Pittsburgh Post-Gazette classical music critic Andrew Druckenbrod previews tonight's (Friday, September 16) performance by Slee Sinfonietta. Slee Sinfonietta performs at Bellefield Hall Auditorium at 8 p.m. You can get your tickets in advance through ProArtsTickets or at the door. Pitt students are admitted free with ID.
Composition and Theory PhD candidate Matthew Heap is a finalist in the Iron Composer Competition. On the morning of the competition, Iron Composer provides each finalist with an instrumentation, secret musical ingredient, and five hours to compose a new work which is then performed and broadcast live that same evening. The competition takes place Friday September 16, and will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on wclv.com, so tune in if you can!
Mathew Rosenblum, Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh and Chair of the Department of Music, was recently awarded a prestigious Barlow Endowment commission. In considering 106 applications, the endowment granted commissions to eleven composers.
In the Sunday, January 23rd edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, classical music critic Andy Druckenbrod gave an extensive profile on Music on the Edge, the Department's contemporary music series now in its 20th year.
Department of Music Chair Mathew Rosenblum is entering a busy season that will include two premieres and a residency. Rosenblum will be a Featured Guest Composer at the Festival of Contemporary American Music in Sacramento where his piece Throat will be premiered by Jean Kopperud and Tom Kolor on November 12.
Composition and Theory PhD candidate Ben Harris' graphical scores were featured in Contemporanea 2010, a new music festival taking place in Udine, Italy from October 12–24. Five of Harris' scores were selected for the 60x60 portion of the festival which focuses on the synergy between visual and sonic arts.
Charles Lwanga, a Fulbright scholar studying composition and theory in the Department of Music, received a first place certificate of achievement for his contributions to the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar titled Global Challenges, Local Solutions: Fostering Change through Social Entrepreneurship. The seminar took place from the April 29–May 2 in Washington, DC.
Music on the Edge presents ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) this Saturday night at the Warhol and the crack new music group's program has attracted a lot of attention from local media. You can see Mark Kanny's preview in today's Pittsburgh Tribune Review and another by Aaron Jentzen in this week's Pittsburgh City Paper.
The end of 2009 has brought much-deserved recognition to Music on the Edge and IonSound Project, the music department's most prominent contemporary music endeavors.
Chatham University will celebrate the Global Focus Year of West Africa at the Sounds of Africa Music Festival, Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3. Pauline Rovkah, professor of music and the festival director, has assembled Pittsburgh's finest music scholars and musicians for an incredible weekend of free events in the James Laughlin Music Hall. For more information contact Pauline Rovkah at 412-365-1676 or rovkah@chatham.edu. The festival will include discussions and performances by Pitt Department of Music faculty including Akin Euba, Eric Moe, and Roger Zahab, alumni Anicet Mundundu and members of Alia Musica Pittsburgh, and current graduate students Oyebade Dosunmu, Charles Lwanga, and Ayo Oluranti. Here is the complete schedule of events:
Friday, October 2, 4:00 p.m. "Jazz Imaginings of Africa: Aesthetics, Memory, and the African Cultural Continuum" This talk will include discussion and performance of select jazz composers' works, which demonstrate the creative connections between traditional African music and modern jazz. Dr. Kenan Foley, professor of music Dr. Anicet Mundundu, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), is an expert in traditional and contemporary music from the central African region Immediately following: Trio performance featuring Dr. Mundundu
Saturday, October 3, 2:00-4:30 p.m. "Composition in Africa: Transmission and Reception" (Panel discussion, 2:00-3:00) Moderator: Dr. Margit Hawelleck Dr. Akin Euba, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Music, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Kenan Foley Mr Charles Lwanga Dr. Eric Moe, composer and pianist, professor of music, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Anicet Mundundu Mr. Ayo Oluranti Chamber Music Concert Works by African composers: Kwabena Nketia, Akin Euba, Vindu Bangambula, Joshua Uzoigwe, Ayodamope Oluranti Performers: Kelly Lynch, Eric Moe, Roger Zahab, Robert Frankenberry, Oye Dosunmu, Ayodamope Oluranti, Richard Page*, Pauline Rovkah, Alia Musica Sextet *Principal Bass Clarinet of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra