Wednesday, November 3, 2021
7:30 PM
San Diego New Music presents: Déjà Vu
Eric Starr, Curator and Trombonist
San Diego New Music and the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library resume in-person performances in a season entitled Surreality. The season kicks off with a concert, Déjà Vu, curated by trombonist and San Diego New Music Executive Director Eric Starr. Joined by acclaimed pianist Sonya Schumann and a power-house brass ensemble, Starr presents a thought-provoking program that pits musical expectations against reality. He says about the program, “Déjà Vu approaches listeners from an altered state of mind. They may find themselves wondering - What am I hearing? Have I heard this piece before? Is that a normal thing to do with a musical instrument? What are these unknown sounds?”
Included on the program are works by La Monte Young and Pauline Oliveros as well as two works for brass quintet: Ascents and Flourishes by James Lee III and a new work by trumpeter Rachel Allen. San Diego-native and UCSD graduate student Varun Rangaswamy’s Erratic Peaks will appear alongside a highly anticipated premiere by SDSU alumnus Maddi Baird, featuring Starr and Allen performing on conch shells. This concert is sure to resonate with anyone who identifies with the surreal reality of living during a pandemic.
Performers: Rachel Allen and Elizabeth Howard (trumpets), Jane Zwerneman (horn), Eric Starr (trombone), Kyle Mendiguchia (bass trombone), Sonya Schumann (piano).
This concert is generously underwritten by Julia S. Falk, Ph.D.
San Diego New Music is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the public performance of notated music of the highest integrity and artistic caliber from the 20th and 21st centuries. We seek to advance the art form by promoting music composed with conceptual rigor, passionate energy and singular artistic vision. SDNM enriches the artistic culture of San Diego through the presentation of an annual concert series and the soundON Festival of Modern Music, and through fostering its resident performing ensemble, NOISE.
In 1994, the only place in San Diego where you could hear an entire concert of 20th-century music was on a college campus. San Diego New Music pitched the idea of a concert series devoted to modern music and 20th-century classics at the Athenaeum. The concerts of modern music perfectly complement the exhibitions of modern art held in the Athenaeum’s galleries. In 1996, San Diego New Music presented its first season. The series was called "Noise at the Library," and the ensemble would later adopt the name, as well.
San Diego New Music and the Athenaeum have been happily co-presenting concerts of new music ever since.
For more information on the organization go to www.sandiegonewmusic.com.
Face coverings are required for attendees, regardless of vaccination status. This event will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of the concert. Event capacity is limited to 70% for now.