| Tony Malaby plays saxophone with William Parker on bass in Tamarindo Trio. |
The cutting edge sounds of howling jazz saxophone, ringing wood and the blips and beeps of electronics
mixed with piano, trombones and other instruments all be heard at New Musical Festival at Bowling Green
State University that runs Oct. 12 through 15.
The festival, "Method in Madness," kicks off Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. with a concert by avant garde
jazz saxophonist Tony Malaby’s Tamarindo Trio at the Cla-Zel in downtown Bowling Green.
The show is the first event of the festival that runs through Saturday night with concerts, lectures and
demonstrations.
Featured composer is David Lang, a founding member of Bang on the Can, a multifaceted organization
devoted to promoting contemporary music.
Lang’s music is both deeply rooted in the classical tradition and intent on breaching stylistic
boundaries. It has been described as being "by turns ominous, ethereal, urgent, hypnotic,
unsettling, and very emotionally direct. Much of his work seeks to expand the definition of virtuosity
in music – even the deceptively simple pieces can be fiendishly difficult to play and require incredible
concentration by musicians and audiences alike."
His choral piece "little match girl passion" won the Pulitzer Prize in Music for 2008, and the
recording by the Theatre of Voices won a Grammy in 2010.
| David Lang is guest composer at the BGSU New Music Festival |
Nine of his works will be performed during the festival. Four of them, including his arrangement of Lou
Reed’s "Heroin" for voice and cello, will be performed at the Cla-Zel Oct. 13 at 9:30 p.m. The
festival’s culminating concert Oct 15 at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall will feature his works for: choir,
"again (after Ecclesiastes)"; large wind ensemble, "Cheating, Lying, Stealing," in
the world premiere for this version; and orchestra, "Grind to a Halt."
Lang will speak about his work in the composer’s talk Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. in Bryan Recital Hall.
"Timber," by Mike Gordon, one of Lang’s Fellow Bang on a Can founders, will receive its
American premiere Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. in a concert in Kobacker Hall by guest performers Mantra Percussion.
The hour-long piece is performed on simantras, essentially 2X4s, in graduated lengths. The constant
rat-a-tat patterns, each independent from the other, on the wood creates an intricate weave of rhythm
and a resonant ringing.
Mantra will also perform works composed by students from the Toledo School of the Arts Oct. 15 at 10:30
a.m. in Bryan Recital Hall in the Moore Musical Arts Center.
Educator and performer Christopher Azzara, from the Eastman School of Music, will speak about
"Inspiration and Meaning Through Improvisation" Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. in Bryan.
The opening act features three veteran participants on New York’s vibrant avant garde jazz scene. In
addition to Malaby on tenor and soprano saxophone, the trio features bassist William Parker, considered
a major force in jazz as a player, bandleader and activist. Drummer Tom Rainey rounds out the ensemble.
They will be in residency at the College of Musical Arts on the day of the concert.
New music by more than two dozen other composers and performed by guest artists and BGSU faculty and
graduate students will be featured in recitals throughout the festival.
All events except the final concert are free.
Online:
www.bgsu.edu/colleges/music/MACCM/festival/BGNMF2011/index.html
