The Department of Music and the Mondavi Center for the Performing
Arts at UC Davis present the Taproot New Music
Festival, November 6–9, 2025.
Overview
The Taproot New Music Festival will take place on the campus
of UC Davis during the week of November 3, 2025, and will
culminate in performances at the end of that week
(November 6–9, 2025). Between 6 to 8 selected visiting
composers will travel to Davis for the festival: they’ll have new
pieces performed, and will participate in seminars and workshops
facilitated by the visiting artists and UC Davis composition
faculty. The festival will feature Ensemble Dal Niente as
visiting ensemble. UC Davis’s own Empyrean Ensemble will also
join the festival line-up.
Featured Ensembles
Dal Niente
Michael Lewanski, conductor
Ensemble Dal Niente performs, develops, and sustains new and
experimental music for small to large chamber ensemble. Dal
Niente is dedicated to growing relationships with artists,
composers, and listeners; advancing distinct and challenging
musical voices; and sharing that work with their Chicago, United
States, and international communities.
Empyrean Ensemble
Sam Nichols, director
Prof. of Teaching, UC Davis Music Department
Matilda Hofman, conductor-in-residence
Continuing Lecturer, UC Davis Music Department
Ensemble-in-residence at UC Davis, the Empyrean Ensemble presents
engaging and eclectic programs, inviting audiences to experience
new musical sensations delivered with high artistry by its
extraordinary players—among the finest new music performers in
California.
Mission
The Taproot New Music Festival brings together a diverse group of
composers and performers, both local and visiting, and gives them
the chance to hear new work, and to make lasting connections. A
biennial festival at UC Davis, it features concerts and other
events, and also creates the opportunity for our students to work
alongside exceptional artists. Actively inclusive and
participatory, Taproot broadcasts a unique vision of how to
sustain a musical community.
