Juneau Symphony winners of the Symphony's annual student concerto competition. Pickett also formed the Juneau Symphony Chorus to add voices for such works as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony, and Wilson Sawyer’s Symphony No. 1 “Alaskan.” He inaugurated an annual summer Pops concert series which has featured selections from popular films, musicals and Motown favorites. His pre-performance “Concert Conversations” attracted scores of music lovers to learn more about the selections on the evening's program. Also Music Director for the North State Symphony in Chico, CA, Pickett has guest conducted with other symphonies from Montana to Mexico. In 2013, Maestro
Symphony on a Hymn Tune by Thomson in his score to the 1938 documentary "The River" by Pare Lorentz. Movements from "The River" were later used to score the 1983 television film "The Day After" by the director Nicholas Meyer. "Symphony on a Hymn Tune" was also arranged for piano duet by American pianist John Kirkpatrick. Symphony on a Hymn Tune Symphony on a Hymn Tune is a four-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Virgil Thomson. The work was Thomson's first symphony and was composed between 1926 and 1928 while Thomson studied with the composer Nadia Boulanger in Paris. However, the work was not