The 19th Biennial Festival of New Music took place January 30 – February 2, 2019 at the Florida State University College of Music. The festival included masterclasses and presentations by guest artists, plus seven different concerts introducing acoustic and electroacoustic compositions for both small and large ensembles. The residencies of the featured artists Georg Friedrich Haas and Meitar Ensemble were provided by the Wiley and Lucilla Housewright Eminent Scholar Chair in Music. Additional funding for the Festival of New Music was provided by the Florida State University College of Music.
The festival included thirty-five composers selected from across the country to attend performances of their works. Concerts on Thursday, January 31 and Friday, February 1 took place in Opperman Music Hall and presented chamber music by Haas and other selected composers; the Friday evening concert introduced the Meitar Ensemble. Saturday, February 2 featured a concert of electronic and electroacoustic music in Opperman Music Hall. The closing concert on February 2 in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall highlighted the FSU Symphony Orchestra and Wind Orchestra, as well as soloist Gregory Sauer. The evening concluded with the University Symphony performing Traum in des Sommers Nacht (2009), a piece by festival composer in residence Georg Friedrich Haas.
For over thirty-five years the College of Music has hosted a Festival of New Music that brings significant composers and performers of contemporary music from around the world to our campus. The Festival enables faculty, students, and the community to be exposed to ideas and currents in new music; students in particular are able to work with and speak directly with some of its foremost practitioners. Concerts, master classes and workshops are a hallmark of this four-day festival. This year’s festival also included three world premieres by composers Ayal Adler, Clifton Callender, and Mark Wingate.
The 20th Biennial Festival of New Music will take place February 3 – 6, 2021.
Here are a selection of photos from this year’s 19th Biennial Festival of New Music:
