Conducted by Creston Herron
Xavier Foley is known for communicating his virtuosity and passion for music on the double bass, which is rarely presented as a solo instrument. Xavier is a first-prize winner of the 2016 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, winner of the 2014 Sphinx Competition and a 2018 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant. He has performed recitals at Shriver Hall, Rockport Music, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, National Gallery of Art and the Harriman-Jewell Series. An avid chamber musician, he has appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival and the Skaneateles Festival.
As a composer, Xavier’s For Justice and Peace was premiered by the Sphinx Organization at Carnegie Hall in October 2019, and co-commissioned by both organizations. It has since been performed by such orchestras as the Atlanta Symphony, New West Symphony, Oregon Symphony and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Xavier’s bass concerto, Soul Bass, was commissioned and premiered by the Atlanta Symphony, with follow-up performances with the Baltimore Symphony under Jonathon Heyward and with the Kansas City Symphony under Michael Stern.
A native of Marietta, GA, Xavier is an alumnus of the Perlman Music Program and earned his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, working with Edgar Meyer and Hal Robinson. His double bass was crafted by Rumano Solano.
Xavier will perform with the KU Symphony Orchestra (KUSO), the premier orchestral organization at the KU School of Music conducted by Director of Orchestral Activities Creston Herron. KUSO provides performance majors with the highest quality preparation for a professional career in orchestral playing. KUSO offers a comprehensive course of orchestral studies and performs repertoire spanning from the Baroque to the 21st century, including premieres of new works. In addition to large-scale symphonic programming, each season includes performances of major solo works featuring faculty, student and leading international guest artists, including Blake Pouliot, PROJECT Trio, Tiempo Libre, Juan-Miguel Hernandez, Joshua Roman and Simone Porter, to name a few.
