Utah prodigy composer part of Pittsburgh Camerata holiday concerts

The Pittsburgh Camerata's director Rebecca Rollett programs her holiday concerts with a Christmas spirit: with openness to all. Its annual Christmas concert again shines a light on lesser-known Christmas music. will offer carols ancient, such as Sweelinck and William Byrd, and contemporary, such as Eric Whitacre, Stephen Paulus and Ian McDougal.

Ian McDougal? Turns out this young composer is a freshman at Utah State University. Now 18, he was only 17 when he wrote a requiem for his International Baccalaureate music exam last year. RollettI found it on Choral Public Domain Library and extracted "O Nata Lux" for the holiday program.Well, I've just gotten word that his parents. Now it turns out he may apply to Carnegie Mellon University to study with Nancy Galbraith, and he may fly out to hear his piece performed this weekend. All in all, a great Christmastime story.

You can hear "O Nata Lux" yourself at the holiday concerts at 8 p.m. Dec. 12 at Sixth Presbyterian Church, Squirrel Hill, and 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church); 412-421-5884.