Composers to hold state conference

Musical compositions by several faculty, staff and students will be included in concerts featured at the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers’ state conference March 30-April 1 on campus.

Hosted by the School of Music and the Madison chapter of Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, the weekend will feature seven concerts and 52 works by 43 member composers, plus two workshops.

The free public events will be at the School of Music in Mosse Humanities Building, except one concert at the Memorial Union and another at Canterbury Booksellers Coffeehouse, 315 W. Gorham St.

In addition to other composers, the concert Friday, March 30, at 8 p.m. in the Eastman Organ Recital Hall features works by Robert Crane, emeritus, music; and Joel Naumann, music.

Saturday’s first concert, 10 a.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, includes works by academic staff member David Drexler, food science, and music graduate student Elliott Goldkind.

The weekend’s third concert, Saturday, March 31, 2:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, features chamber works whose composers include Drexler; music faculty member Stephen Dembski; dance professor Joseph Koykkar; and staff member and music alum Michael Pare.

The Saturday night concert features the UW–Madison Symphony Orchestra with David E. Becker conducting and Wu Han as the piano soloist. That performance, at 8 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater, features Mozart’s Piano Concerto Nr. 17 in G Major, K.458, Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and the world premiere of Wisconsin Alliance for Composers member John Harmon’s Celebration of Earth Day 2001.

Compositions by graduate students Scott Gendel, Dan Maske and Michael Sinshack, and by junior Royden Tull will be part of the 10 a.m. concert of Student Composer Chamber Works on Sunday, April 1, in the Morphy Recital Hall.

Naumann will have another work performed Sunday, April 1, at 2:30 p.m.

Compositions by Goldkind, Maske and senior Paula Matthusen will be performed Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Canterbury Booksellers Coffeehouse, 315 W. Gorham St.

The Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, Inc. is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation founded in 1984 to encourage and support the composition and performance of new music by Wisconsin composers. The group produces concerts of its members’ music throughout the state, sponsors an annual student composers contest, and commissions new works from its members for Wisconsin performance groups.

The Madison chapter produces an annual concert of newly commissioned works and an annual juried concert of student composer works.