If you want to play with Ann Theresa Kang, you must be flexible. And Peabody musicians, being a close-knit family of players, know that.
Kang is the director of Conservatory Avant Garde Ensemble at Peabody Institute. The ensemble focuses on music written since 1950. It?s all about experimentalism, and exploring the meaning of music through various instruments.
“Our concerts mostly feature members of the Peabody community,” Kang said, “including faculty, alumni and students.”
Tonight?s program will premiere a piece written specifically for CAGE by Bruno Amato, a recently retired Peabody professor of composition and theory.
“I try to make CAGE concerts fun and interesting by adding multi-media elements, staging, lighting or anything else that might enhance the concert experience,” Kang said.
The concerts are also thematic ? tonight?s being “six degrees of separation.” The performers and composers are all related to one another in different ways.
The acronym CAGE is a tribute to composer and music philosopher John Cage, who, according to Kang, is often referred to as the father of avant-garde music. To this end, Kang always tries to program one piece by Cage on every concert repertoire. Voice student Bonny Lander will sing Cage?s “Aria.”
“[CAGE] is a marvelous and exciting addition to the musical culture of Peabody,” said Maria Lambros, a violist and professor of chamber music at Peabody. “Their programs are inventive and creative, drawing upon early avant-garde works ? as well as compositions where the ink is barely dry.”
IF YOU GO
Conservatory Avant Garde Ensemble
» Venue: Peabody Institute, Leith Symington Griswold Hall, 17 E. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore
» Time: 7:30 p.m. today
» Tickets: Free
» More info: 410-659-8100, ext 2
