Premiered in 1998, the festival showcases the School of Music’s commitment to innovation, creativity and contemporary music.

“As with past festivals, this fall’s program invites us to engage with artists whose creative approaches and unique perspectives awaken our curiosity and deepen our appreciation for the expressive power of music’s many dialects,” said Teresa Reed, School of Music dean.

Sky Macklay, an oboist and installation artist, is the featured composer this year. Macklay says her music “explores bold contrasts, audible processes, humor and the physicality of sound.”

Her work has been performed by ensembles such as ICE, Yarn/Wire, Wet Ink Ensemble and Spektral Quartet. Two of her pieces, including the string quartet “” have received ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards.

Originally from Minnesota, Macklay completed her DMA in composition at Columbia University. She also holds degrees from The University of Memphis (MM) and Luther College (BA). An enthusiastic practitioner of creative music education, Sky has been a composition and musicianship faculty member at The Walden School Young Musicians Program for nine summers. She is assistant professor of Music at Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana.Ěý

“I love weird contemporary music and sharing it with the next generation. I think a lot of it is sharing my own personal perspective on it—just show how much a particular sound excites me and how beautiful I think it is… I think that’s sort of contagious, or at least lets people perceive it as a beautiful thing. I also think that exposure, experience, experiential education and experiential pieces are really a great way to do outreach.…That’s something I think more composers should do: write music that has a participatory role for amateur musicians or for just audience members,” Macklay said in a with New Music Box magazine.

Longleash Trio will perform a premier of Macklay’s composition “FastLowHighSlow” for violin and piano on Wednesday night. Strad Magazine described Longleash Trio’s playing as “lovely,” “expert” and “meticulous.”

“We are delighted to feature Longleash as this year’s principal guest ensemble. Their performance of Dr. Macklay’s music during this year’s festival promises to be both memorable and inspiring,” Reed said.Ěý

In addition to performing in nightly concerts, guest artists willĚýpresent master classes and lectures throughout the week. See the detailedĚýĚýfor all events, which are free and open to the public.Ěý

New Music Festival 2019

Sunday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m., Comstock —

Monday, Nov. 11, 8 p.m., Comstock –

Tuesday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m., Comstock –

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 8 p.m., Comstock –

Thursday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m., Comstock –

Thursday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m., Bird –

Thursday, Nov. 14, 3 p.m., Comstock — “Women in Music” panel discussion featuring Sky Macklay

The festival will include a screening of Zahra Partovi’s new film “,” an experimental film focusing on the music of American modernist composer Morton Feldman. Following the film, UofL faculty and guest artists will perform three of Feldman’s shorter works.

, the festival’s headlining composer, is associate professor of music at University of Pittsburgh. Her award-winning music has been performed in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe.Ěý

“I am a composer and I am a new music pianist,” she says. “The two are inseparable in my artistic objectives. I often write pieces with specific performers in mind, exploiting their individual technical abilities and qualities. My sound arises from a modernist aesthetic but also benefits from a polystylistic approach that is distinctly American.”

Williams, who grew up in Buffalo, New York, about her life as a musician of new “classic” music. Here’s an excerpt from that conversation:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: You recently returned from a Fulbright Fellowship in Ireland — any fond memories?

Williams: Oh yes, I was teaching at the University College Cork, Ireland, for a year. I remember… there’s a great sense of community around music there. I was at a pub once when the woman behind the bar rang the bell and a gentleman started singing in a proper Irish tenor. Soon the entire pub was singing along. It was this amazing feeling of connection and community … I won’t forget that.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: And now that you’re back home, what’s a day in the life for a composer-teacher-pianist?Ěý

Williams: Well, my primary job is as a professor at University of Pittsburgh. For me it’s all about balance, and it depends on what deadline is next.ĚýThe ideal day involves practicing a couple of hours and composing a couple of hours. I spend a couple of hours handling the business side of things —-ĚýI’m also the artistic director and composer-in-residence of New Music on the Point Festival in Vermont. Really, a day is bouncing around between these things. I can’t give up any of them — performing and composing are completely integral.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: … Can you talk about your compositional style?

Williams: I try to incorporate techniques and sounds from all different kinds of music and internalize it into my own style. I think that kind of cultural openness is a very American thing.

Samples of Williams’ music are available for listening on her website,Ěý.Ěý ĚýĚý

As for UofL’s New Music Festival, in addition to performing in nightly concerts, festival guest artists willĚýpresent master classes and lectures throughout the week. See the detailedĚýĚýfor all events, which are free and open to the public.Ěý

• Monday, Nov. 5, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert HallĚý ĚýĚý
  
• Tuesday, Nov. 6, 8 p.m., Bird Recital Hall
  
• Wednesday, Nov. 7, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert Hall
  
• Thursday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert Hall
  
• Friday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert Hall
  

The School of Music presents its annualĚý Nov. 6-10, with a slate of renowned such as composersĚýDavid Dzubay and Ryan Ingebritsen, and the chamber music group Elysian Trombone Consort.Ěý

The festival will include the premier of “Sacred Art,” a collaborative piece by Boston playwright and UofL professor of composition , during the Faculty Chamber Music concert Nov. 6.ĚýThe two will also give a presentation about their collaboration before the concert at 7 p.m. in which Decker will perform selections of her monologues.Ěý

, the festival’s headlining composer, is professor of music, chair of the composition department and director of the New Music Ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington. He’s received numerous top fellowships and his music has been performed by orchestras, ensembles and soloists in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Mexico and Asia.

Dzubay took time out of his schedule to talk to UofL News about his work, why the New Music Festival is special and what audiences can expect.Ěý

UofL News: We’ll have the chance to hear your work throughout the festival, including electronic and computer music on Tuesday, “Light Fantastick” for orchestra on Wednesday, contemporary choir music on Thursday and “Symphony No. 2” for wind ensemble on Friday. That’s such a diverse selection. What is the unifying element amongst all these pieces? What makes them all, different as they are, distinctly David Dzubay?

Dzubay: I suppose I’m the unifying element, as composer, but the works scheduled span a huge range of over 25 years, starting withĚýthe early string quartet, “Threnody,” “HyPer MIX,” an electroacoustic piece written with my good friend James Aikman in college, and a brass fanfare I wrote on New Year’s eve to play with my best friend back in Portland out our front door at midnight(!); from there we work toward the present with middle pieces like “Footprints,” “Kukulkan III” and the choral works, up to the very recent “Symphony No. 2” for band. One thing in common with all these pieces musically is a focus on a central melodic thread leading a listener through the work.Ěý Many of the pieces also have a certain rhythmic energy and a rich harmonic palette.

UofL News: What do you think is most exciting about the New Music Festival?

Dzubay: I think it is incredibly impressive and forward-looking for the whole School of Music to work together on a celebration of new music. This sends such an important message to the students about music being a living, creative art form.

UofL News: You’ll be teaching too, while you’re here. What lessons do you hope to leave our students with in your short stay?

Dzubay: Knowing the composition faculty at UofL, I am aware that the students regularly get solid advice about their works.Ěý Nevertheless, it is often interesting for students to get an outside perspective, even if it simply reinforces the message. I look forward to seeing and hearing what the UofL composers are up to.ĚýĚýĚý

UofL News: Anything else you’d like to share about the festival?Ěý

Dzubay: It is humbling to have this prestigious school invite me as guest to their festival. I have had an occasional, yet, long relationship with Louisville, including having my first professional recording done there when Lawrence Leighton Smith recorded Snake Alley with the Louisville Orchestra in 1995.Ěý I very much look forward to the week.

See the detailed Ěýfor all events, which are free and open to the public.

• Nov. 6, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert HallĚý
• Nov. 7, 8 p.m., Bird Recital Hall
• Nov. 8, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert HallĚý
• Nov. 9, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert HallĚý
• Nov. 10, 8 p.m., Comstock Concert HallĚý