Is it all right to combine classical musicianship — specifically a Ph.D. in composition from Harvard — with a pervasive interest in DJ and turntable music?
“I thought it was a great idea,” said Brian Sacawa, saxophonist and co-curator of the Contemporary Museum’s Mobtown Modern Concert series. “Erik [Spangler] had just finished his work at Harvard and was pretty forward about saying he was anxious to depart from the type of music he was writing [there],”
The piece that Spangler (the other Mobtown Modern curator) wrote is “laptops and attic instruments” and will be one of five feature works from maverick composers who have combined their classical training with modern musical influences like hip-hop and rock. The concert tonight, appropriately performed at Baltimore’s Contemporary Museum as its 2008-2009 season opener, will explore new music by pairing classical instruments, such as saxophone and cello with electric guitar, drums and — yes — sound-mixing technology.
Spangler hopes that the audience will take away “a broader perspective of recent music than what is represented in either mainstream media or the traditional concert hall.”
In addition to Spangler’s piece, the “Too Cool for School” concert will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang’s “The Anvil Chorus,” “Lick” by Julia Wolfe, “Paint Box” by Anna Clyne and “Grab It!” by Jacob ter Veldhuis. A video installation during the pieces will be created live during the concert by artist Guy Warner.
“The response to Mobtown Modern’s first season at the Contemporary Museum was overwhelming,” said museum Executive Director Irene Hofmann. “We create programming around many forms of contemporary art to act as a catalyst for discussion, and there is no doubt that Mobtown Modern has done exactly that.”
If you go
Mobtown Modern “Too Cool for School” Concert
- Venue: Contemporary Museum, 100 West Centre St., Baltimore
- When: 8 tonight
- Tickets: $10
- Info.: 410-783-5720; contemporary.org
