Eight composers from as close as Davis and as far away as Ankara,
Turkey have been invited to participate in the Taproot New Music Festival at UC Davis from Jan.
30 to Feb. 2. These composers will have their works
premiered by Quince Ensemble, Spektral Quartet, and the UC
Davis Empyrean Ensemble. Taproot grew out of a
composers workshop and performance festival started in 2010 and
held every two years. The goal of the festival is to bring
together a diverse group of composers to nurture musical and
professional development and relationships.
One of the most important priorities of the music department
today is establishing a fund to cover the otherwise out-of-pocket
expenses for individual music lesson instruction for UC Davis
students. These students gain necessary one-on-one instruction
from a career professional in their field and use those skills in
individual and group performances—including the UC Davis Symphony
Orchestra, Choruses, Percussion Ensemble, Baroque, Early Music,
and more. We seek everyone’s support in this endeavor.
One of UC Davis’s highest priorities is the safety of its
students and all members of its community. UC Davis
prohibits all forms of sexual harassment and sexual violence,
including sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and
stalking. Such conduct violates University policy and may
violate California law.
Two versions of a miniature opera by Ryan Suleiman, a doctoral
student in music composition and theory, and Cristina Fríes, who
earned an M.A. in creative writing from the English department,
will have performances in Sacramento, Berkeley and San Francisco
this month.
UC Davis Associate Professor of Music Mika Pelo is one of fifteen
composers who has been awarded a 2019 Fromm Music Foundation
commission. The foundation seeks to strengthen composition and to
bring contemporary concert music closer to the public. In
addition to the commissioning fee, a subsidy is available for the
ensemble performing the premiere of the commissioned work.
The American Musicological Society has given its annual award for
a book in the category of teaching to UC Davis Professor of Music
Carol A. Hess. Experiencing
Latin American Music (UC Press) draws on human
experience as a point of departure for musical
understanding. Students explore broad topics—identity, the
body, religion, and more—and relate these to Latin American
musics while refining their understanding of musical concepts and
cultural-historical contexts.
Christian Baldini, music director and
conductor
UC Davis Professor of Music
Ravel:Pavane pour une infante
défunte
The haegeum is a two-stringed fiddle
of Korea. The physical nature of the haegeum allows it to
produce a diverse variety of timbres making it a popular
instrument for court, folk, and contemporary music. It is even
being used in Korean pop music.
Jean Ahn:The Woven Silk for
Haegeum and Orchestra
with Soo Yeon Lyuh
Christian Baldini:Unequal
Freedom, an Exploratory Concerto for Haegeum,
Electronics, and Orchestra
with Soo Yeon Lyuh
Premiere
Steve Reich’sMusic for 18 Musicians
(1974–76)
with members of the Empyrean Ensemble
Hrabba Atladottir, violin
Michael Seth Orland, piano Hannah Addario-Berry,
cello
voices of the Quince Ensemble,
Liz Pearse | Kayleigh Butcher
Amanda DeBoer Bartlett | Carrie Henneman Shaw
UC Davis Lecturer in Music Chris Froh and
undergraduate percussion students,
marimbas, xylophones, and vibraphones,
UC Davis Lecturer in Music I-Hui Chen, piano,
with two
to-be-announced pianists,
UC Davis Lecturer in Music Ann
Lavin, clarinetist,
UC Davis Graduate Student in Music Joseph Vasinda,
clarinetist,
and Stephen Bingen,
audio engineer
