Events Plaza, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art
Musicians
Alysa Banks (’21)
Diego Gordon
Noah Homsy-King
Alyssa Melendez
Gabriel Peters
Ruby Walker
Program
Steve Reich’s Pendulum Music (1968) is a
performance piece, which will be set in the Events Plaza at the
Manetti Shrem Museum. Pendulum Music makes use of
multiple microphones swinging, pendulum-style, over loudspeakers.
Featuring dramatic squawks of feedback, the piece concludes when
the inertia of the swinging microphones naturally come to rest.
Sharp rhythms gradually wind down into a sustained drone piece.
The composer writes, “If it’s done right, it’s kind of funny.”
Free
Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Old Davis Road, Davis, CA
The Department of Music and the Mondavi Center for the Performing
Arts at UC Davis present the 2025 Taproot New
Music Festival, with the majority of the concerts taking place
November 6–9. During this traditionally biennial festival, nine
participating composers will work with exceptional
artists to produce new works.
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. Four composers will
work with Dal Niente:
Sam Nichols, director
Professor of Teaching, Department of Music
Matilda Hofman, conductor-in-residence
Continuing Lecturer, Department of Music
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. Four composers will work with Empyrean:
Christian Baldini, music director and conductor
Professor of Music, Department of Music
The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra is a university student and
community orchestra in residence at the Mondavi Center — equally
committed to performing the most provocative music of the
orchestral repertoire and the work of living composers at UC
Davis and from afar.
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.
