World Renowned Contemporary Music Ensemble
Rare Performance of New Music from Central Asia

April 9, 2008
8 p.m.
UMBC Fine Arts Recital Hall

Contact: Thomas Moore
Director of Arts & Culture
410-455-3370
tmoore@umbc.edu

Note: You may view or download this release as a pdf file.

UMBC presents the renowned contemporary music ensemble Continuum in concert on Wednesday, April 9th at 8 pm in the Fine Arts Recital Hall. Winner of the prestigious Siemens international prize for distinguished service to music and four ASCAP/ Chamber Music America Awards for Adventuresome Programming, New York-based Continuum, directed by Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs, is now celebrating its 38th season.

Continuum's program for April 9th, entitled Music at the CrossRoads, features music by composers of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia:

• Zarina Mirshakar (Tajikistan, b. 1947): Three Pamir Frescoes (1977) for violin and piano
• Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky (Uzbekistan, b. 1963): ASCH (2004) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano
• Jakhongir Shukurov (Uzbekistan, b. 1981): Music for Chamber Ensemble (2004) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, piano (US premiere)
• Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky: Five Limericks by Edward Lear (2005) for voice, violin, cello, piano (US premiere, world premiere of the English version)
• Farangis Nurulla-Khoja (Tajikistan/Canada, b. 1972): Blind Flower (2008) for voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano (commissioned by Continuum, world premiere)
• Sansar Sangidorj (Mongolia/US, b. 1969): From Three Tales About My Teacher: Ending--Con amarezza (1999) and Endless Stairs (1999) for piano solo
• Benjamin Yusupov (Tajikistan/Israel, b. 1962): Haqqoni (Crossroads 4 - 2007) for clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and recorded Bukharian voices (commissioned for Continuum by Edward Yagudaev in memory of Eduard Nektalov)

All premieres will be jointly given at UMBC on April 9th and at the Freer-Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. on April 10th.

The ensemble features mezzo soprano Abigal Fisher, flutist Ulla Suokko, clarinetist Benjamin Fingland, violinist Airi Yoshioka, cellist Caroline Stinson, percussionist Eric Poland, pianist Cheryl Seltzer and pianist and conductor Joel Sachs.

The New York Times says, "Simply put, there is no musical organization in New York that produces more intellectually enticing or more viscerally satisfying programs than Continuum...Year after year, its explorations in 20th-century repertory prove to be not only unusual and unexpected but also important and enduring...This ensemble has a long history of acting in behalf of composers whom others discover years or decades later."

Continuum's name embodies the philosophy that new music and old form an unbroken tradition. Aiming to expand the audience for recent music, it has performed some 150 times in New York and toured to forty American states, including appearances at the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, at colleges and community series throughout the US and Puerto Rico. Some forty international tours have taken it throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America, including, in recent years, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, the Republic of Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mongolia (five times), Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan (four times).

CBS Television, educational television networks, National Public Radio, Voice of America, and European stations have broadcast Continuum events. Recordings have appeared on Nonesuch (Milton Babbitt, Mel Powell, and Stefan Wolpe), Advance (Lawrence Moss), Capstone (Lawrence Moss), CRI (John Anthony Lennon, Tania León), Cambria (Virko Baley); Naxos has re-released Continuum's nine CDs originally made for Musical Heritage Society), devoted to Henry Cowell (2 CDs), Robert Erickson, Charles Ives, Leon Kirchner, Conlon Nancarrow, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Roberto Sierra, and Virgil Thomson. Portrait recordings of Ukrainian composers Valentin Bibik and Leonid Hrabovksy are available on TNC, which will also issue a CD of music by the Azerbaijani composer Oleg Felzer. Recent recordings include Turner--chamber music by Roberto Sierra--on New Albion, and works by Tania León on Bridge and Mutable.

Admission
Admission is $7 general, $3 for senior citizens, free for all students, and free with a UMBC ID.
Tickets are available through MissionTix at www.missiontix.com or by calling MissionTix at 410-752-8950.
Tickets will also be available at the door (cash or check only) immediately prior to the concert.

General Public Information
UMBC Arts Website: http://www.umbc.edu/arts

Directions
-- From Baltimore and points north, proceed south on I-95 to exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Fine Arts Building.
-- From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue) and continue one-half mile to the entrance of UMBC at the roundabout intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Hilltop Road. Turn left and follow signs to the Fine Arts Building.
-- From Washington and points south, proceed north on I-95 to Exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Fine Arts Building.
-- Daytime metered visitor parking is available in Lot 10, near the Administration Building. Visitor parking regulations are enforced on all University calendar days. Hilltop Circle and all campus roadways require a parking permit unless otherwise marked.
-- Online campus map: http://www.umbc.edu/aboutumbc/campusmap/

Images for Media
High resolution images for media are available online:
http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/
or by email or postal mail.