[NEOPAL]The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, With Pianist Marilyn Nonken, Will Present World Premieres in Oberlin, Cleveland, and New York

[Marci Janas]

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  Media Contact Only:
Marci Janas, Director of Conservatory Media Relations
(440) 775-8328 (office); (440) 667-2724 (cell); marci.janas at oberlin.edu


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, With Pianist Marilyn Nonken, =20=

Will Present
World Premieres in Oberlin, Cleveland, and New York


<Editors please note: biographical information is included. Digital=20
photos of the CME available upon request.>

OBERLIN, OHIO (March 24, 2006) =97 The Oberlin Contemporary Music=20
Ensemble (CME), under the direction of Timothy Weiss, will present=20
ambitious, diverse, and provocative evenings of new music, including=20
two world premieres, during performances in Oberlin, Cleveland, and New=20=

York City. One of the premieres, Trespass, by New York-based composer=20
Jason Eckardt, was commissioned by the CME and is dedicated to pianist=20=

Marilyn Nonken =97 called a =93determined protector of important music=94 =
by=20
the New York Times =97 who will perform the work at all three concerts.
	The Oberlin concert, which is free and open the public, will be=20=

presented Friday, April 21, at 8 p.m. in Warner Concert Hall at the=20
Oberlin Conservatory of Music, 77 West College Streeet, Oberlin, Ohio.=20=

For more information, please call the Conservatory=92s 24-hour Concert=20=

Hotline at 440-775-6933 or visit www.oberlin.edu. Free parking is=20
available throughout the Oberlin campus. Jason Eckardt and Marilyn=20
Nonken will be in residence at Oberlin for a week of intensive=20
rehearsals and master classes prior to the concert.
	The Cleveland concert, which is free and open to the public, =
takes=20
place Sunday, April 23, at 8 p.m. in Drinko Recital Hall, in the Music=20=

and Communication Building on the Cleveland State University campus,=20
located at 2001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. For more information, please=20=

contact Greg D=92Alessio or Toni Lovejoy at 216-687-5010.
The tour concludes in New York City on Sunday, April 30, at 8 p.m. at=20
Merkin Concert Hall.
Tickets for the Merkin concert are $10 for the general public, $5 for=20
seniors and students, and free for those with an Oberlin College I.D.=20
or for Oberlin alumni. All seats are reserved. For more information,=20
please call the Merkin Hall box office at (212) 501-3330 or visit=20
www.kaufman-center.org. Merkin Hall is located in the Kaufman Center at=20=

129 W. 67th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam.
	The second world premiere on the program, St. Francis Preaches =
to the=20
Birds, is by Lewis Nielson, Professor of Composition at the Oberlin=20
Conservatory of Music. In his program notes for the work, Nielson wrote=20=

that although he does not intend any kind of direct correlation with=20
the actual legend of St. Francis and his sermons to the birds, the=20
saint=92s interaction with avian life can provide, by way of analogy,=20
some approaches to the workings of the piece as well as some ways of=20
listening to it. At its heart, the piece seeks to explore the elegant=20
statement of the late Herbert Br=FCn: =93Try as one might, one cannot=20
forever postpone the moment of communication.=94 Nielson=92s work is=20
dedicated to violinist J Freivogel, who graduates from Oberlin this=20
year with degrees in violin performance and politics, and who appears=20
on the program as soloist. Other works being performed are Chamber=20
Symphony Opus 2, by English powerhouse Thomas Ad=E8s, Alban Berg=92s =
double=20
concerto for violin and piano, Kammerkonzert, and Professor of=20
Composition and Music Theory Randolph Coleman=92s Apparitions, composed=20=

in 2003 and revised in 2006.
Oberlin=92s triennial commissioning program, of which the first work was=20=

James Dillon=92s The Soadie Waste for piano quintet, was instituted in=20=

2002. Future plans call for a 2009 commission by British composer=20
Rebecca Saunders. 	=93These commissions have not only been a way =
for us=20
to make a real contribution to contemporary music,=94 says Strickland=20
Gardner Professor of Music Timothy Weiss, Director of the CME, =93but=20
they have also given our student performers the kind of challenges they=20=

will have to meet in their professional careers. The commissions bring=20=

out the best in us, and the Dillon and Eckardt works are certainly=20
major contributions to new music.=94
	Weiss says that the decision to select the next composer to =
commission=20
was =93an easy one. Jason Eckardt is one of America=92s most interesting=20=

and significant young composers, and he is well known at Oberlin. The=20
result was everything we could hope for, both as a challenge for our=20
players and in the design of the piece itself.=94 In Trespass, Eckardt=20=

takes an unusual approach to arranging his material, beginning with a=20
textural density best described as climactic. The opening tension never=20=

returns, but the excitement created by its unconventionality remains as=20=

the piece gives way to a highly contrasting, lyrical exploration of=20
piano and ensemble sonority. Trespass is challenging for all the=20
performers =97 for the pianist especially =97 but the virtuosity it =
demands=20
never overshadows the complex and luscious manipulation of register and=20=

color.
	Eckardt and Marilyn Nonken, who will play Trespass=92s difficult =
piano=20
part and to whom the work is dedicated, have been dynamic presences on=20=

New York=92s new-music scene for more than 10 years. In 1993, while=20
students at Columbia, they co-founded Ensemble 21, now one of the=20
leading ensembles dedicated to the music of our time. Since those salad=20=

days, Eckardt has received commissions from Carnegie Hall and=20
percussionist Evelyn Glennie, among others; has been featured on the=20
Miller Theatre=92s Composer Portraits series; and has recently released=20=

Out of Chaos, a CD of his chamber music performed by Ensemble 21 on the=20=

Mode label. Nonken, recognized as =93one of the greatest interpreters of=20=

new music=94 by the American Record Guide and as =93a pianist from =
music=92s=20
leading edge=94 by the New York Times, has toured with the complete =
piano=20
music of Boulez, Murail, and Schoenberg. Her performance of=20
Kammerkonzert with the CME will be a =93premiere=94 of sorts in that it=20=

will be the first time she has played the work.
	This is the fourth New York appearance of the CME in two years; =
most=20
recently, the ensemble sold out the 680-seat Miller Theater with an=20
all-Ligeti concert that featured violinist Jennifer Koh =9297. Bradley=20=

Bambarger of the Star-Ledger wrote: =93the young Oberlin performers=20
played not only with precision but zeal.=94
	Winner of an award for adventurous programming by the American =
Society=20
of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and the American Symphony=20=

Orchestra League (ASOL), in 2002, the Oberlin Contemporary Music=20
Ensemble is considered one of the premiere new music ensembles in=20
higher education in the United States. The CME performs music of all=20
styles and genres, with a repertoire that is as broad as the entirety=20
of contemporary music. In addition to giving first performances of new=20=

works by prominent composers, the CME has also premiered works by=20
student, faculty, and alumni composers. Many famous and respected new=20
music performers have been guest soloists with the CME; besides Marilyn=20=

Nonken, these have included Stephen Drury, Jennifer Koh, Steven Schick,=20=

and Ursula Oppens. In May 2005, the CME, under the baton of Timothy=20
Weiss, performed two concerts of works by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, who=20=

was in residence at Oberlin. Oberlin has long been an undergraduate=20
haven for many nationally acclaimed composers, chamber musicians, and=20
ensembles, and several rising young performers of new music began their=20=

careers as members of the CME, including eighth blackbird and the=20
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).

Jason Eckardt
Jason Eckardt is one of the United States=92 most interesting and=20
significant young composers. He played guitar in rock and jazz bands=20
until, upon first hearing the music of Webern, he immediately devoted=20
himself to composition. Since then, his interests in perceptual=20
complexity, performance virtuosity, and self-organizing processes in=20
the natural world have influenced his music. He has been recognized=20
through commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Koussevitzky and Fromm=20
Foundations, the Guggenheim Museum, the Oberlin Conservatory, and=20
percussionist Evelyn Glennie; fellowships from the Rockefeller=20
Foundation, Fondation Royaumont, the MacDowell and Millay Colonies, the=20=

Fritz Reiner Center, the National Foundation for Advancement in the=20
Arts, and the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust; and awards from the League/ISCM,=20
Deutschen Musikrat-Stadt Wesel, the Aaron Copland Fund, the New York=20
State Council on the Arts, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, ASCAP, the=20
University of Illinois, and Columbia University. Eckardt=92s music has=20=

been programmed on festivals including the Festival d=92Automne,=20
Darmstadt, IRCAM-Resonances, the ISCM World Music Days, Voix Nouvelles,=20=

Musik im 20. Jahrhundert, Currents in Musical Thought-Seoul, and the=20
International Bart=F3k Festival. An active promoter of new music, =
Eckardt=20
is a cofounder and the Executive Director of the New York City-based=20
contemporary music group Ensemble 21. Recordings of Eckardt=92s works =
are=20
available on the CRI, Helicon, and Metier labels; a portrait CD titled=20=

Out of Chaos is available from Mode. He is currently a Guggenheim=20
Fellow and lives in New York.

Marilyn Nonken
Marilyn Nonken has emerged as one of the most gifted young musicians=20
dedicated to the modern and contemporary repertoires. Upon her 1993 New=20=

York debut, the New York Times heralded her as =93a determined protector=20=

of important music.=94 She has appeared on the Boston Globe=92s =93Best =
of=20
the Year=94 list five times (1997-2002), and she has been recognized as=20=

=93one of the greatest interpreters of new music=94 by the American =
Record=20
Guide.
Her performances have been presented by, among others, Carnegie Hall,=20
Lincoln Center, the Guggenheim Museum, the Rockefeller Foundation, the=20=

Cleveland Museum of Art, Miller Theatre, the Phillips Collection, and=20
Cooper Union, as well as universities and conservatories around the=20
world. In the past two seasons, she has been presented in America,=20
France, Canada, Denmark, Australia, Italy, the Czech Republic, England,=20=

Belgium, and the Netherlands. Composers who have written for her=20
include Milton Babbitt, Mario Davidovsky, Chris Dench, Jason Eckardt,=20
Michael Finnissy, Tristan Murail, Jeff Nichols, David Rakowski, and=20
Paul Nauert, and she has recently commissioned Pascal Dusapin and Drew=20=

Baker. An acclaimed chamber musician, she plays with Ensemble 21 (the=20
new music group of which she is Artistic Director and a cofounder), the=20=

Group for Contemporary Music, MusicNOW (Chicago Symphony), and Elision=20=

(Melbourne); she has also appeared as a guest with the Chamber Music=20
Society of Lincoln Center.
Nonken=92s discography features recordings on New World Records, Mode,=20=

Lovely Music, Albany, Metier, and CRI. American Spiritual, a CD of=20
works written for her, was released in 2001; 2004 releases include=20
Feldman=92s Triadic Memories, Rakowski's Martian Counterpoint, and=20
Eckardt=92s Out of Chaos (with Ensemble 21). Her latest release is=20
Tristan Murail: The Complete Piano Music (Metier). Upcoming chamber=20
releases include music of William Albright (PRISM Saxophone Quartet),=20
Brian Ferneyhough (Elision), Charles Wuorinen (cellist Fred Sherry),=20
and Louis Karchin (saxophonist Taimur Sullivan).
A student of David Burge at the Eastman School, Nonken earned a PhD in=20=

musicology at Columbia University. Nonken is a Steinway Artist.

Timothy Weiss
Conductor Timothy Weiss has gained critical acclaim throughout the=20
United States and abroad for his performances and brave, adventurous=20
programming. In his 14 years as music director of the Oberlin=20
Contemporary Music Ensemble, he has brought the group to a level of=20
artistry and virtuosity in performance rivaling that of the finest=20
professional new music groups. After a recent concert with the ensemble=20=

in Carnegie Hall, Anthony Aibel of the New York Concert Review wrote:=20
=93Under the direction of Timothy Weiss [the ensemble] presented=20
unbelievably polished, superb performances=97impeccable performances=97of=20=

extremely challenging recent music. =85 Their level of preparation=20
eclipses the highest standard. =85 Each work on the program had =
something=20
vital to say, something profound, and [Weiss] was able to communicate=20
the music=92s message with vitality and insight, despite its extreme=20
difficulty and somewhat foreign language. Weiss conducted with economy=20=

of gesture=97never over conducting, never distracting from the music =85=20=

the performance =85 cohered like one instrument with perfection thanks =
to=20
the expert preparation by Timothy Weiss.=94
Weiss is committed to exploring connections within and between pieces=20
in his performances and searching for similarities of voice between=20
composers from seemingly different genres, periods, and backgrounds.=20
Accordingly, his programs often present rare and revealing=20
juxtapositions, offering a broad range of works from the minimalists to=20=

the maximalists, from the old to the new, and from the mainstream to=20
the obscure. His repertoire in contemporary music is vast and fearless,=20=

including masterworks, very recent compositions, and an impressive=20
number of premieres and commissions. He recently received the American=20=

Symphony Orchestra League=92s Adventurous Programming Award.
As an active guest conductor, Weiss has conducted recent concerts with=20=

the BBC Scottish Symphony in Glasgow, Scotland, and with ICE=20
(International Contemporary Ensemble) in New York=92s Miller Theater and=20=

San Francisco=92s Hertz Hall. He also has conducted the Toledo Symphony,=20=

the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra, the Quad City Symphony, San=20
Angelo Symphony, the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Cleveland Chamber=20
Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of the Nacional Association de=20
Conciertos in Panama City, Panama, and the ensemble Synergy Vocals at=20
the Almeida Opera Festival in London, England.
Weiss=92s collaborations with composers, performers, and choreographers=20=

include recent performances with Ursula Oppens, Jennifer Koh =9297,=20
Marilyn Nonken, Harrison Birtwistle, Joan Tower, Tania Leon, Tan Dun,=20
Kevin Volans, James Dillon, Brian Ferneyhough, Lewis Nielson, and John=20=

Luther Adams. Upcoming collaborations include the American premiere of=20=

Olga Neuwirth=92s opera Lost Highway based on the movie by David Lynch.
A committed educator, Weiss is Professor of Conducting and Chair of the=20=

Division of Conducting and Ensembles at the Oberlin Conservatory of=20
Music where he created and mentored the ensemble eighth blackbird.  He=20=

holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels,=20
Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan.

Lewis Nielson
	Lewis Nielson studied music at the Royal Academy of Music in =
London,=20
England, Clark University in Massachusetts, and the University of Iowa,=20=

earning a PhD in music theory and composition in 1977. His music=20
appears through American Composers Edition and CDs of his music are=20
available from Albany, MMC, Centaur, and Innova Recordings. He has=20
received numerous honors for his works, including grants and awards=20
from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Delius Foundation, Meet=20
the Composer, the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Groupe de Music=20
Exp=E8rimentale de Bourges in France, the Ibla Foundation in Sicily, Pi=20=

Kappa Lambda, and the International Society of Bassists. He has=20
received many commissions from solo performers and such important=20
orchestral and chamber ensembles as the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, the=20=

Iowa Center for New Music, the new music group Thamyris, and the Aurora=20=

Brass Quintet, and his works have been performed throughout the United=20=

States and Europe. Among the more notable performances of his large=20
works have been those by the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the American=20
Composer=92s Orchestra, the Fresno (Calif.) Philharmonic, and recent CD=20=

recording and performance projects with the Slovak Radio Symphony=20
Orchestra of Bratislava, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the=20
Tchaikovsky Symphony of Moscow Radio. He served as Professor of Music=20
Theory and Composition at the University of Georgia, where he directed=20=

the University of Georgia Contemporary Chamber Ensemble for 21 years.=20
In 2000, he joined the composition faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory=20=

of Music where he is currently Professor of Composition, Chair of the=20
Composition Department, and Director of the Contemporary Music=20
Division.

Randolph Coleman
Composer Randolph Coleman was born and bred in the south=20
(Charlottesville, Virginia), educated in the Midwest (mostly=20
Northwestern University), has taught mostly in the Mideast (Oberlin,=20
Ohio) and has lived abroad for extended periods (in France, Spain,=20
Italy, Mexico, and England).
	Among the many honors his music has received are those from the =
Fromm=20
Foundation, the International Society for Contemporary Music, the=20
Fullbright Foundation, the Ohio State Arts Council, and the Rockefeller=20=

Foundation. Among the major ensembles that have performed his music, in=20=

the United States and in Europe, are the Boston Symphony, the Brooklyn=20=

Philharmonic, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Xenakis Ensemble, the=20=

Blackearth Percussion Ensemble, the Percussion Group Cincinnati, and=20
eighth blackbird. In 2002 he was awarded a residency at the Rockefeller=20=

Center in Bellagio, Italy. His discography includes the compact disc=20
dig.it iic, performed and recorded by the Percussion Group Cincinnati.
	Many dance companies, including the Oberlin Dance Collective =
from San=20
Francisco, the Cleveland Repertory Theater, and the Cincinnati Dance=20
Company, have choreographed and performed his music throughout the=20
United States, Europe, China, Japan, and Iceland, and he has=20
collaborated on many theater projects, including the Orestia and The=20
Donner Party, with Herbert Blau and the experimental theater company=20
Kraken, whose members included Bill Irwin and Julie Taymor.
	His music covers a wide range of styles and genres that stem =
directly=20
from his life, which has included performance (on piano and trombone),=20=

conducting new music, and writing about many genres of music=20
=97traditional chamber and symphonic works, jazz, rhythm and blues and a=20=

variety of non-western musics =97 for NOTES (the journal of the Music=20
Library Association), Fine Arts, and other publications.
Coleman has been on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music=20
since 1965. He directed the InterArts Program and is frequently chair=20
of the Composition Department. He was the founding chairman of the=20
Society of Composers, Inc. (formerly the American Society of University=20=

Composers) and has held dozens of residencies at universities,=20
including the universities of Michigan, Illinois, Texas, and Yale; at=20
the Peabody School of Music; and at such independent institutions as=20
the Benjamin Franklin Library in Mexico City and the Doge Palace in=20
Venice, Italy.

About the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, founded in 1865 and situated within=20=

the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the oldest=20=

continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Renowned=20
internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber=20
and pronounced a =93national treasure=94 by the Washington Post, its =
alumni=20
have gone on to achieve illustrious careers in all aspects of the=20
serious music world. Numerous Oberlin alumni have attained stature as=20
solo performers, composers, and conductors, among them Jennifer Koh,=20
Steven Isserlis, Denyce Graves, Franco Farina, Lisa Saffer, George=20
Walker, Christopher Rouse, David Zinman, Robert Spano, and Michael=20
Christie. All of the members of the contemporary music ensembles eighth=20=

blackbird and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) are Oberlin=20=

graduates, and members of the Mir=F3, Pacifica, Juilliard, and Fry =
Street=20
quartets, among others, include Oberlin alumni, who can also be found=20
in major orchestras and opera companies throughout the world. For more=20=

information about Oberlin, please visit www.oberlin.edu.



CALENDAR LISTINGS:

The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble
Timothy Weiss, conductor
Marilyn Nonken, piano
J Freivogel, violin

JASON ECKARDT, Trespass*
LEWIS NIELSON, St. Francis Preaches to the Birds**
THOMAS AD=C8S, Chamber Symphony Opus 2
ALBAN BERG, Kammerkonzert
RANDOLPH COLEMAN, Apparitions
*World premiere/CME commission dedicated to Marilyn Nonken
** World premiere/Dedicated to violinist J Freivogel

OHIO PERFORMANCES:
OBERLIN
Friday, April 21, at 8 p.m.
Warner Concert Hall
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
77 West College Street
Oberlin, OH
TICKETS: FREE
PARKING: FREE
Further information:
440-775-6933
www.oberlin.edu

CLEVELAND
Sunday, April 23, at 8 p.m.
Drinko Recital Hall
Music and Communication Building
Cleveland State University
2001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH
TICKETS: FREE
Further information:
216-687-5010
www.csuohio.edu

NEW YORK PERFORMANCE:
NEW YORK CITY
Sunday, April 30, at 8 p.m.
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)
New York, NY
BOX OFFICE: 212-501-3330
Reserved Seat Tickets:
$10 general public
$5 seniors and students
Free for those with an Oberlin College I.D. &
   for Oberlin alumni

Media Contact Only:
Marci Janas
440-775-8328
marci.janas at oberlin.edu

# # #


Marci Janas
Director of Conservatory Media Relations
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
39 West College Street
Oberlin, OH  44074
www.oberlin.edu/con
(P) 440-775-8328
(F) 440-775-5457
marci.janas at oberlin.edu=

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<flushright><underline> Media Contact Only:

</underline>Marci Janas, Director of Conservatory Media Relations

(440) 775-8328 (office); (440) 667-2724 (cell);
=
<underline><color><param>0000,0000,FFFD</param>marci.janas at oberlin.edu</co=
lor></underline>



</flushright><underline>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


</underline><flushright><underline>

</underline></flushright><center><bold><bigger>The Oberlin
Contemporary Music Ensemble, With Pianist Marilyn Nonken,  Will
Present=20

World Premieres in Oberlin, Cleveland, and New York</bigger>


<italic>

</italic><<Editors please note: biographical information is included.
Digital photos of the CME available upon =
request.><smaller><x-tad-smaller>

</x-tad-smaller></smaller></bold></center>

OBERLIN, OHIO (March 24, 2006) =97<bold> </bold>The Oberlin Contemporary
Music Ensemble (CME), under the direction of Timothy Weiss, will
present ambitious, diverse, and provocative evenings of new music,
including two world premieres, during performances in Oberlin,
Cleveland, and New York City. One of the premieres,
<italic>Trespass</italic>, by New York-based composer Jason Eckardt,
was commissioned by the CME and is dedicated to pianist Marilyn Nonken
=97 called a =93determined protector of important music=94 by the
<italic>New York Times =97</italic> who will perform the work at all
three concerts.

	The Oberlin concert, which is free and open the public, will be
presented Friday, April 21, at 8 p.m. in Warner Concert Hall at the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music, 77 West College Streeet, Oberlin, Ohio.
For more information, please call the Conservatory=92s 24-hour Concert
Hotline at 440-775-6933 or visit
=
<underline><color><param>0000,0000,FFFD</param>www.oberlin.edu</color></un=
derline>.
Free parking is available throughout the Oberlin campus. Jason Eckardt
and Marilyn Nonken will be in residence at Oberlin for a week of
intensive rehearsals and master classes prior to the concert.=20

	The Cleveland concert, which is free and open to the public, =
takes
place Sunday, April 23, at 8 p.m. in Drinko Recital Hall, in the Music
and Communication Building on the Cleveland State University campus,
located at 2001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. For more information, please
contact Greg D=92Alessio or Toni Lovejoy at 216-687-5010.

The tour concludes in New York City on Sunday, April 30, at 8 p.m. at
Merkin Concert Hall.=20

Tickets for the Merkin concert are $10 for the general public, $5 for
seniors and students, and free for those with an Oberlin College I.D.
or for Oberlin alumni. All seats are reserved. For more information,
please call the Merkin Hall box office at (212) 501-3330 or visit
www.kaufman-center.org. Merkin Hall is located in the Kaufman Center
at 129 W. 67th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam.=20

	The second world premiere on the program, <italic>St. Francis
Preaches to the Birds</italic>, is by Lewis Nielson, Professor of
Composition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In his program notes
for the work, Nielson wrote that although he does not intend any kind
of direct correlation with the actual legend of St. Francis and his
sermons to the birds, the saint=92s interaction with avian life can
provide, by way of analogy, some approaches to the workings of the
piece as well as some ways of listening to it. At its heart, the piece
seeks to explore the elegant statement of the late Herbert Br=FCn: =93Try
as one might, one cannot forever postpone the moment of
communication.=94 Nielson=92s work is dedicated to violinist J =
Freivogel,
who graduates from Oberlin this year with degrees in violin
performance and politics, and who appears on the program as soloist.
Other works being performed are <italic>Chamber</italic>
<italic>Symphony Opus 2,</italic> by English powerhouse Thomas Ad=E8s,
Alban Berg=92s double concerto for violin and piano,
<italic>Kammerkonzert, </italic>and Professor of Composition and Music
Theory Randolph Coleman=92s <italic>Apparitions</italic>, composed in
2003 and revised in 2006.

Oberlin=92s triennial commissioning program, of which the first work was
James Dillon=92s <italic>The Soadie Waste</italic> for piano quintet,
was instituted in 2002. Future plans call for a 2009 commission by
British composer Rebecca Saunders. 	=93These commissions have not =
only
been a way for us to make a real contribution to contemporary music,=94
says Strickland Gardner Professor of Music Timothy Weiss, Director of
the CME, =93but they have also given our student performers the kind of
challenges they will have to meet in their professional careers. The
commissions bring out the best in us, and the Dillon and Eckardt works
are certainly major contributions to new music.=94

	Weiss says that the decision to select the next composer to
commission was =93an easy one. Jason Eckardt is one of America=92s most
interesting and significant young composers, and he is well known at
Oberlin. The result was everything we could hope for, both as a
challenge for our players and in the design of the piece itself.=94 In
<italic>Trespass</italic>, Eckardt takes an unusual approach to
arranging his material, beginning with a textural density best
described as climactic. The opening tension never returns, but the
excitement created by its unconventionality remains as the piece gives
way to a highly contrasting, lyrical exploration of piano and ensemble
sonority. <italic>Trespass</italic> is challenging for all the
performers =97 for the pianist especially =97 but the virtuosity it
demands never overshadows the complex and luscious manipulation of
register and color.<italic> </italic>

	Eckardt and Marilyn Nonken, who will play =
<italic>Trespass=92s</italic>
difficult piano part and to whom the work is dedicated, have been
dynamic presences on New York=92s new-music scene for more than 10
years. In 1993, while students at Columbia, they co-founded Ensemble
21, now one of the leading ensembles dedicated to the music of our
time. Since those salad days, Eckardt has received commissions from
Carnegie Hall and percussionist Evelyn Glennie, among others; has been
featured on the Miller Theatre=92s Composer Portraits series; and has
recently released <italic>Out of Chaos</italic>, a CD of his chamber
music performed by Ensemble 21 on the Mode label. Nonken, recognized
as =93one of the greatest interpreters of new music=94 by the
<italic>American Record Guide</italic> and as =93a pianist from music=92s
leading edge=94 by the <italic>New York Times,</italic> has toured with
the complete piano music of Boulez, Murail, and Schoenberg. Her
performance of <italic>Kammerkonzert</italic> with the CME will be a
=93premiere=94 of sorts in that it will be the first time she has played
the work.

	This is the fourth New York appearance of the CME in two years; =
most
recently, the ensemble sold out the 680-seat Miller Theater with an
all-Ligeti concert that featured violinist Jennifer Koh =9297. Bradley
Bambarger of the <italic>Star-Ledger</italic> wrote: =93the young
Oberlin performers played not only with precision but zeal.=94

	Winner of an award for adventurous programming by the American
Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and the American
Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL), in 2002, the Oberlin Contemporary
Music Ensemble is considered one of the premiere new music ensembles
in higher education in the United States. The CME performs music of
all styles and genres,<bold> </bold>with a repertoire that is as broad
as the entirety of contemporary music. In addition to giving first
performances of new works by prominent composers, the CME has also
premiered works by student, faculty, and alumni composers. Many famous
and respected new music performers have been guest soloists with the
CME; besides Marilyn Nonken, these have included Stephen Drury,
Jennifer Koh, Steven Schick, and Ursula Oppens. In May 2005, the CME,
under the baton of Timothy Weiss, performed two concerts of works by
Sir Harrison Birtwistle, who was in residence at Oberlin. Oberlin has
long been an undergraduate haven for many nationally acclaimed
composers, chamber musicians, and ensembles, and several rising young
performers of new music began their careers as members of the CME,
including eighth blackbird and the International Contemporary Ensemble
(ICE).


<bold>Jason Eckardt

</bold>Jason Eckardt<bold> </bold>is one of the United States=92 most
interesting and significant young composers. He played guitar in rock
and jazz bands until, upon first hearing the music of Webern, he
immediately devoted himself to composition. Since then, his interests
in perceptual complexity, performance virtuosity, and self-organizing
processes in the natural world have influenced his music. He has been
recognized through commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Koussevitzky
and Fromm Foundations, the Guggenheim Museum, the Oberlin
Conservatory, and percussionist Evelyn Glennie; fellowships from the
Rockefeller Foundation, Fondation Royaumont, the MacDowell and Millay
Colonies, the Fritz Reiner Center, the National Foundation for
Advancement in the Arts, and the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust; and awards
from the League/ISCM, Deutschen Musikrat-Stadt Wesel, the Aaron
Copland Fund, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Alice M.
Ditson Fund, ASCAP, the University of Illinois, and Columbia
University. Eckardt=92s music has been programmed on festivals including
the Festival d=92Automne, Darmstadt, IRCAM-Resonances, the ISCM World
Music Days, Voix Nouvelles, Musik im 20. Jahrhundert, Currents in
Musical Thought-Seoul, and the International Bart=F3k Festival. An
active promoter of new music, Eckardt is a cofounder and the Executive
Director of the New York City-based contemporary music group Ensemble
21. Recordings of Eckardt=92s works are available on the CRI, Helicon,
and Metier labels; a portrait CD titled <italic>Out of Chaos</italic>
is available from Mode. He is currently a Guggenheim Fellow and lives
in New York.=20


<bold>Marilyn Nonken

</bold>Marilyn Nonken has emerged as one of the most gifted young
musicians dedicated to the modern and contemporary repertoires. Upon
her 1993 New York debut, the<italic> New York Times</italic> heralded
her as =93a determined protector of important music.=94 She has appeared
on the <italic>Boston Globe=92s</italic> =93Best of the Year=94 list =
five
times (1997-2002), and she has been recognized as =93one of the greatest
interpreters of new music=94 by the <italic>American Record
Guide</italic>.

Her performances have been presented by, among others, Carnegie Hall,
Lincoln Center, the Guggenheim Museum, the Rockefeller Foundation, the
Cleveland Museum of Art, Miller Theatre, the Phillips Collection, and
Cooper Union, as well as universities and conservatories around the
world. In the past two seasons, she has been presented in America,
France, Canada, Denmark, Australia, Italy, the Czech Republic,
England, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Composers who have written for
her include Milton Babbitt, Mario Davidovsky, Chris Dench, Jason
Eckardt, Michael Finnissy, Tristan Murail, Jeff Nichols, David
Rakowski, and Paul Nauert, and she has recently commissioned Pascal
Dusapin and Drew Baker. An acclaimed chamber musician, she plays with
Ensemble 21 (the new music group of which she is Artistic Director and
a cofounder), the Group for Contemporary Music, MusicNOW (Chicago
Symphony), and Elision (Melbourne); she has also appeared as a guest
with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.=20

Nonken=92s discography features recordings on New World Records, Mode,
Lovely Music, Albany, Metier, and CRI. <italic>American
Spiritual</italic>, a CD of works written for her, was released in
2001; 2004 releases include Feldman=92s <italic>Triadic
Memories</italic>, Rakowski's <italic>Martian</italic>
<italic>Counterpoint</italic>, and Eckardt=92s <italic>Out of
Chaos</italic> (with Ensemble 21). Her latest release is
<italic>Tristan</italic> <italic>Murail: The Complete Piano
Music</italic> (Metier). Upcoming chamber releases include music of
William Albright (PRISM Saxophone Quartet), Brian Ferneyhough
(Elision), Charles Wuorinen (cellist Fred Sherry), and Louis Karchin
(saxophonist Taimur Sullivan).=20

A student of David Burge at the Eastman School, Nonken earned a PhD in
musicology at Columbia University. Nonken is a Steinway Artist.


<flushboth><bold>Timothy Weiss

</bold></flushboth>Conductor Timothy Weiss has gained critical acclaim
throughout the United States and abroad for his performances and
brave, adventurous programming. In his 14 years as music director of
the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, he has brought the group to a
level of artistry and virtuosity in performance rivaling that of the
finest professional new music groups. After a recent concert with the
ensemble in Carnegie Hall, Anthony Aibel of the <italic>New York
Concert Review</italic> wrote: =93Under the direction of Timothy Weiss
[the ensemble] presented unbelievably polished, superb
performances=97impeccable performances=97of extremely challenging recent
music. =85 Their level of preparation eclipses the highest standard. =85
Each work on the program had something vital to say, something
profound, and [Weiss] was able to communicate the music=92s message with
vitality and insight, despite its extreme difficulty and somewhat
foreign language. Weiss conducted with economy of gesture=97never over
conducting, never distracting from the music =85 the performance =85
cohered like one instrument with perfection thanks to the expert
preparation by Timothy Weiss.=94 =20

Weiss is committed to exploring connections within and between pieces
in his performances and searching for similarities of voice between
composers from seemingly different genres, periods, and backgrounds.
Accordingly, his programs often present rare and revealing
juxtapositions, offering a broad range of works from the minimalists
to the maximalists, from the old to the new, and from the mainstream
to the obscure. His repertoire in contemporary music is vast and
fearless, including masterworks, very recent compositions, and an
impressive number of premieres and commissions. He recently received
the American Symphony Orchestra League=92s Adventurous Programming =
Award.

As an active guest conductor, Weiss has conducted recent concerts with
the BBC Scottish Symphony in Glasgow, Scotland, and with ICE
(International Contemporary Ensemble) in New York=92s Miller Theater and
San Francisco=92s Hertz Hall. He also has conducted the Toledo Symphony,
the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra, the Quad City Symphony, San
Angelo Symphony, the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Cleveland Chamber
Symphony, <fontfamily><param>Times New Roman</param>the Symphony
Orchestra of the Nacional Association de Conciertos in Panama City,
Panama, and the ensemble Synergy Vocals at the Almeida Opera Festival
in London, England.=20

Weiss=92s collaborations with composers, performers, and choreographers
include recent performances with Ursula Oppens, Jennifer Koh =9297,
Marilyn Nonken, Harrison Birtwistle, Joan Tower, Tania Leon, Tan Dun,
Kevin Volans, James Dillon, Brian Ferneyhough, Lewis Nielson, and John
Luther Adams. Upcoming collaborations include the American premiere of
Olga Neuwirth=92s opera <italic>Lost Highway</italic> based on the movie
by David Lynch.

A committed educator, Weiss is Professor of Conducting and Chair of
the Division of Conducting and Ensembles at the Oberlin Conservatory
of Music where he created and mentored the ensemble <italic>eighth
blackbird.  </italic>He holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory of
Music in Brussels, Northwestern University, and the University of
Michigan. </fontfamily>

<bold>

Lewis Nielson

</bold>	<bold>Lewis Nielson</bold> studied music at the Royal Academy
of Music in London, England, Clark University in Massachusetts, and
the University of Iowa, earning a PhD in music theory and composition
in 1977. His music appears through American Composers Edition and CDs
of his music are available from Albany, MMC, Centaur, and Innova
Recordings. He has received numerous honors for his works, including
grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Delius
Foundation, Meet the Composer, the Georgia Council for the Arts, the
Groupe de Music Exp=E8rimentale de Bourges in France, the Ibla
Foundation in Sicily, <italic>Pi Kappa Lambda, </italic>and the
International Society of Bassists. He has received many commissions
from solo performers and such important orchestral and chamber
ensembles as the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, the Iowa Center for New
Music, the new music group Thamyris, and the Aurora Brass Quintet, and
his works have been performed throughout the United States and Europe.
Among the more notable performances of his large works have been those
by the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the American Composer=92s Orchestra, the
Fresno (Calif.) Philharmonic, and recent CD recording and performance
projects with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra of Bratislava, the
Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Tchaikovsky Symphony of Moscow
Radio. He served as Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the
University of Georgia, where he directed the University of Georgia
Contemporary Chamber Ensemble for 21 years. In 2000, he joined the
composition faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he is
currently Professor of Composition, Chair of the Composition
Department, and Director of the Contemporary Music Division.


<bold>Randolph Coleman

</bold>Composer Randolph Coleman was born and bred in the south
(Charlottesville, Virginia), educated in the Midwest (mostly
Northwestern University), has taught mostly in the Mideast (Oberlin,
Ohio) and has lived abroad for extended periods (in France, Spain,
Italy, Mexico, and England).=20

	Among the many honors his music has received are those from the =
Fromm
Foundation, the International Society for Contemporary Music, the
Fullbright Foundation, the Ohio State Arts Council, and the
Rockefeller Foundation. Among the major ensembles that have performed
his music, in the United States and in Europe, are the Boston
Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony,
the Xenakis Ensemble, the Blackearth Percussion Ensemble, the
Percussion Group Cincinnati, and eighth blackbird. In 2002 he was
awarded a residency at the Rockefeller Center in Bellagio, Italy. His
discography includes the compact disc <italic>dig.it iic,
</italic>performed and recorded by the Percussion Group Cincinnati.

	Many dance companies, including the Oberlin Dance Collective =
from San
Francisco, the Cleveland Repertory Theater, and the Cincinnati Dance
Company, have choreographed and performed his music throughout the
United States, Europe, China, Japan, and Iceland, and he has
collaborated on many theater projects, including the
<italic>Orestia</italic> and <italic>The Donner Party,</italic> with
Herbert Blau and the experimental theater company Kraken, whose
members included Bill Irwin and Julie Taymor.

	His music covers a wide range of styles and genres that stem =
directly
from his life, which has included performance (on piano and trombone),
conducting new music, and writing about many genres of music
=97traditional chamber and symphonic works, jazz, rhythm and blues and a
variety of non-western musics =97 for <italic>NOTES</italic> (the
journal of the Music Library Association), <italic>Fine Arts,</italic>
and other publications.

Coleman has been on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
since 1965. He directed the InterArts Program and is frequently chair
of the Composition Department. He was the founding chairman of the
Society of Composers, Inc<italic>.</italic> (formerly the American
Society of University Composers) and has held dozens of residencies at
universities, including the universities of Michigan, Illinois, Texas,
and Yale; at the Peabody School of Music; and at such independent
institutions as the Benjamin Franklin Library in Mexico City and the
Doge Palace in Venice, Italy.

<bold>

About the Oberlin Conservatory of Music

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music</bold>, founded in 1865 and situated
within the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the
oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States.
Renowned internationally as a professional music school of the highest
caliber and pronounced a =93national treasure=94 by the =
<italic>Washington
Post</italic>, its alumni have gone on to achieve illustrious careers
in all aspects of the serious music world. Numerous Oberlin alumni
have attained stature as solo performers, composers, and conductors,
among them Jennifer Koh, Steven Isserlis, Denyce Graves, Franco
Farina, Lisa Saffer, George Walker, Christopher Rouse, David Zinman,
Robert Spano, and Michael Christie. All of the members of the
contemporary music ensembles eighth blackbird and the International
Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) are Oberlin graduates, and members of the
Mir=F3, Pacifica, Juilliard, and Fry Street quartets, among others,
include Oberlin alumni, who can also be found in major orchestras and
opera companies throughout the world. For more information about
Oberlin, please visit
=
<underline><color><param>0000,0000,FFFD</param>www.oberlin.edu</color></un=
derline>.

<x-tad-smaller>



</x-tad-smaller><bold><x-tad-smaller>CALENDAR LISTINGS:


The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble

Timothy Weiss, </x-tad-smaller><italic><x-tad-smaller>conductor

</x-tad-smaller></italic><x-tad-smaller>Marilyn Nonken,
</x-tad-smaller><italic><x-tad-smaller>piano

</x-tad-smaller></italic><x-tad-smaller>J Freivogel,
</x-tad-smaller><italic><x-tad-smaller>violin

</x-tad-smaller></italic><x-tad-smaller>

JASON ECKARDT, =
</x-tad-smaller></bold><italic><x-tad-smaller>Trespass*</x-tad-smaller><bo=
ld><x-tad-smaller>

</x-tad-smaller></bold></italic><bold><x-tad-smaller>LEWIS NIELSON,
</x-tad-smaller></bold><italic><x-tad-smaller>St. Francis Preaches to
the Birds**

</x-tad-smaller></italic><bold><x-tad-smaller>THOMAS AD=C8S,
</x-tad-smaller></bold><italic><x-tad-smaller>Chamber Symphony Opus 2

</x-tad-smaller></italic><bold><x-tad-smaller>ALBAN BERG,
=
</x-tad-smaller></bold><italic><x-tad-smaller>Kammerkonzert</x-tad-smaller=
></italic><bold><x-tad-smaller>

RANDOLPH COLEMAN,
=
</x-tad-smaller></bold><italic><x-tad-smaller>Apparitions</x-tad-smaller><=
/italic><bold><x-tad-smaller>

</x-tad-smaller></bold><x-tad-smaller>*World premiere/CME commission
dedicated to Marilyn Nonken

** World premiere/Dedicated to violinist J Freivogel

</x-tad-smaller><bold><x-tad-smaller>

OHIO PERFORMANCES:

OBERLIN

Friday, April 21, at 8 p.m.

Warner Concert Hall

Oberlin Conservatory of Music

77 West College Street

Oberlin, OH =20

TICKETS: FREE

PARKING: FREE

Further information:

440-775-6933=20

=
</x-tad-smaller><underline><color><param>0000,0000,FFFD</param><x-tad-smal=
ler>www.oberlin.edu</x-tad-smaller></color></underline><x-tad-smaller>


CLEVELAND

Sunday, April 23, at 8 p.m.

Drinko Recital Hall

Music and Communication Building

Cleveland State University

2001 Euclid Avenue

Cleveland, OH

TICKETS: FREE

Further information:

216-687-5010

=
</x-tad-smaller><underline><color><param>0000,0000,FFFD</param><x-tad-smal=
ler>www.csuohio.edu</x-tad-smaller></color></underline><x-tad-smaller>


NEW YORK PERFORMANCE:

NEW YORK CITY

Sunday, April 30, at 8 p.m.

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

New York, NY

BOX OFFICE: 212-501-3330

</x-tad-smaller></bold><x-tad-smaller>Reserved Seat Tickets:

$10 general public

$5 seniors and students

Free for those with an Oberlin College I.D. &

  for Oberlin alumni

</x-tad-smaller><bold><smaller><smaller>

</smaller></smaller></bold><smaller>Media Contact Only:

Marci Janas

440-775-8328

=
<underline><color><param>0000,0000,FFFD</param>marci.janas at oberlin.edu</co=
lor></underline><x-tad-smaller>

</x-tad-smaller><bold><smaller>

</smaller></bold></smaller><center># # #<x-tad-smaller>

</x-tad-smaller></center>


Marci Janas

Director of Conservatory Media Relations

Oberlin Conservatory of Music

39 West College Street

Oberlin, OH  44074

www.oberlin.edu/con

(P) 440-775-8328

(F) 440-775-5457

marci.janas at oberlin.edu=

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