By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
Fresh off of fall break, the Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts is once again ready to present one of the country’s most enduring jamborees in new music.
The 47th Annual New Musical Festival (NMF) will take place this week, Oct. 15-17. Its eight concerts, plus a few bonus programs, will feature contemporary music performed by students and faculty of BGSU’s College of Musical Arts.
Directing the NMF this year are Justin Johnston, assistant teaching professor of music industry, and Hannah Levinson, assistant professor of viola. In an interview with both, they laid out what the college and its supporting organization, the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, have prepared for their yearly flagship festival and what to look forward to.
Julia Wolfe is the headlining guest composer, meaning many of the school’s ensembles will perform her work throughout the week. She’ll also be in residence to give feedback to said ensembles.
“When it comes to picking a guest composer, we want to bring in—I think it’s fair to say— some of the very best composers today,” said Johnston. “And so for instance, Julia Wolfe is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer. We pride ourselves on being able to host composers at that level.”
Wolfe has racked up a number of distinguishing awards: a year after she won the Pulitzer Prize in Music, she was named a 2016 MacArthur Fellow. Ten years later, orchestras across Europe and the United States continue to commission and premiere her work.
As exciting as it is to host a big name, the school is equally thrilled to play Wolfe’s music. “Her music is kind of relentlessly energetic,” said Levinson. “I think most listeners are going to come and enjoy what they’re hearing because it’s so alive.”
One of her pieces, “Pretty,” is described by the composer as “a raucous celebration – embracing the grit of fiddling, the relentlessness of work rhythms, and inspired by the distortion and reverberation of rock and roll.” The Bowling Green Philharmonia will perform it as part of Saturday evening’s closing concert.
“She’s also giving a really interesting talk on Friday afternoon at 4:30 about telling history through music,” said Levinson. “We’re not able to present these pieces on this festival, but she’s written some really large-form, kind of oratorio works inspired by historical events like women’s suffrage, the coal labor movement, or the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.”
“So she’s someone who deeply cares about the world around her and has figured out really interesting ways to kind of get that through her music. I think that’s an example of somebody who is doing very powerful, very compelling work in music.”
Most concerts will be held in the Moore Musical Arts Center’s Kobacker and Bryan halls. A few, however, will take place in downtown establishments, namely Howard’s Club H (Thursday at 10 p.m.) and the Wood County District Public Library (Saturday at 10:30 a.m.)
Click here https://www.bgsu.edu/content/bgsu/en/musical-arts/maccm/new-music-festival/47th-annual-new-music-festival.html for a complete list of this year’s concerts. All are free and open to the public.
With regard to programming concerts off-campus, Johnston credits Wolfe: “Something that inspired us was that Julia had written music that was meant to be performed in town.” They weren’t able to produce that specific piece, “but we thought, ‘Well, what if we tried to find some other way to bring our music into the community more?’”
Another addition to this year’s NMF is the freshly minted Contemporary Improvisation Ensemble led by Aidan Plank. Prior to Saturday’s Philharmonia concert, musicians stationed throughout the lobby will give an “installation-style” performance to whet the audience’s appetite before the big finale.
Over 30 composers will be featured at the 47th NMF, 14 of which will be on campus. For those interested in seeing the frontier of music, it’s an unmissable, vibrant experience.
