Making a joyful noise

IU’s New Music Ensemble’s West Coast tour not your typical spring break

By Meg Liffick

The students of IU’s New Music Ensemble will leave tomorrow (March 15) for a tour of the West Coast, bringing “New Music from Indiana” to the cities of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Led by director David Dzubay, associate professor of composition in the IU School of Music, the New Music Ensemble will perform a broad spectrum of 20th-century music, focusing on works from the past 30 years. Founded in 1974, the ensemble consists of IU School of Music students who, for the most part, are graduate performance majors.

“This is the most substantial undertaking for the New Music Ensemble to date. Hitting four major markets is a wonderful opportunity,” said Dzubay.

The ensemble will begin its tour with a performance on Sunday (March 16) at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony. The tour will continue with shows on Monday (March 17) at Portland State University’s Lincoln Hall and on Tuesday (March 18) at Lewis and Clark College’s Evans Auditorium. From Portland, the group will head to San Francisco for a performance on Wednesday (March 19) at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The tour will conclude in Los Angeles on Friday (March 21) at Zipper Auditorium at the Colburn School of Performing Arts.

The New Music Ensemble will perform music composed by several IU faculty members, including Iannis Xenakis, a former professor in the Department of Composition. Additionally, the group will highlight the work of a local composer at each venue. Forrest Pierce, an IU School of Music alumnus, will have his composition, Broken Teeth, performed at Lewis and Clark College, where he currently teaches. The group also will perform Dzubay’s composition, Footprints, in Portland, where he grew up. Footprints, which features Thomas Robertello, an IU professor of the flute, was inspired by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“We want to represent the variety of music that we play and also present to audiences their local talent,” Dzubay said.

In addition to performing, the group will be hosting receptions for alumni and prospective students in each of the four cities. Dzubay said the tour will be a great opportunity to showcase the School of Music and to attract talented new students to the university.

http://www.iub.edu/~nme/tour2003.html