Description:

Today’s music curricula incorporate a wide range of instruction in technique, history, theory, and, increasingly, contemporary performance. Little consideration, though, is given to one of the core aspects of a performer’s (and to some degree a composer’s) professional life: concert programming of new music. Even professional concert producers rarely learn this aspect of the profession through formal education. Instead, they approach it with a mixture of experience, opportunity, and taste. In our musical landscape, programming new works has gone far beyond the traditional challenge of choosing the right piece for the right audience and deciding what to play between Beethoven and Brahms. Today, new-music programming incorporates commissioning new works, reconceptualizing the concert as a whole, and developing a sense of cultural and political place. Concert producers and performers alike need to augment their aesthetic understanding with a broad knowledge of current and past developments in the field.

The purpose of this symposium is to begin a discussion of these aspects of music programming and of strategies to address them. Leading new-music performers who have explored innovative programming, as well as producers from Chicago’s inventive new-music scene, will share their experiences and observations, followed by reflections from musicologists. The symposium continues with thoughts on music programming in academia and contributions from graduate students on the challenges they will face as the next generation programming new music.

Keynote Speaker Claire Chase, executive director, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), and Bienen School visiting artist

9 a.m.     Welcome Address, Hans Thomalla, director, Institute for New Music, Bienen School of Music

Section 1: Beyond the Symphony Concert—Tendencies in Contemporary Music Programming

9:15 a.m. Keynote Address, Claire Chase

10 a.m. Chicago Scene—Ideas, Challenges, and Statements from Chicago New Music Producers

     • Doyle Armbrust, violist, Spektral Quartet

     • Peter Margasak, curator, Frequency Series, Constellation; music writer, Chicago Reader

     • Peter Taub, director of performance programs, Museum of Contemporary Art

     • Hamza Walker, director of education and associate curator, Renaissance Society,        University of Chicago

     • Austin Wulliman, violinist, Spektral Quartet and Ensemble Dal Niente

11:45 a.m. Panel Discussion

12:30 p.m. Lunch Break

Section 2: New Music Programming and Academia

2 p.m. Donald Nally, director of choral organizations, Bienen School of Music

2:45 p.m. Michael Lewansky, assistant professor of ensembles, DePaul University

3:15 p.m. Graduate Student Presentation

Section 3: “New Forms”—Ideas and Challenges for a New Generation

4 p.m. Ryan Dohoney, assistant professor of musicology, Bienen School of Music

4:30 p.m. Participants Roundtable Discussion

5:30 p.m. Closing Statement