Carleton’s music department is showing again its wide-ranging program, by hosting a lecture-recital with composer Aris Carastathis on March 6.
Carastathis is associate professor of Theory and Composition and the Director of the New Music Ensemble at Lakehead University, in Thunder Bay. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Louisiana State University, where he studied composition with Dinos Constantinides. He is also Associate Composer and a Voting Member of the Canadian Music Centre, and Vice President and Artistic Director of New Music North.
But what exactly constitutes “New” music? It is not just music that was recently composed. The title “New” refers to a novel way of constructing or performing music, such as graphic scores, extended playing techniques the use of sounds from unusual (non-instrumental) sources.
A “graphic score,” for instance, is a piece notated not in conventional staff and notes. Instead, it could be images of objects that are left to the performer to interpret and find appropriate sounds for. “Extended playing techniques” simply means playing an instrument in an unusual manner, such as strumming the strings of a piano with the fingers rather than pressing the keys.
The featured performers will be members of Carleton’s Contemporary Music Ensemble as well as several special guest musicians. After each performance, Carastathis will talk about the processes and methods involved in composing each piece.
Carleton is one of the few universities in Canada with a music department that does not focus entirely on the classical idiom. It also offers instruction on Jazz and Pop styles. In keeping with this variety, it promotes the performance of new music with recitals such as this one and its Contemporary Music Ensemble.
This workshop will be of interest to anyone with an interest in composition or contemporary and exploratory musics. Admission is free and anyone is welcome to attend.
This Friday, March 6th, Carleton’s music department will host a lecture-recital with composer Aris Carastathis in an effort to expose the student body to new music, and to enable our musicians to work with a contemporary composer. Admission is free and everyone is welcome. It starts at 3:30 pm in Loeb A900.