During the spring of 2015, Drs. Kristin Ditlow and Karola Obermüller began planning the first installments of a contemporary music exchange. This exchange would bring American contemporary music to Germany, and likewise sponsor performances of contemporary German music in New Mexico.
The project quickly expanded to include Professors Eric Lau and Scott Ney, with performances in Nürnberg and Darmstadt and master classes in Würzburg.
darabq1summer2015 from Kristin Ditlow on Vimeo.
The program included compositions by Volker Blumenthaler, professor for composition and theory at Nuremberg Hochschule für Musik, Cord Meijering, director of Akademie für Tonkunst, Darmstadt; UNM Music Faculty Karola Obermüller, Jose-Luis Hurtado, Peter Gilbert, and Richard Hermann; and noted composers Olivier Messiaen, Lori Laitman, Milton Babbitt, and James Beale.
The Nürnberg performance was hosted by Monika Teepe and Volker Blumenthaler while the Würzburg Hochschule für Musik hosted master classes for percussion and saxophone. The Akademie für Tonkunst, Darmstadt, was the host for the Darmstadt solo “klavierabend.”
Future performances and exchanges are being planned for the coming season.
Sigma Project Sax Quartet
Music from the Americas presents Spanish Sigma Project Sax Quartet, one of the leading ensembles of the European Contemporary new music scene.
Formed by Andrés Gomis, Josetxo Silgero, Ángel Soria and Alberto Chaves.
Music From the Americas Concert Series Presents Low Frequency Trio
Antonio Rosales, bass clarinet / Juan José García, double bass / José Luis Hurtado, piano
May 4th, 3:00 pm, CFA Keller Hall
2016 Composers’ Symposium: Indigenizing Art Music
The 45th Annual John Donald Robb Composers’ Symposium will take place March 28 – April 1, 2016. Indigenizing Art Music: Experiencing the sound of Native American influences in new music