PORT ANGELES — The work of Dr. David Jones, Peninsula College music professor, is being heard internationally this summer.
Two of his original compositions have been performed in France and Japan, and more concerts featuring another of his works are scheduled in France and Venezuela later this summer.
“Legal Highs,” a piece for violin and marimba that Jones composed in 1989, was performed at Phoenix Hall in Osaka, Japan, on the Fourth of July at an All American Music Concert by Setsuko Kutsuno on the marimba and Yuka Sato on the violin.
France concert
“Legal Highs” also was performed in Albi, France, on June 30 by Duo Contrastes, which recorded the piece for the French label Polymnie in 2007.
The performers, Eric Lacrouts on the violin and Damien Petitjean on percussion, are both members of the Paris Opera Orchestra as well as chamber musicians.
“Gamelocity,” a new work composed by Jones, is set for late-summer concerts in both France and Venezuela and will be performed by PercuDuo, a French percussion duo comprising Damien Petitjean and Philippe Limoge.
“Legal Highs” won first prize in the 1989 international Marimolin Composition Competition, headquartered in Boston.
Jones said Marimolin marimbist Nancy Zeltsman — who is the current chairwoman of the percussion department at the Boston Conservatory and associate professor at the Berklee College of Music — helped him get it published in the United States.
Her duo also recorded the work for Catalyst/BMG in 1993.
“From there,” Jones said, “the composition kind of took off.”
It has since been performed in several countries, including the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Japan and Brazil, and was recorded on CD by three groups: the Swedish label NOSAG in 2001, the French label Polymnie in 2007 and by a Brazilian duo for an independent release in 2011.
50th anniversary
Earlier this year, Jones composed “PC@50” for Peninsula College’s 50th anniversary celebration.
It was first performed by the Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble on June 5 in Maier Hall on the Port Angeles campus at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Jones has composed more than 200 works for orchestra, band, choir, jazz band, chamber group, solos and electronic media, and has worked on several commercial CDs.
His original compositions have been performed more than 300 times in international concerts and have been featured at a variety of festivals and conferences.
Jones, who has been at Peninsula College since 2008, is a former member of the music faculty at Eastern Washington University.
He holds degrees in composition from Indiana University, the New England Conservatory and the University of Washington.