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.
Chris Buckholz, Assistant Professor of Trombone, has released his third solo CD
Assistant Professor of Trombone Chris Buckholz has released his third solo CD, Versatility, a double album of classical and jazz.
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In this talk Dr. Finnie D. Coleman discusses a closing chapter from his book manuscript Visible Rhythms. Music from Janelle Monae, Kendrick Lamar, and Brother Ali set the stage for a discussion of Hip Hop Activism, the Black Lives Matter Movement…
Music from the Americas Concert Series: The American-Mexican Connection featuring Mexican pianist Mauricio Náder
Mexican pianist Mauricio Náder, one of the most active and iconic figures on the Latin American music scene today, presents virtuoso pieces by U.S. and Mexican composers, showcasing a vast spectrum of styles, techniques and emotions.