Composers from California, New York, Korea, and Indonesia will be featured in UCSC's annual celebration of new music, April 5 to 29 at the Music Center Recital Hall.
April in Santa Cruz Contemporary Music Festival 2008 spotlights music by female composers, Korean P'ansori (story-singing), and Indonesian Gamelan-inspired works. The month-long series of concerts is also a showcase for new original works by UCSC faculty and graduate students, as well as a number of Bay Area composers.
"This a major collaborative event presented by the UCSC Music Department," noted music professor and Porter College Provost David Evan Jones, director of the 2008 festival. "Each year there is a different director and each one takes a different tack. The basic theme this year comes out of the focus on our program in world music composition, and the concerts channel the energy and varied interests of our faculty."
Guest performers include internationally known Korean P'ansori singer Chan E. Park-who will perform solo on the Buk (Korean barrel drum); visiting West Javanese composer Nano S, and New York clarinetist/composer Daniel Goode.
The festival kicks off on April 5 with a concert titled "The 51% Majority: Modern Works by Female Composers," performed by UC Davis's Empyrean Ensemble. April 12 features UCSC music professor Nicole Paiement conducting the Bay Area's Ensemble Parallèle and UCSC's Ensemble Nova. On April 16, Chan E. Park performs traditional Korean P'ansori vocal music, followed by a free workshop for those interested in learning about how to compose or sing in that style.
World premier compositions by UCSC faculty will be unleashed on April 23 in a concert titled "Wet Ink: The Newest from UCSC." That evening will include a new piece created by music professor Hi Kyung Kim for Bay Area percussionist Ward Spangler, as well as "Cubist Staircase," the latest from David Evan Jones. "The title of my piece comes from Cubist images of jazz musicians from the 1920's," said Jones. "It sounds like a Cubist rendering of jazz--it repeats pitches and pulses like pixels and compulsively ascends again and again throughout the piece like a staircase."
April in Santa Cruz draws to a close on April 29 with "Imagining Gamelan," featuring performances by members of the UCSC Gamelan program led by professor Linda Burman-Hall and lecturer Undang Sumarna; and the UCSC Percussion Ensemble, directed by William Winant in collaboration with the UCSC Contemporary Music Ensemble.
The complete schedule of events:
April in Santa Cruz Contemporary Music Festival
Saturday, April 5
Empyrean Ensemble: "The 51% Majority: Modern Works by Female Composers"
UC Davis group performs contemporary music by Judith Weir, Sofia Gubaidulina, Unsuk Chin, Yu-Hui Chang, and world premieres by Laurie San Martin and Anne Callaway.
7:30 p.m. Music Center Recital Hall. Free.
Saturday, April 12
Ensemble Nova/Ensemble Parallèle: "New Edge Music from Santa Cruz and San Francisco"
Nicole Paiement directs the Bay Area's Ensemble Parallèle and UCSC's Ensemble Nova in premieres and recent works by Daniel Brown, Young-Shin Choi, Kui Dong, and Alden Jenks. Plus recent works by John Seales and David Cope.
7:30 p.m. Music Center Recital Hall. $12 general; $10 seniors; $8 students.
Wednesday, April 16
An Evening of Traditional Korean P'ansori (Vocal Music)
Internationally known singer Chan E. Park presents a solo concert of traditional Korean P'ansori, a form of story-singing. With all texts sung is English, this will be an unusual opportunity to gain insight into this beautiful and compelling art form. A workshop for those interested in learning P'ansori techniques follows the concert.
7:30 p.m. Music Center Recital Hall. Free.
Wednesday, April 23
Wet Ink: The Newest Music from UCSC
Featuring world premiere compositions by Ben Carson, Peter Elsea, David Evan Jones, Hi Kyung Kim, Monica Lynn, and Nick Vasallo.
7:30 p.m. Music Center Recital Hall. Free.
Tuesday, April 29
Imagining Gamelan
Contemporary Compositions for Gamelan and Gamelan-inspired works for Western instruments, featuring pieces by visiting West Javanese composer Nano S and visiting New York composer Daniel Goode, plus compositions by Paul Nauert, Steve Reich, John Cage, Andrew Marine, Noah Meites. Performed by the UCSC Gamelan program with Linda Burman Hall and Undang Sumarna and the UCSC Percussion Ensemble directed by William Winant in collaboration with the UCSC Contemporary Music Ensemble.
7:30 p.m. Music Center Recital Hall. $12 general; $10 seniors; $8 students. Ext. 9-2159.
For more information, contact the UCSC Ticket Office at (831) 459-2159.
