Whistling Hens, a duo featuring the unusual combination of clarinet and soprano, premieres a new work by composer Kate Soper entitled Chutes and Ladders. A commission made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by the Mellon Foundation, the work invites us to step into a unique soundscape of vocalizations, quarter tones, multiphones, and speak-singing.
Join us for an afternoon of poetry, art songs and discussion, entitled Mapping Ancestral Discoveries from the Eastern Shore to New York in Poetry and Song, as composer, poet, and scholar Toni Lester shares her journey of discovery about ancestors who migrated from DelMarVA to New York to form one of the oldest, continuous free Black communities in the North. This event will feature baritone Brandon Bell, soprano Adia Evans, and pianist/percussionist Bill Solomon.
The Department of Music presents clarinetist Natalie Groom and pianist Hui-Chuan Chen, whose program Composers Unheard, Composers Celebrated spotlights works for clarinet and piano that have been previously under appreciated. The performance will include works by Marie-Elisabeth von Sachsen-Meiningen, a Prussian princess; Mojgan Misaghi, a member of the Iranian Female Composers Association; Ke-Chia Chen, professor at Curtis Institute of Music; Fazil Say, world-renowned Turkish piano soloist; and Gwyneth Walker, a prolific American composer known primarily for her choral works.
"The President's Own" United States Marine Band Brass Quintet joins UMBC music faculty and students for a night of incredible brass music in the annual Brash Bash. The evening will feature a virtuosic set by the Marine Band Brass Quintet that culminates in a performance alongside a large UMBC student/faculty brass ensemble. Collaborative works with the Marine Band Brass Quintet and the UMBC Faculty Brass Quintet will also be performed.
The Department of Music presents the Anansi Trio, a group of like-minded musicians drawing from a wide range of global traditions. With Mark Merella on the hybrid drum kit, Larry Melton on bass, and UMBC's Matt Belzer on saxophones, they create music that is unique and experimental yet remains accessible. The trio's program will feature creative interpretations of works by Daymé Arocena, Nate Smith, and Matt Belzer.
The Department of Music presents pianist Teodora Adzharova, who will perform a program of works by Michael Hersch and Galina Ustvolskaya. Laureate of numerous national and international competitions, Adzharova has had a career that has taken her to multiple performance venues in the United States, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Macedonia and the Czech Republic.
The Department of Music presents the UMBC Jazz Ensemble, directed by Matthew Belzer, in a program entitled Bud and Monk: Celebrating the music of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk.
Harpist Jacqueline Pollauf gives a solo recital showcasing the many capabilities of the harp, performing a variety of pieces, both original works and transcriptions, including music by Gabriel Fauré, Nino Rota, and Micheline Kahn. Throughout the program, Pollauf will offer remarks and insights about the works presented.
Join us for UMBC’s 14th annual Livewire new music festival, an exploration of new sounds presented in six concerts over three days, October 24 to 26. Livewire 14: Resounding celebrates the work and completion of I Resound Press, an online archive of scores and recordings by women composers selected for their imagination, innovation and craft. Featured guest composer Annea Lockwood will interact with students and audiences in a variety of events, including a sound installation, public conversations, open rehearsals, and a concluding portrait concert of her recent works. Hub New Music, Sofia Kamayianni and Tim Ward, Caballito Negro, and the UMBC faculty contemporary ensemble Ruckus will present concerts including works from the I Resound archive by composers Rahilia Hasanova, Patricia Repar, Sofia Kamayianni, Linda Dusman, Anna Rubin, Lois V Vierk, Ruth Lomon, Caterina Calderoni, Jane Rigler, and Eleanor Hovda. Livewire 14 features premieres by Hasanova, Dusman, Alexandra Gardner, and others, including Sam Garrett, the commissioned alumnus composer for 2024.
The Livewire 14: Resounding festival presents a multi-day installation of featured composer Annea Lockwood's work A Sound Map of the Hudson River. The public is invited to enjoy this installation throughout the festival.
The 14th annual Livewire new music festival kicks off with a concert by the Ruckus ensemble, featuring works by Linda Dusman, Alexandra Gardner, Sam Garrett ’11, music, Patrice Repar, and Anna Rubin. The ensemble features UMBC faculty Teodora Adzharova, piano; Lisa Cella, flutes; Patrick Crossland, trombone; Juan Sebastián Delgado, cello; Dustin Donahue, percussion; Natalie Groom, clarinet; Gita Ladd, cello; Airi Yoshioka, violin; and Philip Mann, conductor.
The second of six concerts in the Livewire 14: Resounding new music festival will feature works by UMBC students and music alumni.
The third of six events in the Livewire 14: Resounding new music festival features Sofia Kamayianni and Tim Ward, who will present their jointly developed Piano+ system. The Piano+ system seeks to extend the sound world of the piano using technology while at the same time closely integrating into conventional piano performance techniques the control and shaping of the new timbres made possible. In this way the extension of the piano offers radical new possibilities to a performer while not dramatically changing their physical practice on the instrument.
Livewire 14: Resounding presents an installation of Piano Garden by featured composer Annea Lockwood. In this work, a piano is set down among bushes or in a wooded area, where it remains indefinitely, unprotected from the elements. Over time, vines, plants, and trees grow over, inside, and around the piano as it slowly decays.
The fourth of six events in the Livewire 14: Resounding new music festival features Hub New Music with performances of works by Caterina Calderoni, Rahilia Hasanova, Eleanor Hovda, and Nina C. Young. Hub will be joined by guest artists Teodora Adzharova and Dustin Donahue.
