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.