By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The New Music Festival at Bowling Green State University refuses to be derailed.
Kurt Doles, who directs the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, realized in April, six months before the festival was set to be held, that it would have to move online.
After consulting with Bill Mathis, dean of the College of Musical Arts and the center’s board, “I made the call we’d just do it online,” Doles said. “There was just no other way.”
This week, Thursday, Oct. 15 through Sunday Oct. 18, the festival will be presented via YouTube, opening on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. with an interview with guest composer Augusta Read Thomas by Doles, and continuing with four concerts, including a concert Friday at 8 p.m. by guest ensemble Third Coast Percussion.
The other three concerts, Thursday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30p.m. and Sunday at 8 p.m. will feature music recorded by BGSU musicians – faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates.
In all music by 17 composers, including Read will be performed.
The concerts will be available at youtube.com/bgsumusic, except Third Coast’s performance, which will on the ensemble’s own youtube.com/thirdcoastpercussion channel.
The events will remain available for viewing after their initial showings. The Third Coast show, however, will only be available for a week.
With the decision to move online made, the performances could be recorded starting in July.
None of the pieces involves more than four musicians making it possible to record in Bryan Recital Hall and still follow COVID-19 protocols.
Doles gave credit to Michael Laurello, director of recording services in the college, for pulling that off. “He did all the heavy lifting,” he said. “I was just the planning guy, he was the guy physically in the room getting this done.”
The call to composers to submit pieces to be performed had been sent out in November “assuming it would be a normal festival.”
They accepted compositions included works for vocal ensemble and horn choir and “those just weren’t feasible,” he said. “We’re kicking that can down the road.” For the pieces selected, “we’re making good on those commitments. It’s just going to be in 2021.”
Doles said there were enough music to fit the limitations on personnel.
He wanted to get an early start on recording because he was concerned circumstances would cause a chunk of recordings not to be done. In the end everything was completed.
“We have some high-quality performances,” he said. “Everyone was emotionally invested in doing it, and doing it right.”
Doles said it was fortuitous that he’d selected Third Coast as the guest ensemble. The ensemble gave a memorable performance in a centenary celebration of the music of Lou Harrison in Toledo in 2017 that was hosted in part by MidAmerican Center.
“There’s probably no ensemble in the country better prepared to do a remote filmed concert,” Doles said. “They have a big studio with a five-camera set up. This is like nothing to them.”
The ensemble will perform the premiere of Read’s “Con Moto,” which was composed for them.
Finding more intimate pieces by Read was a bit of a challenge, Doles said. She usually composes more orchestral pieces, “bigger, flashier things.”
But they found enough so every concert features some of her music. Visit the festival’s website for more details.
Doles recorded his conversation with Read last week using Zoom.
On Oct. 22 at 7:30 as part of the university’s Virtual Arts Series 2020: The Corona Edition, a “greatest hits” program from the festival will be presented.
Doles said he expects that the experience of staging a festival in the time of COVID-19 will have presenters rethinking how performances are presented.
For now, though, “I’m very proud that we’ve been able to pull together and pull this off for 41st straight year. It speaks to the priorities of the CMA,” he said.
“I’m glad we had the support from the administration, faculty, and students to get this thing done and get it over the goal line. I’m very proud that the culture is strong enough to push through this nonsense we’re going through.”
