Inspirational composer to be featured at Symposium

By Jackson Holtz for the Oregon Daily Emerald.

While the Oregon Bach Festival is celebrating its 35th season, the Composers Symposium, a festival within the festival, is preparing for its 10th anniversary. The Symposium intends to pay homage to Bach's legacy as composer by inspiring and giving voice to the newest generation of composers. The Symposium, which begins today at the University of Oregon's School of Music, is quickly on its way to becoming one of the leading forums for new classical music in the country, according to those involved.

This year's Symposium theme, "Celebrating Creativity with Creativity," pays tribute to George Crumb, one of the greats of contemporary American music, who will celebrate his 75th birthday Saturday.

Several of his pieces will headline the concerts, but perhaps a greater celebration will be the world premier of 13 newly commissioned pieces by Symposium participants, all written in his honor.

Although Crumb may not be a household name, he has been highly regarded within the classical music community for more than 40 years. His work has been recognized with numerous international awards, notably a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy. Crumb is perhaps best known for his revolutionary composition for string quartet, "Black Angels," which will be performed on Friday afternoon in the Beall Concert Hall.

"Black Angels" utilizes a variety of contemporary techniques that exemplify Crumb's work. The acoustic instruments are amplified, the inside of the piano is strummed and plucked, performers speak and shout numbers in various languages and water-filled glasses are used to play a variety of pitches.

"There are enormous challenges in playing his music, not the least of which is just figuring it out technically," Ron Blessinger said. Blessinger is the artistic director and violinist for Third Angle, the professional new music ensemble that will perform in the Symposium.

But Blessinger points out that Crumb's music is more than a mix of advanced techniques.

"There's a very obvious spirituality that makes the music very compelling," Blessinger said.

It is the spirituality in Crumb's music that gave inspiration to Paul Lombardi, a symposium participant, whose work "Holocene" will receive its premier Saturday morning.

"I've personally learned a lot through his music," Lombardi said. According to those involved, the diversity of the 13 new compositions reflects the eclectic nature of the art, and the varied personalities of the composers.

"One piece is amplified and we read poetry, like in 'Black Angels'," Blessinger, who's been rehearsing the new pieces all week, said. "Other pieces are just statements of who those composers are."

In addition to the new compositions, "Awakening" and "September Elegy," the works of Crumb's son David, also will be played. The younger Crumb, an assistant professor of composition and theory at the University, is carrying on the musical tradition of his family. George Crumb's parents were both musicians. His daughter, Ann, is an accomplished Broadway singer.

But audiences should be forewarned: Neither of the Crumbs' works nor any of the 13 new compositions are toe-tapping pieces. They are written to explore the boundaries of the medium, the instruments, the performers and the audience.

"One must listen to the work with a completely open mind and ears so that you explore the fullness of the musical expression," said Robert Kyr, the Symposium director and founder, as well as a professor of composition and theory at the University of Oregon. Kyr, once a student of Crumb's, hopes to expose more people to Crumb's work as well as other contemporary composers.

"I hope that listeners have an unforgettable musical experience with the music of an American master composer," Kyr said.

But, he acknowledges a debt to a forefather in the field and the festival's namesake. "There isn't a composer in the world who hasn't been influenced by Bach."

The Composers Symposium of the Oregon Bach Festival takes place Friday, July 2, 2 p.m. and Saturday, July 3, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Beall Concert Hall. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for students and seniors. For more information about the Oregon Bach Festival, go to http://www.oregonbachfestival.com. More information about George Crumb is available in a special exhibit in the music section on the third floor of Knight Library.