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March 27 , 2006
World, new music take stage for spring concerts
through April

BY Nancy condon

Fans of new and world music will not have to look beyond the Emory campus over the next few weeks to hear the sounds they love.

A series of concerts in March and April will bring an international beat to the University.

Tangueros Emory and Friends, an ensemble of international and local artists who formed a social club to celebrate the tango, will perform March 31 in the Performing Arts Studio during two shows scheduled for 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. (Tickets are $10; $5 for non-Emory students and senior citizens 65 and over; Emory students free.)

The evening is organized by Horacio Arcidiacono, a dance instructor and member of the group, and Kristin Wendland, a faculty member in the music department. Tangueros Emory is a University social club for students, alumni and Atlanta residents who love to tango. The friends include teachers and members of Atlanta Tango, Milonga a Media Luz Cooperativos, Buenos Aires’s Tango Academy and Tango Evolution
.
Tango, known for its sensual style, has long been a part of Argentine culture. Tango devotees, which has made a comeback among the general population in recent years, span the globe.

The program will begin with a demonstration of how the dance was performed several years ago and will end with milonga, a modern tango social dance that will be open to all tango dancers in the audience.

Music will be performed by Osvaldo Barrios, a Buenos Aires bandoneón player; duoATL, which features classical guitarist Brian Luckett and flutist Nicole Randall; Argentine violinist Alejandro Drago; and guitarist and Emory sophomore Gray Reilly. Tenor Julian Ingram, a Kennesaw State University vocal student, sings the opening piece, “El Payador,” by 19th century Argentine composer Gabino Ezeiza.

Thamyris New Music will present “Metal Garden” during a free performance at the Schwartz Center at
8 p.m. on March 28. Founded in 1987 by music department faculty members Laura Gordy and Peggy Benkeser, the group will perform solo and ensemble pieces by present-day composers.

Thamyris has been a major presence in Atlanta’s new music scene, winning the Cultural Olympiad Regional Designation Awards from 1993 to 1995. The group had a five-year residency with Spivey Hall, and was appointed ensemble-in-residence at Emory in 1998.

During the performance, Gordy will open “Metal Garden” with “Music for Piano,” by Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. Electronics will provide depth for three of the four solo pieces, written for instruments normally not played solo, including Kaijo Saariaho’s “Six Japanese Gardens” for percussion, performed by Stuart Gerber, a founding member of the new music group Bent Frequency; and Matthew Marth’s “They’re Still Running to the West, Rex,” played by cellist Craig Hultgren, Alabama Symphony member. Everett’s “Rendezvous IV” for violin, performed by Atlanta Opera Concertmaster Helen Kim, incorporates an additional layer of interactive electronics. The other two pieces, Adès’ “Catch” and Andriesson’s “Worker’s Union” are played by the entire ensemble with Everett conducting and playing double bass and electronics and Ted Gurch playing clarinet.

“The general idea of our program is to incorporate two extremes,” Everett said. “On one hand, we are showcasing individuals, and on the other we are demonstrating how there is this ultimate unity in new music.”

Prairie Winds, a wind instrument quintet, will perform April 6 at 8 p.m., followed by a performance by the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta’s Society Chamber Orchestra and guests on April 9 at 4 p.m. The Emory Wind Ensemble and graduate organ students will perform on April 11 at 8 p.m. All of those April performances will be held in the Schwartz Center at no charge.

For more information, call 404-727-5050 or visit www.arts.emory.edu.

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