Sunday, May 1, 2011
7:30 pm, Fine Arts Recital Hall

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

On Sunday, May 1, the UMBC Symphony under the direction of E. Michael Richards will give the world premiere of a new work, Eclipse, by Linda Dusman, professor of music at UMBC. The performance will also feature Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67; Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46; and a movement from Carl Nielsen's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 [D.F.129], featuring soloist Emily Beisel, class of '11 and winner of the UMBC Symphony Concerto Competition. The concert is free and begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.

Linda Dusman began composing Eclipse during the summer of 2010 while contemplating two passages from Virginia Woolf's novel The Waves:

"...Like a ribbon of weed I am flung far every time the door opens. The wave breaks. I am the foam that sweeps and fills the uttermost rims of rocks with whiteness; I am also a girl, here in this room."

"What is the phrase for the moon? And the phrase for love?...I need a howl, a cry...I need no words."

Dusman remarked, "I began to imagine a sonic image of surging colors, instruments weaving around and among one another, attempting to answer questions that defy answers. Shadows of harmonies and melodic fragments continually eclipse one another, finally merging into a single line, embodying a spiritual ascent by a solo violin surrounded by a 'spray' of light.

"The creative process often leads to drawing connections between disparate events. During the composing of this piece, the stunning lunar eclipse of the 2010 winter solstice, and the senseless death a few weeks later of the young girl Christina-Taylor Green both became part of the emotional fabric of this piece, leaving many unanswerable questions. Eclipse is dedicated to the UMBC Symphony Orchestra and its Director, Dr. E. Michael Richards."

About the Composer
Linda Dusman's compositions and sonic art explore the richness of contemporary life, from the personal to the political. Recent premieres include her piano trio Diverging Flints, Skra for clarinet and fixed media, and Triptych of Gossips for soprano and violin. Her collaborative work with actress Wendy Salkind on writings of Gertrude Stein will be released in 2011. Dusman's music has been awarded by the International Alliance for Women in Music, the State of Maryland (in both the Music: Composition and the Visual Arts: Media categories), and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, among others. Her compositions are published by I Resound Press and Silent Editions, and are recorded on the NEUMA, Capstone, and New Albany labels. As a frequent contributor to the literature on contemporary music and performance, Dr. Dusman's articles have appeared in the journals Link, Perspectives of New Music, and Interface, as well as a number of anthologies. She was a founding editor of the journal Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture, and is an associate editor for Perspectives of New Music. Recently, she founded I Resound Press, a digital press/archive for music by women composers. Dr. Dusman is a Professor of Music at the UMBC and served as Chair of the Music Department from 2000-2008. Prior to her tenure at UMBC, she held the Jeppson Chair in Music at Clark University in Massachusetts.

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

Images for Media
High resolution images for media are available online:
http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/
Photo: Richard Anderson

Directions
- From I-95 between Baltimore and Washington take exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to public parking.
- 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 public parking.
- Online campus map: http://www.umbc.edu/aboutumbc/campusmap/