Music Now Fest '09
Feb. 18 – 10, 2009
William Bolcom - featured guest composer
photo credit: Katryn Conlin
Named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America and honored with multiple Grammy Awards, a National Medal of Arts, and a Pulitzer Prize for music, William Bolcom (b. 1938) is a distinguished American composer of chamber, operatic, vocal, choral, cabaret, ragtime and symphonic music.
William Bolcom began composition studies at the age of 11 with George Fredrick McKay and John Verall at the University of Washington, continuing piano lessons with Madame Berthe Poncy Jacobson. He later studied with Darius Milhaud at Mills College while working on his Master of Arts degree, with Leland Smith at Stanford University while working on his D.M.A., and with Olivier Messiaen and Milhaud at the Paris Conservatoire, where he received the 2éme Prix de Composition. Bolcom taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973-2008. In 1983 he was named a full professor and was Chairman of the Composition Department from 1998 to 2003. In the fall of 1994 the University of Michigan named him the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished University Professor of Composition.
As a composer, Bolcom has written four violin sonatas; eight symphonies; three operas (McTeague, A View from the Bridge and A Wedding), plus several musical theater operas; eleven string quartets; two film scores; incidental music for stage plays, including Arthur Miller's Broken Glass; fanfares and occasional pieces; and an extensive catalogue of chamber and vocal works. Bolcom won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1988 for 12 New Etudes for Piano, and four 2005 Grammy Awards for his setting of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience on the Naxos label. In February 2008 the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Chorus premiered his Eighth Symphony in Boston and in Carnegie Hall, New York City. Within the same month the Guarneri and Johannes String Quartets premiered Bolcom's Octet: Double Quartet.
Music Now Fest'09 Events
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Faculty recital 8 p.m. – Pease
The opening recital sets the stage for the festival with a variety of works by composers Whitney Prince, Samuel Barber, Arvo Pärt, Brian McCloskey and Anthony Iannaccone. Faculty and guest artists include Glenda Kirkland, soprano, Kimberly Cole-Luevano, clarinet, Julie Stone, flute, Carter Eggers, trumpet, Dawn Lindblade, clarinet; and pianists Garik Pedersen, Anne Beth Gajda and Larisa Simington.
Thursday, Feb. 19
Composer convocation and welcome 11 a.m. – Pease
EMU welcomes William Bolcom, featured composer, to Music Now Fest ’09. Mr. Bolcom will discuss and play excerpts from his works.
Open orchestra rehearsal 1 p.m. – Pease
Open rehearsal of Commedia with William Bolcom and the Symphony Orchestra, directed by Kevin Miller.
Open choir rehearsal 3 p.m. – Pease
Open rehearsal with the University Choir of Bolcom’s Maha Sonnet, Chorale on St. Anne’s Hymn, and The Rhodora, directed by Trey Jacobs.
Chamber music of William Bolcom 8 p.m. – Pease
This concert features chamber music of William Bolcom, including Five Fold Five, First Piano Quartet, Three Ghost Rags, Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano, Virtuosity Rag, and Gospel Preludes. Participants include faculty and guest artists Daniel Foster, Robert Reed, David M. Pierce, Julie Stone, Garik Pedersen, Kristy Meretta, Kathryn Goodson, Larisa Simington, Kimberly Cole-Luevano, James Wagner, Denise Root-Pierce, Donald Babcock, Carter Eggers, Matthew Hansen, Thomas Carter, and T. J. Perry.
Friday, Feb. 20
Open band rehearsal 11 a.m. – Pease
Open rehearsal of Song and “Machine” from Symphony No. 5 with William Bolcom and the Wind Symphony, directed by Mary Schneider.
Meet the composer 2 p.m. – Alexander Recital Hall
William Bolcom participates in a conversational exchange with a composer’s panel and audience members about the compositional process and issues related to contemporary music.
Open band rehearsal 4 p.m. – Pease
Open rehearsal of Augusta Reed Thomas’ Magneticfireflies with the Symphony Band, directed by John Zastoupil.
Festival finale 8 p.m. – Pease
Music Now Fest ’09 concludes with a concert of contemporary music presented by the EMU Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Symphony Band, University Choir, Chamber Choir, and Percussion Ensemble. Selections by William Bolcom include Commedia, Song, and “Machine” from Symphony No. 5. Admission: $8 adults, $4 students and seniors, available at the door. Advance sales: EMU Convocation Center, 734.487.2282.
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About Music Now Fest
EMU’s 16th biennial new music festival, Music Now Fest ‘09 offers three days of programs showcasing the work of a distinguished living American composer, and provides a unique hands-on insight into contemporary music. William Bolcom will interact directly with students and the public in panel discussions, lectures and rehearsals in preparation for the performance of his works. The festival displays the collective talents of EMU’s music faculty and students as well as guest artists.
One of the most highly esteemed festivals of its kind in the Midwest, Music Now Fest provides a unique opportunity to experience contemporary music that is accessible, cogent, expressive and memorable. Music Now Fest began in 1979, organized by EMU compose-in-residence Anthony Iannaccone and Max Plank. Past guest composers have included Samuel Adler, John Corigliano (twice), Lawrence Dillon, Karel Husa, Anthony Iannaccone, Libby Larsen, Steven Paulus, Vincent Persichetti, Daniel Pinkham, Michael Schelle, Peter Schickele, Joan Tower, Fisher Tull and Dan Welcher.
