News & Media

Michigan’s New Music Ensemble To Perform March 18 At Ohio Wesleyan

Grand Valley State University Student Group Celebrates Contemporary Music

DELAWARE, Ohio – The New Music Ensemble at Grand Valley State University performs “with giddy exuberance and energy, rhythmic drive, and an exceptional tonal blend,” proclaims the Detroit Free Press. “To put it another way,” chimes in Newsweek, “these kids are a trip.”

On March 18, this acclaimed group of undergraduate musicians from Michigan will visit Ohio Wesleyan University for three free public events. At 4 p.m., the students will give a presentation on “Technology in New Music.” This will be followed at 7:30 p.m. by a pre-concert talk and, at 8 p.m., by a community concert. All three events will be held in Jemison Auditorium inside OWU’s Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware.

Founded in 2006 by its director Bill Ryan, the New Music Ensemble seeks to promote contemporary music through commissions, tours, recordings, collaborations, outreach events, and workshops. It also works to prepare students for careers in music and for roles as educators, advocates, and leaders in their field.

The ensemble has been profiled in publications including Newsweek, The New York Times, and Billboard Magazine. It has released three critically acclaimed recordings named to best release lists by The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Weekly, Time Out Chicago, and many others.

Tracks from the group’s second CD, “In C Remixed,” can be heard on MTV’s series “Teen Wolf,” as well as in the documentary film “As I AM: the Life and Times of DJ AM.” The ensemble’s first CD, “Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians,” was named one of the top five classical recordings of the decade by WNYC’s John Schaefer and the No. 1 classical recording of the decade by the public radio station’s Soundcheck listener poll.

Actively engaged in the creation of new works, the ensemble has commissioned and premiered 33 compositions by composers including Marc Mellits, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Anna Clyne, Michael Lowenstern, Zoe Keating, David Lang, Jad Abumrad, and David Biedenbender, as well as more than 150 student compositions. The group’s YouTube videos also have amassed more than 1.5 million views.

Learn more about the New Music Ensemble at http://newmusicensemble.org and more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Music and upcoming OWU campus performances at www.owu.edu/music.

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Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 87 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,675 students represent 43 U.S. states and territories and 33 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.