Auburn Junior High School music student's original composition to premiere at APT

An Auburn Junior High School 8th grader has composed an original piece of music which will have its world premiere next week at Auburn Public Theater.

Gavin Stewart’s original composition, “Summertime Mist,” will be played at the downtown theater next Thursday, May 1 at 7 p.m. by an ensemble of Auburn Junior High School and Auburn High School orchestra students. There is no admission fee and it will be the lone piece so you’ll want to get there before 7.

“I enjoy music, and I've always enjoyed playing and writing music,” said Stewart who plays the viola and the piano, “so the composing part has interested me as well.”

“He's a very talented music student,” said Auburn Junior High School music teacher Madeline Hommel, who will conduct the orchestra playing Stewart’s piece. “He came to me with this composition back in December, so I had to put it on the spring concert. I felt like I had to because it was pretty good. I'm incredibly impressed by it. Being able to compose is such an advanced ability, and I'm so proud that we're able to do this and have a playable piece for our ensemble.”

Stewart, who only started playing music three years ago in fifth grade, explained his composing process.

“Most of it was just kind of getting inspiration as it came, just a thought would come to my head, I'd write it down on paper and see if it sounded good,” he said.

Stewart will answer questions from the audience after the premiere.

“We're going to do a composer Q-and-A afterward to kind of get an idea about his creative process and why he chose to do what he did with this,” Hommel said. “It should be pretty cool.”

Stewart said the district’s music program has helped him.

“The orchestra at the school is good,” he said. “It's a good class, and the people in it are pretty good. I think they help the people that are in there pretty well.”