Music by Witold Lutoslawski and Krzysztof Penderecki at the University of Louisville

The New Music Festival at the University of Louisville celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Grawemeyer Awards, one of the biggest and most prestigious prizes given to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion and psychology. Of the five awards, the Music Composition award is the oldest and began in 1985 with the presentation of the award to Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski for his Symphony No. 3. The second Polish composer to receive the award in its 30 year history was Krzysztof Penderecki, who won the award for his symphonic piece "Adagio for Large Orchestra" in 1992.

The 2015 New Music Festival, chaired by Polish composer Krzysztof Wolek, will focus mainly on composers who have previously won a Grawemeyer Award. The highly esteemed music of Krzysztof Penderecki and Witold Lutoslawski will have a strong presence at all the concerts during the festival, including performances of Penderecki's The Dream of Jacob and Lutoslawski's Fanfare for Louisville by the Louisville Orchestra, celebrated for its First Edition Recordings series that recorded and premiered 20th century music by living composers. The 2015 New Music Festival welcomes Kaija Saariaho, winner of the 2003 Grawemeyer Award, as a special guest of the festival. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Mr. Penderecki is no longer able to appear at the festival, however his music will be performed as planned.