ScheduleofEvents

AbouttheFestival

 24th Annual New Music & Art Festival

 

Thursday,October16

3:30 p.m. seminar
Proclaimed "an innovative composer who merges diverse musical customs in works that transcend conventional aesthetic boundaries," Bright Sheng received the coveted MacArthur Foundation Fellowship—the so-called "Genius Award"—in November 2001. "Sheng is a fresh voice in cross-cultural music," the Foundation Committee further noted. "He will continue to be an important leader in exploring and bridging musical traditions." His music is noted for its lyrical, limpid melodies inspired by the folk music of China, particularly from the remote Chinese province of Qinghai, where Sheng was sent during the the Cultural Revolution; a Bartókian sense of rhythmic propulsion; and musical and theatrical gestures borrowed or derived from Chinese opera. Although his works are not "political" music, two of his major orchestral works (H'un (Lacerations) and Nanking! Nanking!) indeed were inspired by events in recent Chinese history.
Bryan Recital Hall

5:30 p.m. exhibition openings
Sensory Integration, a composite of digital audio and visuals produced by Computer Art Club and Composer's Forum students.
Experiential Extremism, an interactive sonic/visual art installation by BGSU faculty members Elainie Lillios and Bonnie Mitchell.
Bowen-Thompson Student Union Galleries

7:15 p.m. festival forum
Pre-concert talk by composer Bright Sheng.
Bryan Recital Hall

8:00 p.m. concert
Recognized as one of the world's greatest string quartets, the Takács Quartet appears regularly in major music capitals and prestigious festivals. Based in Colorado, the quartet has been the ensemble-in-residence at the University of Colorado since 1983. The initially all-Hungarian quartet, now led by British-born Edward Dusinberre, received a 2003 Grammy in the Chamber Music Performance category and Gramaphone's "Chamber Music Recording of the Year" award in 2002 and 1998. The quartet will perform selections from its award-winning Beethoven and Bartók cycles, as well as a quartet they recently commissioned from featured composer Bright Sheng. This event is presented in conjunction with the College of Musical Arts Festival Series.
$ Kobacker Hall

10:30 p.m. screening
Videos by Gary Lee Nelson and Christine Gorbach, Sylvia Pengilly, John Villec and others.
Cla-Zel Theatre

 

Friday,October17

10:30 a.m. concert
Works by Braxton Blake, Gregory Cornelius, Jeff Herriott and David Heuser.
* Bryan Recital Hall

2:30 p.m. concert
Works by Mikel Kuehn, Julie Yount Morgan, Bright Sheng, Karen P. Thomas and Michael Sidney Timpson.
Kobacker Hall

6:30 p.m. exhibition opening
Radical Line: Innovation in Chinese Contemporary Painting, October 19–November 9.
This exhibition sets its sights on the influences—collision, rejection, integration—that have motivated a number of contemporary Chinese artists to reexamine their relationship to traditional Chinese media and values as they intersect with Western culture and ideas. Radical Line refers not only to the tradition of ink drawing and calligraphy, but also to an edge or border that has been delineated, and crossed, by these artists. The invited artists, all with significant international exhibition records, include Xu Bing, Qin Feng, Wang Dongling, Pan Xinglei, Huang Chih-Yang, Gu Wenda, Zhou Hejun, Xing Fei, Qiu Zhijie and Wang Tiande, C.C. Wang and others. Each utilizes innovative interpretations of traditional Chinese ink and scroll media in aesthetically rich visuals that correspond to a concern for language, writing, and the challenges of cross-cultural communication.

These artists are impressive: for example, Xu Bing was a MacArthur Grant recipient, and is probably the most famous Chinese artist known internationally. Qin Feng is one of the younger and most powerful innovators in ink today who works between China, the U.S. and Germany. Wang Dongling is the most noted calligrapher in China, and exhibited in the "China: 5,000 Years" Guggenheim show in 1998. Qiu Zhijie is one of the most important experimental artists working in China today. C.C. Wang, whose work was included in numerous museum exhibitions, was a cultural hero in China. Many admirers consider him the last of a centuries-old line of Chinese scholar-artists.
This exhibition was curated by Ethan Cohen.
Sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council, Ethnic Cultural Arts Program, and Ohio Humanities Council.
Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery

7:00 p.m. performance art
Pan Xing Lei will create a performance piece that reflects his interdisciplinary and provocative approach to art-making. His performances often involve flexible latex rubber figures that were inspired originally by the artist's participation in the tragic Tiananmen Square Demonstrations in 1989, where he and five other sculpture students created and erected the Goddess of Democracy monument. Pan has had numerous one man shows and performances, and has been included in important group events in China, Hong Kong, Germany and the U.S., including the landmark traveling exhibition Inside Out - New Chinese Art, seen in New York at the Asia Society and PS1. He was featured in the March 2001 issue of Art News, in an article by Hugh Akin titled Camouflaged Revolutionary.
Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery

8:00 p.m. concert
Works by William Albright, Karim Al-Zand, Marilyn Shrude, Bright Sheng, Haskell Small and Harvey Sollberger, performed by ensemble-in-residence BraveNewWorks, as well as BGSU faculty, students, alumni and other guest performers. BraveNewWorks is an ensemble dedicated to the performance and the fostering of the creation of contemporary music. The group also seeks to expand audiences for new music through performances, workshops and collaborations with the arts.
$ Kobacker Hall

 

Saturday,October18

11:00 a.m. panel
All Over the Map: A lively and unconstrained discussion focusing on the roles of ethnicity and tradition in contemporary art and music, featuring guest artists and composers from the Festival.
Little Theatre, Toledo Museum of Art

2:00 p.m. concert
Works by David Kechley, Bernard Rands, Bright Sheng and Ileana Perez Velazquez.
Great Gallery, Toledo Museum of Art

6:15 p.m. presentation
Xan Palay will speak.
Fine Art Center Room 204

7:00 p.m. exhibition opening
Xan Palay: The Image of the City October 18–November 2.
This young Ohio artist has worked with light and environmental installation for much of her career, moving recently into more sculptural forms. She has received Awards and Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council and Arts Midwest and has recently won two major sculpture commissions in Ohio. The installation will transform the gallery into a miniature dreamscape industrial city defined by symbolic smokestacks, shadowed factories and a closely hovering sky/universe. While this project was conceived prior to 9/11, the experience of the installation is unavoidably altered by the experience that the visitor brings to it.
Sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council.
Willard Wankelman Gallery

8:00 p.m. concert
Works by Walter Mays, Kevin Puts, Dean Roush, Bernard Rands, Bright Sheng, Joseph T. Spaniola and Orianna Webb performed by the Bowling Green Philharmonia and BGSU Wind Ensemble.
$ Kobacker Hall

 

The festival schedule is subject to change.

 

The program book and schedule are available in .pdf format.

 

Locations:

Activities take place at BGSU's Moore Musical Arts and Fine Arts Centers, Olscamp Hall and the Bowen-Thompson Student Union, as well as the Toledo Museum of Art and the Cla-Zel Theatre.

Gallery Hours:

Admission:

Most events are free and open to the public. $ Indicates requiring paid admission. * Indicates free ticketed event.
Tickets are available from the Moore Musical Arts Center Box Office, open weekdays noon to 6:00 p.m.
Call (419) 372-8171 or (800) 589-2224 for tickets.

For further information:

Contact the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at (419) 372-2685 or The Fine Arts Center Galleries at (419) 372-8525.

 

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