For Immediate Release
Media contact:
Jane Turnis
(719) 389-6138
JTurnis@ColoradoCollege.edu
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – July 9, 2008 – Contemporary composers and new-music enthusiasts will come together for performances and inspiration at the 12th Annual New Music Symposium, July 10-12 at Colorado College. In addition, they will experience the fresh sounds and approaches of young regional composers in a concert July 13. A multimedia matinee of video and music is a new addition to be presented Friday, July 11.
The New Music Symposium, part of the Colorado College Summer Festival of the Arts, offers four days of camaraderie for contemporary composers around the world who work in academic environments, and four concerts of new music for fans of contemporary compositions. These concerts showcase the compositions of participating composers; a final concert will present the works of young regional composers (grades 4 through 12) who will gather for the Pikes Peak Young Composers Summer Workshop, which runs concurrently and provides opportunities for youths to learn from established professional composers (for information: http://www.pikespeakyoungcomposers.org/summer.html).
The New Music Symposium is the creation of Ofer Ben-Amots, associate professor of music at Colorado College and music director for the symposium. The symposium has been a hit with participating composers, many of whom ask to return each year. In addition, it has garnered a following of audience members who seek out new music.
This year’s symposium will feature contemporary composers including David Crumb, Leanna Kirchoff, Robert Patterson, Fred Kaufman, Jorge Grossman, Conrad Kehn, Russell Steinberg, Cherise Leiter, Ben-Amots and Mark Volker. Under the artistic direction of Susan Grace, lecturer and artist-in-residence at Colorado College, the composers will present their music in concerts that are free and open to the public.
The symposium features three chamber concerts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10; Friday, July 11; and Saturday, July 12. The symposium ends on Sunday, July 13 with a 3 p.m. performance, the Pikes Peak Young Composer Summer Workshop Concert. All performances are in Packard Hall, 5 W. Cache La Poudre St. on the Colorado College campus. A special multimedia matinee presentation at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 11, will be held in the film screening room of the college’s new Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, 825 N. Cascade Ave.
Concert Schedule
Thursday, July 10, 7:30 p.m.
Composer Jorge Grossman:
Composer Russell Steinberg:
Composer Leanna Kirchoff:
Composer Robert Patterson:
Composer Fred Kaufman:
“Meditation for a Lonely Flute,” performed by Nagem (flute)
Composer Conrad Kehn:
Composer David Crumb:
Multimedia Matinee: Friday, July 11, 3 p.m.
(Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center film screening room, 825 N. Cascade Ave.)
Multimedia matinee - video and audio arts collaborations, moderated by musicologist Patricia Gray
Friday, July 11, 7:30 p.m.
Composer Leanna Kirchoff/ Cherise Leiter:
Composer David Crumb:
Composer Conrad Kehn:
Composer Jorge Villavicencio Grossman:
Composer Robert Patterson:
Composer Ofer Ben-Amots:
Saturday, July 12, 7:30 p.m.
Composer Cherise Leiter:
Composer Russell Steinberg:
Composer Fred Kaufman:
Composer Mark Volker:
About the Colorado College Summer Festival of the Arts
Colorado College’s Summer Festival of the Arts features four major festivals within it, as well as additional world-class film, theater, literary readings, comedy and art events throughout the summer. The Summer Music Festival, a teaching festival in which young musicians from around the world learn from and perform with professional musicians who also present their concert series, ran June 9-July 1. The Extraordinary Dance! Festival, June 30-July 18, features dance education opportunities open to the public, and gala performances on July 12 and 13. The New Music Symposium, featuring contemporary composers and their music, runs July 10-July 12, with events each day, plus a complementary Pikes Peak Young Composers concert on July 13. The Vocal Arts Symposium runs July 20-Aug. 8, with opera, jazz and musical theater performances. See http://artsfestival.coloradocollege.edu for details on all four major parts of the Summer Festival of the Arts. For details on the entire summer’s offerings, see www.ColoradoCollege.edu/News_Events.
About Colorado College
Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 1,975 undergraduate students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week blocks. The college also offers a master of arts in teaching degree and summer programs for established teachers. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu.