A Red Hot Start to Michigan’s New Music Season
Up until this last weekend, the true new music season was yet to begin at the University of Michigan. True, fabulous the Symphony Band and members of the performance faculty…
A Gifted Guest and Works by Familiar Faces
The University of Michigan’s new music scene gained a full head of steam leading into this weekend’s Fall Recess with an appearance by Guest Artist Kayako Matsunaga and the Michigan…
A visit from Susan Botti and Marilyn Shrude
Last week the Composition Department at the University of Michigan hosted two distinguished guest composers: Susan Botti and Marilyn Shrude. Their visit was marked both by an appearance at our…
Joe Gramley’s “Made in America”
After a long summer, students have returned to the University of Michigan. With all the excitement surrounding a new year of school, I found myself most eager to resume my…
My (Postponed) Final Field Report From The Aspen Music Festival: The Last Composers’ Recital
For the students in Aspen’s Composition Individual Studies Program, the last week of the festival culminated the final student composers’ concert last Friday, August 19th. This evening of music not…
Field Report #3 from the Aspen Musical Festival: the first student composers’ concert
This is my first year at the Aspen Music Festival, and the way the second session composition program has been run is a little different than it usually is. Namely,…
Field Report #2 from the Aspen Music Festival: Gabriel Kahane, Alan Fletcher, Luciano Berio…
Last spring, a friend of mine joked I would welcome the incredible density of performances here at Aspen because, without them, I may get bored. In my first week here…
Field Report #1 from the Aspen Music Festival: Ligeti and Eötvös, among others
“Magical” is a pretty cheesy way to describe anything, particularly one’s time at a music festival. Yet, something – at least – special happened during yesterday’s Aspen Festival Orchestra performance…
Sounds of Fes, Morocco
I am currently visiting my brother who teaches English at a University in Fes, Morocco. One of his roommates is Chris Witulski, a doctoral candidate in ethnomusicology from the University…
On Brains, Babbitt, and the End of the Year
Last Saturday night I saw a concert that paired, more closely than any before, technology with the living composer. The debut performances of the MiND (Music in Neural Dimensions) Ensemble…