Inaugural concert features New Music

Adventurous music written during the last twenty years is the focus of The New Music Ensemble at Grand Valley State University. Directed by Bill Ryan, the ensemble performs an incredible variety of music, from landmark compositions of the 20th Century, to the most recent works of this new century.

The group's inaugural concert on Tuesday, April 4 includes the world premiere of "Gormenghast Overture," a new work by Grand Valley's Kurt Ellenberger, commissioned to celebrate this event. Other works in the concert include Peter Garland's "Apple Blossom" performed on four marimbas and Phil Kline's "Premonition" performed with 25 boomboxes. The free concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale.

As part of the ensemble's ongoing commitment to bringing new music to audiences, they established an annual commissioning/residency program. Each fall the group commission's a significant composer to create a work with them, which is then premiered during the winter semester. The group is deeply involved in all stages of the process, from selecting and commissioning the composer, to conversations and workshops with the composer as they write, to shaping the piece as drafts come in, to rehearsing with the composers, to performing the world premiere performance.

For more information visit http://newmusicensemble.org.

Media may contact Bill Ryan at (616) 331-3087 or Kurt Ellenberger at (616) 331-2943.