VALLEY — Australian composer Felicity Wilcox’s “Snow:  II Falling” will receive its American Premier at the three Concert of Carols performances this weekend. 

A rare snowstorm in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney inspired Wilcox to compose this piece. According to Wilcox, “Shortly after moving into my new home in Wentworth Falls last year, I was lucky to experience an afternoon of snowfall from my ‘lookout’ over the valley.  The first stage was a snowstorm, with wind whipping the snow into swirling flurries that filled the sky in cycling patterns from all directions. When the wind calmed down, I observed the silently falling snow in stillness, the flakes seeming to come down in slow motion. The morning brought the sunshine, and the thinly spread frozen white blanket glistened for a brief moment of beauty before disappearing. The visual patterns and light play are reflected in the musical patterns and gestures, as is the spiritual quality of calm experienced when standing as an observer to the surprising workings of nature.”

Wilcox is an interdisciplinary composer whose output encompasses concert music, film music, songwriting and improvisation, music for theatre, installation, live events, dance and radio. She has received commissions for many leading artists and ensembles. She has enjoyed a successful 25-year career as a screen composer and worked extensively as a composer and music director. She has composed, recorded and produced the soundtracks to many award-winning film and television productions, and has received multiple ARIA, AFI and APRA/AGSC awards and nominations for her film music. Her soundtracks are broadcast nationally and internationally on major television networks and have featured in important international film festivals including Berlin, New York, London, Paris, Chicago, Venice, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, Margaret Mead (NYC) and Toronto.   

Wilcox holds a position as Lecturer in Music and Sound Design at the University of Technology, Sydney. Previously she was a sought-after sessional lecturer in composition, music analysis, musical multimedia and composer-performer collaboration at several leading tertiary institutions in the Sydney region, including Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she completed her PhD in composition in 2013. 

Concert of Carols will be presenting three performances of “Snow: II Falling”:  Friday, December 22nd, at 1 p.m. at the Colorado College Auditorium in Crestone; Friday, December 22nd at 7 p.m. at the Del Norte High School Auditorium in Del Norte; and Saturday, December 23rd at 2 p.m. in Richardson Hall on the Adams State University campus in Alamosa. 

Tickets, $15 for adults and $10 for seniors/students, are available at the door for each performance.