a collaborative series of events on the themes of change & transformation ... in our lives, in our art

For two weeks in late February and early March, composers Roger Reynolds and Steve Antosca will curate a series of workshops, discussions, forums and lectures titled CHANGES: SEASONS, culminating on March 7, 2010, in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art with a concert of music by legendary pioneers Edgard Varèse and Iannis Xenakis, as well as music by Antosca and Reynolds.

These assembled events will address current and historical trends in the use of technology in music and the role that performance spaces play in the dissemination of music, art and technology. Under the CHANGES: SEASONS umbrella, they bring together the presentation, explanation, and discussion of the festival’s content and implications.

CHANGES: SEASONS events are presented in partnership between the National Gallery of Art and the University of California, Washington Center (UCDC), with the additional collaboration of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technologies (Calit2), University of Maryland, Computer Music Department of Peabody Conservatory of the  Johns Hopkins University, American University, La Maison Française/Embassy of France, the Library of Congress, the Contemporary Music Forum, the Randy Hostetler Living Room Music Fund and Meet the Composer (funded in part through the MetLife Creative Connections program).

This series culminates in an evening at the National Gallery of Art on March 7, that will include a panel discussion inspired by the Gallery’s concurrent Meyerhoff exhibit and a concert. The pre-concert panel focuses on art, architecture, music and technology. Participants will include organizers Reynolds and Antosca, NGA curator Charlie Ritchie, moderation by Stephen Ackert, Head of the NGA Music Department. The concert will be the inaugural performance of the National Gallery of Art New Music Ensemble.

All events are free and open to the public, except La Maison Française concert - Admission: $15, Students with ID: FREE.

The CHANGES: SEASONS concert will feature an exceptional complement of international specialists in contemporary music performance and the real-time computer processing and spatialization of sound.

CHANGES: SEASONS is part of a continuing series of crossingPoint events, occasions that connect music with technology, architecture and the other arts. crossingPoint presents the work of musicians who adapt traditional ideas and content to contemporary circumstances using computer technology. It showcases their efforts in a series of singular presentations that join innovative music, technological resources, and non-traditional spaces. Through collaborative connections, crossingPoint promotes the work of innovative composers and enhances the experience of audiences for modern music.

logo: karen reynolds