The University of Florida School of Music and the Florida Contemporary Music Festival welcome the Society of Composers, Inc. conference to campus Nov. 12-14.
The 50th anniversary conference will include 12 concerts, panel discussions, keynote addresses and several receptions taking place in the Music Building, University Auditorium and the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Guest artists and UF’s own music students will perform more than 100 new pieces encompassing genres ranging from traditional to experimental. All events are free and open to the public.
The closing concert entitled “Music of Our Time” will take place Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Professor Will Kesling will conduct the UF Concert Choir, while Matthew Wardell, music director and conductor of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the UF Symphony Orchestra. Those attending can expect new works that are funny, audience-friendly and performed in five different languages.
Participants will include 90 composers, guest performing ensembles and UF student and faculty performers. The works of three winners of the SCI and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Student Commission Competition will also be presented. The composer-in-residence for the festival will be the internationally acclaimed composer, educator and pianist Don Freund. This year’s guest performers will include North Carolina-based The Red Clay Saxophone Quartet, musicians from soundSCAPE, a new music festival in Italy, and esteemed pianists Mary Hellman and Dan Koppelman.
“One thing that distinguishes the UF School of Music from most programs around the country is the heavy emphasis placed on the composition and performance of music of our own time,” said event co-coordinator and UF professor of composition Paul Richards. “Part of the mission of a music school within a research university is to embrace and encourage new ways of creating and performing music, and this conference serves as a focal point for these activities.”
For the full schedule of events and to learn more about the SCI National Conference, please visit arts.ufl.edu/sci2015. Additional information about the “Music of Our Time” closing concert can be found at performingarts.ufl.edu.
To learn more about the UF College of the Arts, please visit www.arts.ufl.edu or contact Leah Spellman at lspellman@arts.ufl.edu or 352-273-1489.
