Join us for UMBC’s 13th annual Livewire new music festival, an exploration of new sounds presented in six concerts over four days, October 18 to 21. What is the role of music in our society? What are the inherent powers that lie within music to transform our lives? These are the questions that will be pondered in this year’s Livewire 13: Transformation festival through music, featuring ensembles and works that specifically address music’s role in bringing about transformation on a personal and global level.

In this third of six concerts on UMBC's annual Livewire new music festival, the ensemble Duo della Luna presents a program that explores transformation within music. For this performance, the Duo, comprised of soprano Susan Botti, and violinist Airi Yoshioka, will be joined by harpist Jacqueline Pollauf and percussionist Dustin Donahue as guest artists. The program features works by Rahilia Hasanova, Kathryn Blake, Ashkan Behzadi, Susan Botti, Kaija Saariaho, and Wes York.

In the fourth of six concerts on UMBC's annual Livewire festival, the New York City-based chamber music collective Decoda presents a transformative program of new works by an array of groundbreaking American composers for flute, clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello and piano. Their performance will include works by Anna Clyne, Mario Diaz de Leon, Valerie Coleman, Christopher Ceronne, Andy Akiho, Brad Balliett, and by incarcerated people in Lee Correctional Institution and Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

The fifth of six concerts in Livewire: Transformation will feature works by UMBC student composers Ida Dierker, Valarous Lingham, Aaron Statham, and D'Juan Moreland (in addition to works by Mark Appelbaum, Juri Seo, Margaret Brouwer, and Yaz Lancaster), and performances by student musicians Brandon Gouin, Brendan Witt, Angela Hayward, Henry Smith, Ida Dierker, Lucas Rose, Joshua Epstein, Logan Miller, Gaby Echiverri, Nicole Johnson, and the UMBC Percussion Ensemble.

The finale of the Livewire: Transformation festival features the ensemble Stick&Bow, a Montreal-based marimba and cello duet known for their riveting performances. Their program brings pieces from the past and the present, featuring artists from another era who tried to make this world a better place through the power of their voices, ranging from Beethoven to David Bowie.

The Department of Music presents the UMBC Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Matthew Belzer. Strange things are afoot at UMBC! Come spend the afternoon with the UMBC Jazz Ensemble performing an All-Halloween Themed Live (or undead) Show. Treat yourself to our tricky grooves! Selections include Giant Steps by John Coltrane, Dance You Monster To My Soft Song by Maria Schneider, Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen, A Call For All Demons by Sun Ra, Oh! by Ernie Wilkins, and more!

Flutists Lisa Cella and Tessa Brinckman join forces to explore the extraordinary sonorities of alto and bass flutes in Ouroboros — Journeys in the Underworld as part of their project The Low Flutes Project, presenting works by Elainie Lillios, Tessa Brinckman, Jorge Sosa, Linda Dusman, Martin Lodge, Doina Rotaru, and Christopher Adler.

Embark on a musical voyage as violin virtuoso Fangming Shen and pianist Hsiao-Ying Lin join forces to present an extraordinary evening of classical masterpieces. The program is a harmonious blend of four iconic pieces that will transport you through time and space — the hauntingly beautiful Violin Sonata No. 4 by J. S. Bach, the enchanting soundscape of Karl Szymanowski's Mythes, the Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano by Maurice Ravel, and Beethoven's majestic "Kreutzer" Sonata, Op. 47.

Experience a thrilling musical journey with Jean Rondeau, the French harpsichord virtuoso and early-music superstar who has redefined the art of his instrument and captivated audiences worldwide, in this concert presented by the Candlelight Concert Society. The artist's program will feature works by Fux, Haydn, Clementi, Beethoven, and Mozart.

The Bergamot Quartet is fueled by a passion for exploring and advocating for the music of living composers, continually expanding the limits of the string quartet’s rich tradition in western classical music. Their concert will feature compositions by Nicky Sohn, Caroline Shaw, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and Ledah Finck, in addition to six premieres of works by UMBC student composers Pam Voulalas-Depireux, Aaron Statham, Sarah Yuran, Nicholas Merdon, Jack McGrath, and Valarous Lingham.

Percussionist Dustin Donahue, a new member of the UMBC music faculty, presents a concert featuring the premiere of a new work by Yiheng Yvonne Wu, and music by Kaija Saariaho, Thomas Meadowcroft, and Netty Simons.

From sea water rise to marine life to the Flint Water Crisis, the Wind Ensemble presents a program titled “Water & Life.” The Wind Ensemble will share learning from their experiences during the semester with the National Aquarium and its staff about their arts-based work that aims to address their goals of combating climate change, stopping plastic pollution and saving wildlife and habitats.

The Department of Music presents the UMBC Chamber Players under the direction of Airi Yoshioka. Students in the UMBC Chamber Players perform a wide variety of instrumental chamber works, ranging from Baroque, Classical, Romantic to contemporary repertoire.

The Department of Music presents a joint concert by the UMBC Gamelan Ensemble under the direction of Michelle Purdy and the UMBC Collegium Musicum under the direction of Lindsay Johnson.

The Department of Music presents the Jubilee Singers and the UMBC Gospel Choir under the direction of Janice Jackson.