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Music of Changes Promotes Contemporary Classical Music

01/21/02
by Bob Calverley
Engineer and pianist Elaine Chew performed at a Dec. 3 concert presented by Music of Changes, a new organization consisting largely of USC faculty and students, and dedicated to presenting contemporary classical music.

Each of the organization’s inaugural five concerts is devoted to a single composer selected through a nationwide competition. The December concert featured works by Peter Child, professor of music at MIT. In addition to "Doubles," performed by Chew, the program included Sonata for Viola and Piano; "Tableaux I" and "Tableaux II" for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano; and "Bleak Light: Four Poems of John Hildebidle" for baritone and piano. Most of the performers were students and faculty from the USC Thornton School of Music.

The "Bleak Light" performance, a world premiere, was commissioned by Music of Changes for the concert. Each of the concerts includes a world premiere performance.

The concerts are held at the small but acoustically superb Herbert Zipper Concert Hall, part of the Colburn School of the Performing Arts in downtown Los Angeles. All of the concerts are being broadcast on Ovation, Knowledge, Wisdom and other cultural television networks to a potential audience of 25 million.

The next concert, on Feb. 7, will feature Australian-English composer Chris Dench. Tickets and more information are available by calling (310) 205-2637.