New Music Ensemble celebrates modern music and dance

Grand Valley State University’s award-winning New Music Ensemble will join forces with the Kalamazoo-based Wellspring Dancers November 13-15 to perform multimedia works celebrating modern dance and music.

“Orbit: Concert of Modern Dance/Modern Music”
November 13 and 14 at 8 p.m.
November 15 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Wellspring/Cori Terry and Dancers Theater
359 S Kalamazoo Mall
Kalamazoo, MI 49007

“This is a unique performance because most of the music will be performed live,” said Bill Ryan, New Music Ensemble director and associate professor of music at Grand Valley. “Often times in dance performances the music used is prerecorded, or if there are live performers they are off stage and out of sight. In ‘Orbit’ the musicians will be on stage with the dancers, so the audience will get to hear and see all aspects of the production.”

Cori Terry, Wellspring/Cori Terry and Dancers founder and artistic director, asked Ryan to compose a brand new musical selection for the performances. Ryan said he found inspiration for his new composition while taking his oldest child to college for the first time.

“Cori approached her choreography to the piece through a very personal experience she had of losing her mother,” said Ryan. “While they may be based on different experiences, the work has a common thread of longing and bittersweet feelings that cast a subtle shadow over the work as a whole.”

Terry said the Wellspring Dancers are excited to share the stage with the New Music Ensemble while performing this unique collaboration.

“There is nothing like live music and dance together,” said Terry. “The energy, synergy and originality are so much more than two ensembles performing together. It’s more like creating a whole new world on stage. We are thrilled to join forces with Bill Ryan and his talented New Music Ensemble. Audiences should expect a thrilling ride into contemporary music and dance.”

The nationally renowned New Music Ensemble promotes contemporary music with roots in jazz, rock, pop and minimalism. The ensemble has released three critically acclaimed recordings that have appeared on “best release lists” by The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Weekly and Time Out Chicago. The group has performed at the Bang On a Can Marathon in New York City, the College Music Society National Conference in Atlanta, New Music Detroit’s Strange Beautiful Music marathon, and at Carnegie Hall.

Ryan said experiences like collaborating with the Wellspring Dancers gives his students a taste of the kind of work they can expect to encounter after graduating from Grand Valley.

“I try to put my students in a variety of situations that they may find themselves in after school so they are better equipped to succeed,” said Ryan. “Working with dance is certainly one viable possibility for a musician. It’s also an opportunity for my students to see how a professional organization approaches a production, and creatively, it’s great for them to see how other artists can interpret the music they are realizing.”

Wellspring/Cori Terry and Dancers is a 34-year-old modern dance company that has performed with many different music ensembles including Detroit Dance Collective, the Cavani String Quartet, Opus 21 and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, among others.