A harp tiptoes into the hall and starts a conversation with a few sultry violins. Horns and percussion tumble in. Complex changes in mood, texture, and tempo tell a dramatic story written by Sofia Kraevska, M.M. ’04, a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition student at the Frost School of Music.

Acting out the scene is the 105-piece Cleveland Orchestra, which partnered with the Frost School to present master classes, seminars, and special music performances during its inaugural three-week residency in Miami.

This is the first time Kraevska is hearing “Berestichko” (Symphonic Poem), the piece she composed for a class assignment about a year ago. It took her a month to complete, but the music had inhabited her mind for years, since her visit to an enchanting monastery near her hometown of L’viv, Ukraine, site of a fierce battle in the mid-1600s.

“I realized that this music is more vulnerable in life than in my imagination and that fine musicians can carry the composer’s inspiration to new heights,” says Kraevska, who is one of three student composers selected by Frost School faculty to have their works performed.

The connection between the Cleveland Orchestra and the Frost School began a few years ago, when the orchestra was in Miami developing its partnership with Miami’s Carnival Center for the Performing Arts for a decade-long annual residency. “That’s when we first understood the enormous scope and scale of the music program at the University of Miami,” says Gary Hanson, Cleveland Orchestra executive director.

Spending ten days on campus during January, orchestra members presented a session on orchestra management and master classes on myriad instruments, including a vocal class taught by soprano Measha Brueggergosman. But the performance of student works was the “largest-scale single event, unique to us and to the Frost School,” Hanson says. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity for young composers, and it helps us learn how to approach and contribute to the development of new music.”