Return to the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music

View the 27th Annual New Music & Art Festival program book

The New Music & Art Festival at Bowling Green State University has traditionally brought international musicians and artists to Bowling Green for a celebration of current art and music. The work of over two dozen composers and artists will be presented at the 27th Annual New Music & Art Festival on Oct. 19 – 21, 2006. The festival includes concerts, film screenings, lectures, exhibitions, workshops and other exciting opportunities. Organized by the directors of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music and the Fine Arts Center Galleries, Burton Beerman and Jacqueline Nathan, the Festival supports the creation of new work and engages both the University and city communities in the process of art appreciation and awareness. The majority of events are accessible, free and open to the public.

Born in Westfield, Massachusetts in 1938, special guest composer Frederic Rzewski first studied music with Charles Mackey and subsequently with Walter Piston, Roger Sessions and Milton Babbitt. Rzewski’s early friendship with Christian Wolff and David Behrman, and his acquaintance with John Cage and David Tudor strongly influenced his development in both composition and performance. Together with Alvin Curran and Richard Teitelbaum, he formed the MEV (Musica Elettronica Viva) group, which quickly became known for its pioneering work in live electronics and improvisation. Since 1977 Rzewski has been Professor of Composition at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Liege, Belgium. He has also taught at the Yale School of Music, the University of Cincinnati, the State University of New York at Buffalo, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of California at San Diego, Mills College, the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, the Hochschule der Kuenste in Berlin, and the Hochschule fuer Musik in Karlsruhe.

“Above all we want the music to speak for itself as it was meant to be.”--Thelema Trio
Special guest ensembleThe Thelema Trio is a unique Belgian ensemble, going far beyond their classical training to become a voice for the composers of today. The Trio creates a blaze of colors, ranging from orchestral lushness to the energy and power of avant-garde, rock and jazz. Thelema’s members are former students of the Royal Conservatory of Ghent, where they studied chamber music with Marcel Lequeux, Filip Rathé and John Whitelaw. The ensemble has been giving concerts since March 2003and are past winners of the winners at the Biannual Chamber Music Contest of Rotary Club Ghent. Their concerts have taken them to halls all over Belgium, in the Netherlands, Italy and Peru. In 2005 they performed at the International Clarinet Festival 2005 in Tama, Tokyo. That same year, they toured the United States, after being invited by the Society of Composers, Inc., to play American and Belgian works at their national conference. In November 2003 they started a new program consisting of traditional Peruvian and South American music arranged by clarinetist Marco Antonio Mazzini.

Madeleine Shapiro has premiered numerous recent works for cello, with and without electronics. She is the recipient of two Performance Incentive Awards from the American Composers Forum. She has presented recitals in Belgium, Italy and Argentina. From 1974-1996, Shapiro was the cellist and co-director of The New Music Consort, an ensemble specializing in the performance of twentieth century music. The Consort toured the United States and Europe, presenting premiere performances of works by such eminent composers as Milton Babbitt, John Cage, Charles Wuorinen and Mario Davidovsky. As co-director of the Consort, Shapiro was the recipient of a number of awards and grants including the 1993 First Prize in Adventurous Programming awarded by ASCAP-Chamber Music America. She is currently the director of the chamber ensemble ModernWorks! and an adjunct professor at the Mannes College of Music, New York City. She has recorded for New World Records, CRI, Mode and Harvestworks.