Musiqa Presents THE MOVING IMAGE

Musiqa, two-time winner of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, presents The Moving Image, the third installment in its 2017/18 Music+ concert series. The program features new music ensemble Loop38 and consists of four compelling works paired with short films, adding another dimension to the ordinary live concert experience.

The longest work on the program, at eighteen minutes, is Transit, by Dutch composer Michael van der Aa. A Grawemeyer Award winner, van der Aa writes uniquely high-energy, engaging music. The composer writes that "In Transit the movements of the pianist interact theatrically with the video projection, the focus shifting between the video projections and the virtuosic playing of the pianist."

English composer Anna Clyne's Steelworks for ensemble, tape and film, is paired with visual artist Luke DuBois' reimagining of the 1936 film Steel: A Symphony of Industry. Clyne, a Grammy nominee, has been composer in residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, is perhaps best known for her double violin concerto Prince of Clouds and the orchestral work Night Ferry, the latter of which was premiered in Chicago and was performed at the 2016 BBC Proms. Her style is immediate and often moving, with an occasional hard-edged, industrial quality that suits the film perfectly.

Reena Esmail's Perhaps, a 2005 work scored for unaccompanied cello, was created in collaboration with dancer and filmmaker Heather McCalden. The works complement each other nicely, largely due to the organic nature of their co-creations. Esmail's music takes as its inspiration an essay by Jacques Derrida entitled "The Loving in Friendship: Perhaps: - the Adverb, and the Noun." By exploring the relative duality of language, its plasticity of form and function, Esmail "allows room for uncertainty."

The program ends with Michael Gandolfi's The History of the World in Seven Acts, a work for chamber ensemble and computer animation. Gandolfi, a member of the so-called Atlanta School of composers, writes in a style influenced by both classical and popular genres. Premiered by Boston Musica Viva, the piece was created in collaboration with MIT research scientist and animator Jonathan Bachrach.

The Moving Image is part of the Circle of Fifths subscription series, the young professionals pass to Houston arts organizations. Launched as a partnership between five Houston music organizations-Ars Lyrica Houston, Da Camera, Houston Chamber Choir, Mercury, and ROCO-Circle of Fifths now includes Opera in the Heights, Main Street Theater, The Catastrophic Theater, METdance, and Musiqa and now offers subscription series across four different genres designed for young professionals.

Musiqa's The Moving Image

Saturday, March 3, 2018

MATCH - Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston

MATCH Box 4

3400 Main Street

Houston, TX 77002

7:30 PM - Performance

$20 - $55

Student, senior and military discounts available

ON THE PROGRAM:

Michael van der Aa: Transit for piano and film

Anna Clyne: Steelworks for ensemble, tape and film

Reena Esmail: Perhaps for cello and film

Michael Gandolfi: The History of the World in Seven Acts for chamber ensemble and film

PERFORMERS:

Loop38

ABOUT MUSIQA

Musiqa is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. Founded in 2002 and led by four composers, Musiqa aims to enrich and inspire the community through programs that integrate contemporary music with other modern art forms. Musiqa celebrates modern creative arts through interdisciplinary concerts that highlight modern music and its connections to literature, film, dance, art, and more. With its innovative collaborations and educational programming, Musiqa strives to make modern repertoire accessible and vital to audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds.

ABOUT CIRCLE OF FIFTHS

Circle of Fifths is the young professionals pass to Houston arts organizations. Launched ain 2016 as a partnership among five Houston music organizations-Ars Lyrica Houston, Da Camera, Houston Chamber Choir, Mercury, and ROCO-Circle of Fifths now includes Opera in the Heights, Main Street Theater, The Catastrophic Theater, METdance, and Musiqa and offers subscription series designed for young professionals across four different genres.

Photo: The cellist Kaori Yamagami is performing Michel van der Aa's 'Up-close'. Photo by Maikel Samuels