November 11, 2004
Event: The New Music Café presented as part of the Illinois Wesleyan New Music Series
Date: Nov. 14 (Sunday)
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall, 1210 Park St., Bloomington
Admission: Free and open to the public
Background: On the program of The New Music Café will be two world premieres by Mario Pelusi, director of Illinois Wesleyan’s School of Music and conductor-in-residence.
Also on the program will be electronic music by Indonesian-born Dutch contemporary composer Roderik de Man, and an early 20th century classic for cello and piano by composer Anton Webern, who was most active as a conductor of theater orchestras throughout Europe, during the early stages of his career. In the world of music, Webern is considered an important figure among the 20th century’s most significant composers.
A piece by composer Olivier Messiaen will also be performed. Messiaen is considered by music critics to be one of the 20th century’s most influential and visionary composers, who had a special love for birds. He spent many hours outdoors listening to bird calls and writing them down in musical notation, and often incorporated birdsong into his compositions. According to David Vayo, professor of composition and theory and director of The New Music Café, “In (Messiaen’s) remarkable music, the piano somehow seems to become, not merely imitate, a bird.”
Pelusi’s A Musical Narrative for Unaccompanied Violoncello performed by William Cernota will open the concert, followed by Webern’s Drei Kleine Stucke performed by sophomore music major Adam Abraham from Vernon Hills, Ill. on violoncello and Eva Ferguson, lecturer in music, on piano.
Roderik de Man’s Music, when soft voices die, an electroacoustic composition will then be performed, followed by Messiaen’s Petites Esquisses d’Ouiseaux performed by Vayo on piano. The program will end with Pelusi’s Aria for Unaccompanied Viola performed by Michael Hall, adjunct professor in music.
Pelusi has composed many chamber and orchestral pieces, which have been performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany. He is the recipient of numerous awards, grants, and fellowships from organizations such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the American Music Center, the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Contact: For additional information contact the Illinois Wesleyan School of Music office at (309) 556-3061.
