This concert of new music cultivates the talent of modern classical composers and inspires musicians and audience members alike. Featuring original compositions by student composers, new music concerts range from solo to chamber works and even include electroacoustic performances. Read this feature story on the new music program in The Diamondback.
Professor of cello and chamber music at East Carolina University, Emanuel Gruber will perform three of J.S. Bach’s beautiful Six Suites for Cello—No. 1, 3 and 5. Widely performed, these suites for solo cello are considered to be among Bach’s greatest works and feature movements based on dances from the Baroque period. Gruber is celebrated as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teacher. Awarded the Pablo Casals Prize by the Philharmonic Orchestra, he also won the Concert Artists’ Guild Auditions early in his career.
In this combined choir concert, three choral ensembles team up to offer a program of exciting variety including Polish folk songs, music of the Maori culture in New Zealand and a "bluegrass-tinged setting" of the revival hymn Unclouded Day.
The Left Bank Quartet will be joined by faculty member Larissa Dedova on piano for Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57. Written in 1940, it is one of his most-beloved chamber pieces. This will be balanced by two string quartets by Czech composers, Antonín Dvořák’s charming and lyrical 10th Quartet in E-flat Major and String Quartet No. 1 by Erwin Schulhoff. By turns hauntingly beautiful and rhythmically driving, Schulhoff’s 1924 quartet shows the influence of jazz rhythms, yet craftsmanship inspired by Dvořák—his first teacher of composition!
untitled sad piece by elephant JANE dance
Heidi Henderson, choreographer
untitled sad piece examines small sadnesses, those moments when we allow ourselves to not be chipper. In reiterative solos and tender duets, the dancers of elephant JANE dance see into each other's eyes and touch, sweat and galumph. The movement is effortful. These dances are real— messy, emotional, highly structured, single-minded, fluid, quiet and virtuosic.
Burnish (Magenta #08) by BANDportier
Kendra Portier, choreographer
Tenebrae (United Kingdom)
School of Music student artists perform a moving collection of chamber music repertoire for strings, woodwinds, brass and piano. The culmination of rehearsal and coaching during the fall semester, these concerts are an integral part of coursework for School of Music students and provide a glimpse into the training they receive for performing in major ensembles.
Stefon Harris, vibraphone + Blackout (USA)
For a decade, Stefon Harris’ ensemble Blackout seemed to have vanished. Then, in 2009, in the bold album “Urbanus,” the modern jazz vibraphone linchpin led his quintet through a mix of Gershwin interpretations and Jackie McLean covers, with a nod to Stevie Wonder along the way. Fusing jazz vibraphone with strong interests in R&B and Latin sounds, Harris has explored the frontiers of his instrument since first emerging in the late 1990s.
Representing a variety of majors across campus, the University Band is joined by the Maryland Community Band for a concert of traditional and contemporary wind band music in a performance that can be enjoyed by all ages.
Program:
University Band:
William Schuman: George Washington Bridge
Michael Colgrass: Mysterious Village
Percy Grainger: Colonial Song
Robert Jager: Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann
Experience the soulful, syncopated sounds of jazz in these two lively concerts featuring classic tunes performed by the four jazz combos coached by Gerry Kunkel, Tom Baldwin, Mike Quinlivan and Mike Kuhl. Attend both nights—each performance features a different program. Concert repertoire coming soon.
