COMMISSIONS
Introduction by Jean Florman
The notion of commissioning work was hardly new when the Joffrey Ballet accepted the first Hancher commission in 1984. After all, for thousands of years, patrons around the world have financially supported the creation of music, paintings, sculpture, plays—even love sonnets. But Hancher’s first commission was an invigorating sea change for the University of Iowa’s performing arts venue. It heralded a new creative future for Hancher. In addition to serving as a presenter of the performing arts, Hancher now would become a creative force.
Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa has commissioned or co-commissioned over 120 pieces in dance, music, and theatre. Listed below are the commissioned artists, the commissioned works, and the dates the new pieces were or will be performed at Hancher Auditorium.
JESSIE MONTGOMERY, FOR THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
New work for percussion quartet
April 24, 2025
DAVÓNE TINES
ROBESOИ
April 16, 2025
GABRIEL KAHANE, FOR ROOMFUL OF TEETH
Elevator Songs
November 16, 2023, Midwest premiere
SERPENTWITHFEET
Heart of Brick
October 5, 2023
MICHAEL ABELS AND NIKKY FINNEY, FOR THE KRONOS QUARTET
At War With Ourselves – 400 Years of You
February 11, 2023
SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR
HOPE: It's Been a Long Time Coming
October 10, 2022
STEP AFRIKA!
Drumfolk
September 11, 2021
PAOLA PRESTINI, FOR ANTHONY DE MARE
"Always,"after Stephen Sondheim’s “I Wish I Could Forget You,” from Passion
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
Three videos to promote the Hancher Youth & Family Talent Show
Septemebr 10 & 18; October 1, 2020, Virtual premieres
STEP AFRIKA!
“Stono,” from Drumfolk
September 9, 2020, Virtual premiere on Facebook and YouTube
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
A video featuring an arrangement of Go Hawks!
April 27, 2020, Virtual premiere
CIRQUE ÉLOIZE
Hotel
October 5, 2018
CAMILLE A. BROWN, for Camille A. Brown & Dancers
ink
January 27, 2018
RACHEL GRIMES, ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN, SHARA NOVA, CAROLINE SHAW, and SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER, for A Far Cry and Luciana Souza
The Blue Hour
November 16, 2017
SAMUEL CARL ADAMS, for Emanuel Ax
Impromptus (2016)
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON, for the Joffrey Ballet
The Nutcracker
December 1-4, 2016, Preview performances
TOMÁŠ KUBÍNEK, with Orchestra Iowa, University of Iowa Choirs, and Wycliffe Gordon
Pomp, Brass, and Lunacy!
November 5, 2016, World premiere
DAVID LANG, for Maya Beiser
the day
October 27, 2016
C. BRIAN WILLIAMS, for Step Afrika!
The Migration: Reflections of Jacob Lawrence
October 20, 2016
TAYLOR MAC
“1846–1856, Whitman vs. Foster: Songs Popular Near the Breaking Point,” from A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
December 5, 2015
SEAN CHRISTOPHER LEWIS, for Working Group Theatre, featuring Awful Purdies
All Recipes Are Home
April 17-18, 2015, World premiere
SHULAMIT RAN, for the Pacifica Quartet
Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
March 6, 2015
MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN, for the Kronos Quartet
Bombs of Beirut
Co-commissioned through Kronos Performing Arts Association’s Under 30 Project.
February 7, 2015
JENNIFER FAWCETT, for Working Group Theatre
Out of Bounds (for general audiences)
May 1-4, 2014, World premiere
JENNIFER FAWCETT, for Working Group Theatre
Out of Bounds (for youth)
November 18-20, 2013, World premiere
RINDE ECKERT and SAN JOSE TAIKO
Hancher Site Ceremony
June 29, 2013
JENNIFER FAWCETT, for Working Group Theatre
The Broken Chord
April 12-14, 2013, World premiere
AARON JAY KERNIS, for eighth blackbird
Pieces of Winter Sky
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
February 6, 2013
MERVYN WARREN and JEFF MARX, for it gets better presented by the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
"You Have More Friends Than You Know”
October 19, 2012
DAVID LANG, for Anonymous 4
love fail
October 11, 2012
STEW & THE NEGRO PROBLEM
Songs about Iowa City
September 27, 2012, World premiere
SEAN CHRISTOPHER LEWIS, for Working Group Theatre
Mayberry
April 26-29, 2012, World premiere
DAVE PIETRO
New Road: Iowa Memoirs
April 5, 2012, World premiere
CLÉBIO OLIVEIRA, for Hubbard Street 2
The Fantastic Escape of the Little Buffalo
September 22-23, 2011, World premiere
TOMÁŠ KUBÍNEK, with Orchestra Iowa and with Omaha Symphony
Professor Kubínek Meets the Symphony
November 5, 6, 7, 13, & 20, 2010
RINDE ECKERT, with students from the University of Iowa Division of Performing Arts
Eye Piece
February 5-14, 2010, World premiere
STEFON HARRIS, for the Imani Winds
The Anatomy of a Box: a sonic painting in wood, metal and wind
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
September 25, 2009
BRIAN ENOS, for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
B-Sides (12” Mix)
October 12, 2007
DAVID DEL TREDICI, for the Orion String Quartet and David Krakauer
Magyar Madness
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
October 9, 2007
LUKAS FOSS, for the Guarneri Quartet
String Quartet No. 5
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
April 10, 2007
AUGUSTA READ THOMAS, for Chanticleer
Purple Syllables
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
September 28, 2006
LUCAS CRANDALL, for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Gimme
October 9, 2004
PAUL TAYLOR, for the Paul Taylor Dance Company
Dante Variations
April 16-17, 2004
LIN HWAI-MIN, for the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
Cursive
November 12, 2003
BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Reading, Mercy and the Artificial Nigger
October 11, 2003, World premiere
LERA AUERBACH, for David Finckel and Wu Han
Sonata No. 1 for violoncello and piano
February 19, 2003, World premiere
JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, for Urban Bush Women, in collaboration with the National Song and Dance Company of Mozambique
Shadow’s Child
January 24, 2003
TERRY RILEY, for the Kronos Quartet, with Kantorei and University Choir
Sun Rings
October 26, 2002, World premiere
KRONOS QUARTET
Nuevo
March 2, 2002, World premiere
BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Evenings of dances and chamber music
January 25-26, 2002, World premiere
PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE, with Leonard Eto
Tsu-Ku-Tsu
September 29-October 1, 2000
GABRIELA ORTIZ, for Dawn Upshaw and the Kronos Quartet
Baalkah
May 3, 2000, World premiere
MICHAEL DAUGHERTY, for Ethos Percussion Group
Used Car Salesman
April 18, 2000, World premiere
RICHARD DANIELPOUR, for the Kalichstein–Laredo–Robinson Trio
A Child’s Reliquary
April 13, 2000, World premiere
STEVE MARTLAND, for Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Hard Times
April 8, 2000, World premiere
BRETT DEAN, for Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Game Over
April 8, 2000, World premiere
MICHAEL GORDON, DAVID LANG, and JULIA WOLFE, for Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Haircut
April 8, 2000, World premiere
BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
You Walk?
March 24-25, 2000, World premiere
PAUL SCHOENFIELD, for the Ahn Trio
Four Music Videos
January 27, 2000, World premiere
JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
C-sharp Street – B-flat Avenue
November 19-20, 1999, World premiere
LAR LUBOVITCH, for American Ballet Theatre
Meadow
November 2-3, 1999
BILL T. JONES
The Breathing Show
October 23, 1999, World premiere
PAUL TAYLOR, for the Paul Taylor Dance Company
Arabesque
October 15-16, 1999, World premiere
SUSAN MARSHALL, for Susan Marshall & Company
The Descent Beckons
October 8, 1999, World premiere
USHIO AMAGATSU, for Sankai Juku
Hibiki (Resonance from Far Away)
October 1-2, 1999, American premiere
TWYLA THARP, for Twyla Tharp Dance
Diabelli
September 17-18, 1999, American premiere
Traveling Music, for the Kronos Quartet
OSVALDO GOLIJOV, arrangement of Anibal Troilo’s “Responso”
ALEKSANDRA VREBALOV, “Panonia Boundless”
ALICIA SVIGALS, “Kale Baveynen II”
HYO-SHIN NA, “Kahk-seo-ree-ta-ryeung” (Song of the Beggars)
KAYHAN KALHOR, “Gallop of a Thousand Horses”
September 15, 1999, World premiere
ROBERT LEPAGE, for Ex Machina
Geometry of Miracles
September 9-11, 1999, American premiere
BEN JOHNSTON, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Harry Partch's Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales
January 24, 1998
MARK MORRIS, for the Mark Morris Dance Group with the Handel & Haydn Society conducted by Christopher Hogwood
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice
April 8-9, 1996, World premiere
DIAMANDA GALÁS
Schrei X
March 27-28, 1996
P.Q. PHAN, for the Kronos Quartet with Nguyen Thuyet Phong
Hoi uc cua ke lac loi (Memoirs of A Lost Soul)
February 10, 1996, World premiere
TAN DUN, for the Kronos Quartet with Wu Man
Ghost Opera
February 10, 1996
JOHN CORIGLIANO, for the Cleveland Quartet
String Quartet
October 30, 1995
MARC NEIKRUG, for the Tokyo String Quartet with Pinchas Zukerman
String Quartet
October 13, 1995, World premiere
JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, for Urban Bush Women
Bones and Ash: A Gilda Story
September 15, 1995, World premiere
MEREDITH MONK
Volcano Songs
May 2-3, 1995
BRENT MICHAEL DAVIDS, for the Kronos Quartet
Tunpao Nenangpe (Turtle People)
April 8, 1995
BEN JOHNSTON, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Harry Partch's Barstow: Eight Hitchhikers' Inscriptions from a Highway Railing at Barstow, California
April 8, 1995
SUSAN MARSHALL, for Susan Marshall & Company
Fields of View
February 10, 1995
RINDE ECKERT
The Idiot Variations
January 19-20, 1995, World premiere
MINORU MIKI, for Pro Musica Nipponia
Lotus Poem
October 17, 1994, World premiere
DAVID PARSONS, for the Parsons Dance Company
Touched by Time (1994)
BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Still/Here
September 30–October 1, 1994, American premiere
BRIGHT SHENG, for the Takács Quartet
String Quartet No. 3
April 4, 1994
MICHELLE DIBUCCI, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Raymond Scott's Powerhouse
March 14, 1994
RANDALL WOOLF, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Raymond Scott's Twilight in Turkey
March 14, 1994
JOHN OSWALD, for the Kronos Quartet
Mach
March 14, 1994
JOAN TOWER, for the Muir String Quartet
Night Fields
March 1, 1994, World premiere
BEBE MILLER, for Bebe Miller Company
Nothing Can Happen Only Once
February 26, 1994
DAVID PARSONS, for the Parsons Dance Company
Ring Around the Rosie
October 1, 1993, World premiere
TRIMPIN
D.R.A.M.A. ohno
September 14-15, 1993
PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE
Rejoyce—A Pilobolus Finnegans Wake
February 27, 1993, World premiere
LAURA DEAN, CHARLES MOULTON, MARGO SAPPINGTON, PETER PUCCI, and PRINCE, for the Joffrey Ballet
Billboards
January 27-31, 1993
SCOTT JOHNSON, for the Kronos Quartet
How It Happens (says I. F. Stone)
November 5, 1992, World premiere
JIMMY GAMONET DE LOS HEROS, for the Miami City Ballet
Danzalta
April 28, 1992
RINDE ECKERT
The Gardening of Thomas D.
January 22-25, 1992, World premiere
WIM VANDEKEYBUS, for Ultima Vez
Always the Same Lies
October 16, 1991
LIBBY LARSEN, for the Cleveland Quartet
Quartet: Schoenberg, Schenker Schillinger
May 1, 1991, World premiere
PAUL DRESHER ENSEMBLE
Pioneer
February 8–9, 1991
BILL T. JONES and JULIUS HEMPHILL, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Julius Hemphill Sextet
Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin/The Promised Land
February 2, 1991
DUMI MARAIRE, for the Kronos Quartet
Mai Nozipo
January 26, 1991, World premiere
CHRISTIAN MARCLAY and the KRONOS QUARTET
New Work
January 26, 1991, World premiere
MEREDITH MONK
Atkas (1991)
NINA WIENER, for the Nina Wiener Dance Company
Harmonic Landscapes
October 12–13, 1990
ALEXANDER GOEHR, for the Arditti String Quartet
Quartet No. 4
October 8, 1990, World premiere
LARRY NEFF, for the Kronos Quartet
visual design for Terry Riley's Salome Dances for Peace
April 6, 1990, World premiere
LARRY NEFF, for the Kronos Quartet
visual design for George Crumb's Black Angels
April 7, 1990, World premiere
DAVID PARSONS, for the Parsons Dance Company
Incandescence (a.k.a. Simply So)
January 19–20, 1990, World Premiere
PAUL DRESHER ENSEMBLE
Power Failure
October 27–28, 1989
ALESSANDRO MORUZZI, for the Kronos Quartet
concept/visual design for Assembly Required
April 2, 1989
KEVIN VOLANS, for the Kronos Quartet
The Songlines
April 2, 1989
DAVID GORDON, for Pick Up Company
United States
February 11, 1989
LAURA DEAN, for Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians
Equator
April 4, 1988, American premiere
ROBERT JOFFREY and GERALD ARPINO, for the Joffrey Ballet
The Nutcracker
December 10–12, 1987, World premiere
JAMES KUDELKA, for the Joffrey Ballet
The Heart of the Matter
February 25, 1986, World premiere
