Taproot New Music Festival: Opening Concert Sam Nichols, director
Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center
Performers
Colin Minigan, percussion
Members of Splinter Reeds
Kyle Bruckmann, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Jeff Anderle, bass clarinet
Empyrean Ensemble
Sam Nichols, director
Matilda Hofman, conductor-in-residence
Sandra McPherson, clarinet
Jennifer Ellis, harp
Michael Seth Orland, piano
Chris Froh, percussion
Hrabba Atladottir, violin
Ellen Ruth Rose, viola
Leighton Fong, cello
Program
John Cage: Child of Tree (1975)
Dana Reason: …a poet you must become (2023) for
oboe and fixed media
Joseph Kudirka: 21st Century Music (2008) for three
instruments
Kory Reeder: My Mother Made Many Blankets (2023) WORLD
PREMIERE
The Department of Music at UC Davis presents the Taproot
New Music Festival February 8–11, 2024, at the Ann E. Pitzer
Center at UC Davis.
Overview
The Taproot New Music Festival will take place on the campus
of the University of California, Davis, during the week of
February 5, 2024, and will culminate in performances at the end
of that week (February 8–11, 2024). Eight composers have been
chosen to participate in 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 Splinter Reeds as a visiting
ensemble. UC Davis’s own Empyrean Ensemble will also join the
festival line-up.
Participating Composers
Dean Boursiquot
Stephen Ryan Jackson
Trey Makler
Kory Reeder
Phillip Sink
Shahrzad Talebi
Amber Vistein
Zoë Wallace
Featured Ensembles
Splinter
Reeds
Splinter Reeds is the West Coast’s first reed quintet, comprising
five innovative musicians with a shared passion for new music.
The ensemble is committed to presenting top tier performances of
today’s best contemporary composition, showcasing the vast
possibilities of the reed quintet, commissioning new works, and
collaborating with fellow musicians and artists.
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.
