Society of Composers Conference returns to UMaine this month

October 19, 2015 Arts, Outreach, School of Performing Arts

Four public concerts featuring contemporary compositions performed by University of Maine faculty and visiting artists will highlight the 2015 Society of Composers Conference on campus, Oct. 22–24.

The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) is a nearly 1,500-member national organization that focuses on new and contemporary music composition and performance. The regional event at UMaine will feature the performance of 25 new compositions, selected this summer from 80 submissions.

Among the performers during the conference will be Boston-based Transient Canvas, with Amy Advocat on clarinet and Matt Sharrock on marimba. The duo is gaining national recognition for its commitment to commissioning and debuting new works. In addition, Sharrock will offer a performance clinic for percussion students.

Transient Canvas will perform at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 23 in Minsky Recital Hall. Other concerts in Minsky: Chamber Music Program I, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.; Chamber Music Program II, Oct. 24, 2 p.m.; a choral concert by Euphony, with a special appearance by University Singers, Francis Vogt conducting, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 24.

“We’re especially pleased to have a mix of performers and visiting composers from around the country coming to Minsky Recital Hall for our concerts,” says UMaine composer and clarinetist Beth Weimann, chair of the Division of Music in the School of Performing Arts and the host of this year’s conference.

UMaine last hosted the Region I Conference for SCI in 2001. More recently, the Region I event was held in 2013 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire as part of the PARMA New Music Festival.

Tickets for the SCI Conference concerts are $9 ; free with student MaineCard. To purchase tickets, call 207.581.1755. To request a disability accommodation, call 207.581.4702.

This fall season, UMaine’s School of Performing Arts is staging 40 theater, music and dance performances on campus. A complete list of performances, dates, times, sites and ticket prices are online.

Contact: Meg Shorette, 207.581.3729