New Sounds Festival highlights contemporary music

Contact: Meredith Bradford
Photo of the .

International Contemporary Ensemble

KALAMAZOO—The 2013 New Sounds Festival runs Thursday, March 14, through Friday, April 5. All events are held in Western Michigan University's Dalton Center.

Originally an annual showcase concert for WMU composition students, the festival continues to expand and highlight some of the best contemporary music in the world.

This year's festival includes the renowned new music collective International Contemporary Ensemble, a mini-festival featuring 20 guest artists presenting new multimedia works, guest composer Kyong Mee Choi, New York-based electric guitar quartet Dither, and an exciting collaboration with Fontana Chamber Arts, featuring a WMU faculty ensemble conducted by School of Music Director David Colson.

Events

  • Guest artist recital: Dither Electric Guitar Quartet
    Thursday, March 14, 7:30 p.m.
    Dalton Center Recital Hall, Free
  • Igor Stravinsky's “L’histoire du soldat”
    Friday, March 15, 8 p.m.
    Saturday, March 16, 8 p.m.
    Dalton Center Multimedia Room
    Tickets range from $15 to $35, available from Fontana Chamber Arts at (269) 382-7774
  • Electronic Music Midwest Mini-Festival
    Sunday, March 17, 2, 5 and 8 p.m.
    Dalton Center Multimedia Room, Free
  • Birds on a Wire, featuring Kyong Mee Choi, composer and Keith Kirchoff, piano
    Thursday, March 21, 7:30 p.m.
    Dalton Center Recital Hall, Free
  • Dalton Live and Interactive concert: International Contemporary Ensemble
    Wednesday, March 27, 7:30 p.m.
    Dalton Center Recital Hall
    Tickets $12, Seniors $10, Students $5; contact (269) 387-2300, (800) 228-9858 or millerauditorium.com
  • Student Composers Concert I
    Monday, April 1, 7:30 p.m.
    Dalton Center Recital Hall, Free
  • Student Composers Concert II
    Friday, April 5, 8 p.m.
    Dalton Center Lecture Hall, Free

The 2013 New Sounds Festival is presented by the WMU School of Music in collaboration with Fontana Chamber Arts.

For more information, visit wmich.edu/composition/New-Sounds-Festival/NSF.html and fontanachamberarts.org or contact the School of Music at (269) 387-4678.