner of a national competition for young composers, which was sponsored by the Omaha Symphony Guild, for his “Creatures of Habit.” The piece was performed during the Omaha Symphony New Music Symposium in April of 2008. In addition, Hanson has had a composition performed by the Baton Rouge Symphony.

“Brian has been eager to explore new ideas, has been willing to take artistic risks, has been passionate about mastering his craft,” said Stephen Suber, the music professor that has worked with Hanson for the last five years. “He puts long hours of hard work into everything he does and does not compromise on quality.”