The UMBC Department of Music presents its fall 2004 season, featuring an array of contemporary classical music concerts by world renowned artists, including performances by percussionist Steven Schick, saxophonist John Berndt and Ruckus, the professional contemporary music ensemble in residence at UMBC. The department will also sponsor a three day conference, Art-Reach!: Tapping the Power of the Arts, featuring educator Eric Booth and composer Tania León.

September 16
Ruckus, the professional contemporary music ensemble in residence at UMBC
8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
$7 general admission, $3 seniors, free for students, free with a UMBC ID.

Ruckus presents a program of music by composer Stuart Saunders Smith in honor of his 30 years at UMBC. Featured works will include Bones, Further Than Now, In Bingham, Family Portrait: Self, Aussie Blue, Part, Tunnels and the world premiere of Hearts, a solo violin work to be performed by Airi Yoshioka. Founded in 2000 to promote the performance of contemporary chamber music, Ruckus has performed at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, and at universities throughout the East Coast.

October 21
John Berndt and Friends
8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
Admission is free.

John Berndt and Friends will present a program of improvisation featuring Baltimore area musicians. Berndt is a multi-instrumentalist best known as a saxophonist, an instrument on which he has developed a broad and idiosyncratic technical ability. He has dedicated himself almost entirely to freely improvised music since 1990. A student of American master improviser Jack Wright, and also a composer of electronic music, Berndt's saxophones survey terrain reminiscent of John Butcher and John Oswald, with a strong intensity of self-expression that finds inspiration in free jazz. He is a tireless collaborator, including THUS with instrument builder Neil Feather, his larger groups Multiphonic Choir and Second Nature, and the intensive quartet The Short Life of Harry Crosby. An active playing partner of Eugene Chadbourne, Bhob Rainey, and Kaffe Matthews, Berndt is also the founder of the Red Room collective and High Zero Foundation.

October 23
The Faculty Chamber Ensemble
8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
$7 general admission, $3 seniors, free for students, free with a UMBC ID.

The Faculty Chamber Ensemble features violinist Airi Yoshioka, flutist Lisa Cella, clarinetist E. Michael Richards, cellist Franklin Cox, pianist Rachel Franklin, guitarist Troy King and percussionist Tom Goldstein.

October 28
Steven Schick, percussion
8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
Admission is free.

Steven Schick presents a performance of a new hour-long work by composer John Luther Adams. Steven Schick has commissioned and premiered more than one hundred new works for percussion and has performed these pieces on major concert series such as Lincoln Center's Great Performers and the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Green Umbrella concerts as well as in international festivals, including Warsaw Autumn, the BBC Proms, the Jerusalem Festival, the Holland Festival, the Stockholm International Percussion Event and the Budapest Spring Festival. He has recorded many of those works for SONY Classical, Wergo, Point, CRI and will release a new solo CD with Neuma Records. From 1984 to 1992, Schick taught at the Darmstadt Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, Germany, co-directing the course's seminal percussion program with James Wood. He has been regular guest lecturer at the Rotterdam Conservatory and the Royal College of Music in London. Schick is Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego and Lecturer in Percussion at the Manhattan School of Music.

October 30
The Faculty Chamber Ensemble
8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
$7 general admission, $3 seniors, free for students, free with a UMBC ID.

The Faculty Chamber Ensemble features violinist Airi Yoshioka, clarinetist E. Michael Richards, tenor David Smith, cellist Franklin Cox and pianist Rachel Franklin. Their all-Brahms program will include the Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114; the Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25; and songs.

November 5
Triple Helix Piano Trio masterclass
3:30 – 6:30 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
Admission is free.

The Boston-based Triple Helix Piano Trio presents a masterclass. When three internationally known musicians—violinist Bayla Keyes, cellist Rhonda Rider and pianist Lois Shapiro—joined together in 1995 to form Triple Helix, the Boston Globe described the results of their union as “the livest live music in town.” Since then, the ensemble has become recognized as among the best piano trios on the musical landscape today. Artists-in-residence at Wellesley College, the award-winning musicians of the Triple Helix are also on the faculties of several Boston-area universities. The ensemble has also held residencies at Monadnock Music and Skidmore College, where their lecture-recitals have been enthusiastically received in the classroom and concert hall alike. Advocates for new music, Triple Helix has premiered seven works written expressly for the ensemble since its formation in 1995.

November 7
SONOS, featuring pianists Rachel Franklin and Corey McVicar
3 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
$7 general admission, $3 seniors, free for students, free with a UMBC ID.

SONOS, featuring the artistry of pianists Rachel Franklin and Corey McVicar, classical and jazz artists who combine their talents to blur the edges between classical chamber works and jazz improvisation. Witty commentary complements superb performances, as SONOS explores the fascinating links between genres: jazz as chamber music, classical music with jazz, and why they work wonderfully together. Their program will include Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues by Frederic Rzewski; Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, Op. 56b by Johannes Brahms; the Rondo in C major, Op. 73 by Fryderyk Chopin; the Variations on a Theme of Paganini by Witold Lutoslawski; and other works. As a Pro Musicis International Award winner, British pianist Rachel Franklin has given her solo debuts in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, and Jordan Hall, Boston. The Boston Globe enthused about her “beautiful differentiations of color, touch and texture” and described a performance on her solo debut CD as “not inferior…to the recorded performances by Cortot and Rubinstein.” She has also given European Pro Musicis solo debuts in Paris and Rome. An accomplished jazz pianist, Rachel Franklin has performed with many jazz ensembles and has broadcast solo jazz on BBC Radio 3. Much in demand as a teacher and speaker, she is a member of the faculties at UMBC and the Peabody Conservatory. Corey McVicar is a member of the Peabody Conservatory faculty. He received musical degrees from Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and completed post graduate piano studies in Germany and France, working with Ann Schein, Leon Fleisher, Yvonne Lefebure and Murray Perahia. A winner of numerous competition prizes and awards including the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition, he has been featured in concerts and broadcasts in Australia, Thailand, Singapore, France and at various cities and venues in the United States including Carnegie Recital Hall. This event is sponsored in part by Jordan Kitts Music.

November 14
Lisa Cella, flute
3 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
$7 general admission, $3 seniors, free for students, free with a UMBC ID.

Flutist Lisa Cella's program will include NoaNoa by Kaija Saariaho, Quodlibets II by Donald Martino and Sgothan by James Dillon. Artistic Director of San Diego New Music, Dr. Cella received a DMA in contemporary flute performance at the University of California, San Diego while studying with John Fonville. She has performed with SONOR, the faculty ensemble of UCSD, SIRIUS, and in various concert series and festivals in the San Diego area. She is a founding member of NOISE, the resident ensemble of San Diego New Music and runs the music series Noise at the Library at the Athenaeum Library in San Diego, California. Dr. Cella received her Applied Bachelors in Music with a dual concentration in Psychology from Syracuse University under the tutelage of John Oberbrunner. Upon graduation, she received the Civic Morning Musicals award for excellence in performance. She then received a Master of Music degree and a Graduate Performance Diploma from Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Robert Willoughby. While in Baltimore, she was the winner of the 1992 Washington Flute Fair Young Artist Competition and founded the flute and guitar duo, Adesso!, which was a finalist in the Baltimore Chamber Competition. A dedicated performer of contemporary music, Cella was a member of the Baltimore based contemporary ensemble Polaris in 1993. She attended the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in 1993 and was a fellowship member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival for two summers. She is the founding member of the ensemble Sounding, a contemporary quartet (flute, clarinet, piano, percussion) that had its origins in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. With Sounding, she has performed at universities such as Bowling Green, Cornell, SUNY Buffalo, Oberlin, and Syracuse. Currently, she is a lecturer in music at UMBC and a founding member of the faculty contemporary music ensemble, RUCKUS.

November 18
Susan Fancher and Mark Engebretson, saxophonists
8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
Admission is free.

This concert by saxophonists Susan Fancher and Mark Engebretson will include works for solo saxophone ranging from the pulsing minimalism of Steve Reich and the beautiful just intonation of Ben Johnston to Mark Engebretson's powerful Energy Drink and Luciano Berio's legendary Sequenza VIIb. The artists will join forces for Stuart Saunders Smith's unconventional Notebook and the premiere of new music for two saxophones and live electronics by Mark Engebretson. Susan Fancher's career has featured hundreds of concerts internationally as a soloist and as the member of chamber music ensembles. She has worked with a multitude of composers in the creation and interpretation of new music, including Terry Riley, Charles Wuorinen, Philip Glass, Hilary Tann and others. Composer and performer Mark Engebretson's works have been performed in concerts, festivals and venues around the world, including Montreal, Vienna, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Norway, Albania and Azerbaijan.

December 16
Mezzo soprano Patricia Green, harpist Sonja Inglefield and flutist Lisa Cella
8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall
Admission is free.
Public information: 410-455-ARTS

Patricia Green, Sonja Inglefield and Lisa Cella present an eclectic program that will explore the lyrical and unique combination of flute, voice, and harp, including George Crumb's Federico's Little Songs for Children.

October 17
The UMBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Wayne Cameron. The program will feature the Tchaikovsky Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 35, with violinist Airi Yoshioka; The Walk to the Paradise Garden by Frederick Delius; and The Sea by Frank Bridge. 3 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

November 22
The UMBC Chamber Players under the direction of E. Michael Richards. 8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

November 29
The UMBC Wind Ensemble under the direction of Jari Villanueva. 8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 1
The Flute Studio of Lisa Cella. 8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 2
The UMBC Jazz Ensemble directed by Jari Villanueva. 8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 4
The Jubilee Singers under the direction of Janice Jackson. 7 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 5
The Maryland Camerata under the direction of David Smith. 3 pm, Charlestown Chapel, Charlestown Retirement Community, Catonsville. Admission is free.

December 5
The Collegium Musicum under the direction of Joseph Morin. 4 pm, St. John's Episcopal Church, 9120 Frederick Road, Ellicott City, Maryland. Admission is free.

December 9
The UMBC Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Tom Goldstein. 8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 11
The UMBC Flute Ensemble under the direction of Lisa Cella. 1 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 12
The UMBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Wayne Cameron. The program will feature George Whitefield Chadwick's Euterpe and the Symphony No. 1 in B minor, Op. 4 by Anton Arensky. 3 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 13
The UMBC Guitar Ensemble under the direction of Troy King. 8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.

December 14
Departmental Honors Recital. 8 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free.