Tuesday, March 14, 2006
A New Dynamic From Indiana
 The nice folks at the Music Department at Indiana University Southeast have passed along a copy of the first release on their new record label, New Dynamic Records, and it's an outstanding launch to what promises to be an important new music venture.
The new CD is called Influence and includes works by Joan Tower, Michael Torke, Perry Goldstein, Robert Gibson, and Lu Pei, that were "influenced" by an outside source. For example, Goldenstein's Motherless Child Variations is influenced by Lithuanian folksongs and Joan Tower's Petroushates display a light touch of Celtic sea shanties. (Okay, okay, I jest.)
The recording is a splendid introduction to the work of five contemporary composers, some of them the usual suspects, but also a couple of promising fresh faces. Lu Pei's 9/11-influenced Xian He Ge/Song of Consonance reveals a distinct and intriguing musical voice that makes you want to hear more. The performances--by the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet, Eighth Blackbird Ensemble and the Amelia Piano Trio--are all first-rate and the sound quality is exceptional.
The record label is part of a larger initiative entitled The New Music Project, which "seeks to discover, perform, record, and distribute new music by both established and emerging composers of this century." It is run by Dr. Erich Stem, composer and assistant professor of music and instructor of music theory and composition, who says one of the goals of project is to make the label into an all-IU Southeast produced line of CD recordings that will combine the talents of faculty and student performers, recording engineers, graphic artists, designers, web developers, and business majors. They're off to a good start.
posted by Jerry Bowles
3/14/2006
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