The New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving will feature Dallas Symphony Orchestra clarinetist Paul Garner on February 9, in a unique concert titled “Premieres and Dvorák.” The 3:30 p.m. concert, at the Irving Arts Center’s Carpenter Hall, features two solo works for clarinet—Claude Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsody for Clarinet, L. 116, and Entrada a la Madera, a new work by Irving native Ryan Cockerham. The concert is the third performance in  the orchestra’s annual “Sundays at the Symphony” series.

The Irving Arts Center is located at 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving TX 75062.

NPOI’s conductor Dr. Sergio Espinosa has also chosen Antonin Dvorák’s sunny Symphony No. 8 in G Major to conclude this concert.

The orchestra will also present its 2014 Grace Note Awards at the February 9 concert. This year’s awards recognize cities that have opened performing arts venues across the area since 1989. The awards go to Maria Munoz-Blanco, director for the City of Dallas Office Cultural Affairs, recognizing the city’s 23 venues for the performing arts; Anthony Gibson, director of the Allen Performing Arts Center; Richard Huff, director of the Irving Arts Center; Christina Flores, director of the Mesquite Arts Center; and Bruce MacPherson, managing director of the City of Richardson’s Eisemann Center.

“These 27 performing arts facilities are home to seven orchestras and so many other musical groups each year,” says the orchestra’s president Gretchen Cabrera. “They make a big difference in the availability of live music to all our residents, and we want to recognize their contribution.”

Soloist Paul Garner is Associate Principal and E-flat clarinetist in the Dallas Symphony. Before coming to Dallas, he was a member of the orchestras of New Orleans and Denver, and the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point. In the D/FW metroplex, he is a member of the new music ensemble Voices of Change, and maintains affiliations with numerous chamber music ensembles, including the Fine Arts Chamber Players, Basically Beethoven, the Hubbard Chamber Players, the Crowley Chamber Series and the the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Mr. Cockerham’s work was commissioned by Anthony Benitez, NPOI principal clarinetist, and board member.