A hallmark of the St. Timothy’s Summer Music Festival is the introduction of commissioned music. From 2007 to 2018, Butte, Montana residents and patrons of the arts, Dianne and Jim Kimball, funded world-class musicians to compose unique pieces of music that reflect the beauty of Montana. These pieces were then introduced to the world for the first time in performances by the Muir String Quartet at St. Timothy’s Summer Music Festival.

According to Michael Reynolds, cellist with Muir since its inception in 1979, “It is unprecedented in the music world to have a commision program for this long. These pieces are never easy technically or in understanding. As a Quartet, we first learn the music individually, and then work together with the composer to prepare the final presentation. This is my favorite part of the whole process. After the introduction at the St. Timothy’s Summer Music Festival, we then get to perform the pieces at other events across the country and build upon our understanding of what the composer wanted to convey with the piece.”

Below is a list of the commissioned music we have been fortunate to share over the years with our Festival patrons, compliments of Dianne and Jim Kimball and the Muir String Quartet:

2007   String Quartet No. 1., String Quartet. Composer: Michele Levin

2010   White Granite, Piano Quartet. Composer: Joan Tower

2013   Traces, Bassoon and Strings Trio. Composer: Paul Chihara

2014   Zen of the River, Clarinet and Strings Quintent. Composer: Chris Brubeck

2015   Red Maple, Bassoon and Strings Quintet. Composer: Joan Tower

2017   Quintet for Bassoon and String Quartet, Bassoon and Strings Quintet. Composer: Michele Levin

2018   Mountain Thoughts, Strings Quartet. Composer: Jessie Montgomery