Juan La Manna, orchestra director and associate professor of music at SUNY Oswego, said the orchestra, with help from the Student Association, has commissioned works titled "PMA in the City" by 2011 alumnus Andrew Friedman and "Double Concerto" by Deborah Gold of the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music.

     The orchestra also will perform Gershwin's suite from "An American in Paris" and Mozart's Symphony No. 41, the "Jupiter" symphony.

     "PMA in the City" features a solo bass – both acoustic and electric – and string orchestra. "Double Concerto" is for flute and clarinet solos with full orchestra.

     Friedman, born and raised in Monroe, began working professionally as a bassist when he was 15, teamed in high school with two brothers to found a production group for booking shows and, at Oswego, formed his own combos, Second Best Sunset and Soul Patrol. He now lives in Brooklyn and has formed King Holiday, an Afro-soul group that has headlined Mercury Lounge, Pianos and Rockwood Music Hall, and was the featured act last month at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

     While at SUNY Oswego, Friedman composed works for small jazz ensembles and combo groups.

     Gold, a flutist and composer pursuing a bachelor of music degree in composition, received a Fine Arts Award in composition at Interlochen Arts Camp, first place in the MTNA Student Composition Competition in New Jersey and was a finalist for the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards.

     Donations may be made to the SUNY Oswego music department's scholarship fund.

     Parking for those without a campus parking sticker costs $1. See www.oswego.edu/administration/parking for details.