The Seven Hills Symphony Orchestra will present its third and final concert of its 10th anniversary season on Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building on the campus of UMass Medical School.

The concert will feature the world premiere of “Spirit Resonance” by Gary Gackstatter, which was commissioned by the orchestra for the occasion. The following are excerpts from notes he wrote regarding his new composition.

“The bringing together of individual human beings to make music is a sacred act, in my opinion; it brings life to everyone involved. Making music is what makes us human. Making music for life is our goal. . . . To deny the Resonance of the mind it is to deny what makes us musicians, what makes us human.

Gackstatter is an active artist, composer, conductor, clinician, performer and teacher. He is the music coordinator at Missouri Community College – Meramec in St. Louis and has conducted the Symphonic Band and Meramec Orchestra since 2007. Gackstatter has composed five symphonies combining music with other arts, and has arranged symphonic debuts for Trio Globo, Three Dog Night, Kansas and many more. He has twice received the Kansas Governor’s Arts Award. Several seasons ago Seven Hills Symphony performed their “Grouse Creek Symphony” with great success.

The orchestra will also perform Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 2”, the 3rd and 4th movements and selections from Camille Saint Säens’s “Carnival of the Animals”, orchestrated by Rosenhaus on May 8th.

Since its founding at UMass Medical School 10 years ago, Seven Hills Symphony has been directed by Music Director Scott Chaurette. Chaurette is chair of the fine arts department and director of orchestral activities at EO Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut. An accomplished double bassist, he holds a BA in Music from the Boston Conservatory and an MA in Music from the University of Illinois. He has performed with ensembles such as the Portland Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the Hop River Chamber Players. Chaurette also studied jazz and contemporary styles, as well as bass guitar technique at Berklee College of Music. He has over 20 years of experience playing in bands ranging from rock to R&B to tango.

Seven Hills is a community orchestra whose musicians are almost entirely amateur volunteers and members of the medical school, hospital and community at large. Her devise is Community through music. The orchestra has given over 30 concerts in the Worcester area.

Admission is free and donations are gratefully accepted. Refreshments will be available during intermission. For more information, visit www.shsymphony.org.