TERRE HAUTE — Steve Reich, regarded widely as one of the greatest living composers, has been selected the principal guest composer of Indiana State University’s 43rd annual Contemporary Music Festival. He and a portion of the Steve Reich Ensemble will perform during the three-day festival Tuesday through Thursday.
The premier event of its kind in the United States, the ISU Contemporary Music Festival attracts an audience from throughout the world. All events are free. Other guests of this year’s festival include the Steve Reich Ensemble String Quartet and composition contest winner Lansing McLoskey.
Born in New York, Reich graduated with honors in philosophy from Cornell University in 1957. For the next two years, he studied composition with Hall Overton, and from 1958 to 1961 he studied at the Juilliard School of Music. Reich received his master’s degree in music from Mills College in 1963.
In 1966, Reich founded his own ensemble of three musicians, which rapidly grew to 18 members or more. Since 1971, Steve Reich and Musicians have frequently toured the world and have the distinction of performing to sold-out houses at venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall and the Bottom Line Cabaret.
Reich’s 1988 piece, “Different Trains,” marked a new compositional method, rooted in “It’s Gonna Rain” and “Come Out,” in which speech recordings generate the musical material for musical instruments. In 1990, he received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition for “Different Trains,” recorded by the Kronos Quartet.
In June 1997, in celebration of Reich’s 60th birthday, a 10-CD retrospective box set of Reich’s compositions, featuring several newly recorded and re-mastered works, was released. He won a second Grammy award in 1999 for his piece “Music for 18 Musicians.” In July 1999 a major retrospective of his work was presented by the Lincoln Center Festival.
Reich’s music has been performed by major orchestras and ensembles around the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, The Ensemble Intercontemporain, the London Sinfonietta, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In 1994, Reich was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, to the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in 1995, and, in 1999, awarded Commandeur de l’ordre des Arts et Lettres. In October 2006, Reich was awarded the Praemium Imperiale Award in Music. This important international award is for areas in the arts not covered by the Nobel Prize. He also received The Polar Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 2007.
McLoskey will participate in the festival as the Contemporary Music Festival/Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra composition contest winner. The composition competition was established to recognize outstanding composers of orchestral music.
His music has been performed to critical acclaim in 13 countries on six continents. He has received dozens of commissions and grants and has written for such renowned ensembles as The Hilliard Ensemble, Speculum Musicae and Dinosaur Annex. McLoskey is president of Composers in Red Sneakers, and faculty at the University of Miami. He earned a doctorate from Harvard University, where he directed The Harvard Group for New Music. He holds degrees with honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the USC Thornton School of Music, with additional studies at The Royal Danish Academy of Music.
The orchestral version of “Requiem” will have its world premiere during the Contemporary Music Festival. The piece was originally commissioned as a chamber work for The New Millennium Ensemble as a sort of “requiem for a millennium” and was subsequently expanded for orchestra. “Requiem” features a wide variety of instrumentation: flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, marimba, Balinese gongs, snare drums, toms, bass drum, triangle, suspended cymbals, vibraphone, tam-tam, bongos, crotales, piano and strings.
McLoskey admittedly came to the world of composition via a somewhat unorthodox route. The proverbial “Three Bs” for him were The Beatles, Bauhaus and Black Flag. His first experiences at writing music were as the guitarist and songwriter for punk rock bands in San Francisco in the early 1980s. It was actually through these years that he first developed a love for classical music.
The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, which performed at last year’s festival for the first time, returns to perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Tilson Auditorium.
The orchestra, consisting of 35 professional musicians, focuses on programming that is unique to its composition and size by presenting an annual concert series of masterworks from four centuries of music composed for the small orchestra. In keeping with its mission, the orchestra performs a body of music that most audiences have traditionally had few opportunities to hear in live performances.
Since 1967, more than 175 established and emerging composers-including 17 winners of the Pulitzer Prize and four winners of the Grawemeyer Award have participated in the ISU Contemporary Music Festival.
The 43rd annual Contemporary Music Festival is funded in part through Meet the Composer’s MetLife Creative Connections program and supported by grants from Arts Illiana; the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency; and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Contact the ISU music department at (812) 237-2771 or go to www.indstate.edu/music/cmf.html for more information.
Arts
Contemporary Music Festival set to kick off at Indiana State
- Arts
-
-
Terre Haute artist putting ‘The Good Housewife’ on exhibit in New Harmony
Former Terre Haute artist Mary Ann Michna will exhibit a series of mixed media artworks titlted “The Good Housewife” at the Women’s Institute and Gallery in New Harmony.
-
Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
-
‘All Dolled Up’ exhibit opens today VU’s Shircliff Gallery
“All Dolled Up,” an exhibition of handmade dolls, will open today at Vincennes University’s Shircliff Gallery of Art.
-
Bolte Taylor exhibit will feature 5-foot-tall brains
An Indiana brain scientist whose memoir about her recovery from a stroke became a best-seller has dreamed up an exhibit featuring giant brains that will be mounted around Bloomington this spring.
-
RCAA member presents ‘Waterfalls’ at Vigo Library
February brings a stunning exhibit of waterfalls by photographer Spencer Young to the Vigo County Public Library in Terre Haute.
-
River Wools’ Stitch Red/Wear Red part of First Friday events
Downtown Terre Haute’s First Friday is a monthly evening that encourages collaboration among downtown merchants, museums, galleries, and university and commercial venues.
-
Swope kicks off anniversary with ‘Reflecting’ exhibit
Swope Art Museum will kick off its 70th anniversary by hosting the exhibition, “Reflecting Terre Haute,” Friday through March 10 in the Haslem and Hodge galleries.
-
New Arts Corridor banners now hanging downtown
Arts Spaces Inc. recently worked with ISU’s Energize Downtown on a contest for a new banner design for the Arts Corridor.
-
Theater: Jan. 19, 2012
Today-Feb. 4 — “DEBBIE DOES DALLAS,” musical at Theatre on the Square, 627 Massachussetts Ave., Indianapolis. Call (317) 685-8687.
-
Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
-
BOOKS: Wabash Valley author to sign books at Java Haute on Saturday
Brazil resident Marjorie E. Hopkins will sign copies of her Christian Life book, “Dying to Meet Him: Wit and Wisdom from a Funeral Director’s Wife” from 1-3 p.m. Saturday in Java Haute, at 3805 Wabash Ave.
-
‘Magic School Bus Live!’ cruises into Rose
America's favorite bus zooms to the stage at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Hatfield Hall Theater on the campus of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
BOOKS: Rockville Library partners with Vigo for Big Read
Rockville Public Library and Rockville Correctional Facility’s vocational program (offered by Ivy Tech) are partnering with the Vigo County Public Library for The Big Read.
-
LTC offers murder mystery, singing valentines
To raise money for its spring trip to St. Louis, Lincoln Trail College’s Music Department is offering two sweetheart deals just in time for Valentine’s Day.
-
Chase away winter blues at Harlan Hall Sock Hop
Join the Harlan Hall Entertainment Committee for a fabulous night of fun and frolic at the Winter Wild Sock Hop on Saturday at Harlan Hall.
-
Halcyon features Petra Nyendick, Ray Chen this month
This month, Halcyon Art Gallery’s North Gallery is presenting a collaboration, featuring works of art by Ray Chen and Petra Nyendick.
-
Enter 2012 Max Ehrmann Poetry Competition by Feb. 24
The Wabash Valley Outdoor Sculpture Collection and Arts Illiana are seeking entries for the 2012 Max Ehrmann Poetry Competition.
-
Swope achieves coveted accreditation
Long an anchor of the Wabash Valley cultural scene, Swope Art Museum has once again achieved national recognition.
-
One of Clabber Girl’s own showcases photography at museum
Denise Turner, a graphic designer at Clabber Girl Museum Gallery, will showcase her photography through Jan. 31 in the museum gallery at Ninth Street and Wabash Avenue.
-
Museums and Exhibitions: Dec. 15, 2011
• Downtown
• Vigo County
-
‘Gilligan’s Island of Death’ up next at Castle Finn dinner theater
Castle Finn Winery near Marshall, Ill., is planning its next murder mystery dinner for Jan. 21. Tickets go on sale today.
-
Christmas comedy opens Friday at Old Town Players in Vincennes
The Christmas comedy play “Dashing Through the Snow” opened Dec. 9 at the Old Town Players Theatre and Arts Center, 432 Broadway St., in Vincennes.
-
‘The Swan’ captures imagination of 10-year-old boy circa 1957
Had Kurt Vonnegut, William Saroyan, J.D. Salinger, Carlos Castaneda, Raymond Carver and James Thurber ever gathered at a writer’s workshop to co-author a short novel, the product might well have been “The Swan.”
-
River City to feature artist Don Turner in January
River City Art Association and the Vigo County Public Library will feature art by Don Turner for the month of January in the library at Seventh and Poplar streets.
-
See ‘A Christmas Carol’ on Tilson stage at ISU
A Christmas classic is coming to Indiana State University’s Tilson Auditorium. “A Christmas Carol” will be performed for one night only on Tuesday by nationally known production company NTC Productions.
-
CT presents ‘A Christmas Story’
That favorite holiday movie classic, “A Christmas Story,” comes to life on the stage of Community Theatre of Terre Haute this month under the direction of Tina Thomas.
- Dance lessons: Dec. 8, 2011
-
ISU students create plays inspired by Swope collection
Indiana State University theater professor Arthur Feinsod thinks that to be a true artist, one must have an appreciation and respect for all of the arts.
-
‘Whiter-Morn’ exhibition at Bicentennial Art Center in Paris
The Bicentennial Art Center and Museum at 132 S. Central Ave., in Paris, will host a reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. CST today to open its current exhibit, “Whiter-Morn,” featuring photography by R. John Ferguson of Terre Haute.
-
Rose fall exhibit showcases textile art, landscape paintings
Hoosier artists Julie Sermersheim and Jerry Smith are featured in the fall exhibition that cover the renovated hallways of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Moench Hall. The main campus classroom building hosts large exhibits each fall and spring to showcase Wabash Valley and Indiana artists.
- More Arts Headlines
-
Terre Haute artist putting ‘The Good Housewife’ on exhibit in New Harmony
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Woman Pleads Guilty in 1987 Newborn Kidnap Case
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Absolute Lin-sanity
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Kobe was 'rooting for Patriots' in Super Bowl
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Wookie Sensation
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Sandusky makes a statement
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
Kris Jenner New Face of Arousal Oils
