The Performance of Contemporary Music

Undergraduate

This course explores contemporary music from the post-serial era to the present day through the study of musical repertoire and its performance. Emphasizing performance as a lens for musical inquiry, students engage in advanced musical analysis, expand their expressive and technical possibilities through extended techniques, improvisation, and creative arrangements, and cultivate a liberated artistic voice in shaping and realizing visionary works from the contemporary repertoire. Students study, play through, and perform late 20th and early 21st century music by a variety of contemporary composers, and tackle the music from a performer’s perspective, combining knowledge of musical context, theory, and technique to challenge themselves in creating engaging performances for their audiences. Open to all instrumentalists and vocalists. Students must have a strong command of western musical notation. No audition required. Students must bring their instruments to class. HTBA