Contemporary music giant showcases talents of Syracuse students, faculty and alumni, among others.
The world premiere of a chamber piece by Syracuse University Professor Natalie Draper is among the highlights of the Society for New Music (SNM)’s 2022-23 season. The premiere is one of six programs that SNM is presenting this academic year throughout Central New York, encompassing a range of sounds, styles and compositional scenes.
Founded in 1971, SNM is the only year-round new music organization in New York state outside of Manhattan. The Syracuse-based nonprofit also is a longtime University partner, with students, faculty and alumni annually participating in 30-some concerts and workshops. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit societyfornewmusic.org.
The schedule is as follows:
Friday, Sept. 9
Second performance of Home Burial opera by Charles Lupia ’77, L’91
CNY Jazz Central (441 East Washington St., Syracuse)
7:30 p.m.
Lupia makes his stage debut with Home Burial, a one-act chamber opera based on Robert Frost’s The Death of the Hired Man. Against the backdrop of a familial homecoming, Lupia considers themes of power, friendship, guilt and redemption. The production stars soprano Laura Enslin, tenor Dan Fields ’17 and bass-baritone David Neal, accompanied by pianist Sar Strong G’98, violinist Jonathan Hwang and cellist Zachary Sweet—all under the direction of Heather Buchman. The first half of the all-American program features vocal selections by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Paulus and Judith Cloud.
Sunday, Oct. 2
“Evolutions: Music by the Next Generation”
St. Paul’s Episcopal (220 East Fayette St., Syracuse)
4 p.m.
“Evolutions is a three-movement work exploring gradual change, the idea that something can evolve out of nothing,” explains Natalie Draper, an assistant professor in the Setnor School of Music in Syracuse’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. Scored for an extended Pierrot Ensemble (i.e., flute, clarinets, violin, viola, cello, piano and percussion), the program’s title work begins with a groove, which Draper reworks through various instrumental colors and registers. The wave-like second movement swells before receding into a lush, choralesque finale.
Also on the program are Floating Points by Ryan Carter and Pointillism by Symphoria Principal Pops Conductor Sean O’Loughlin ’95, both commissioned by SNM. Minnaloushe by Alexandros Darna completes the program. Darna is the 2022 winner of the Brian M. Israel Prize, co-sponsored by SNM and the New York Federation of Music Clubs.
The concert is performed by members of the Society Players.
Friday, Nov. 4
Music from the Society of Composers Inc., Region II Conference
Park Central Presbyterian Church (504 East Fayette St., Syracuse)
7:30 p.m.
SNM teams up with the Setnor School, host of the Society of Composers Inc. (SCI)’s Region II Conference, for an evening of new music by established and rising stars. The program features works by SCI members Jiyoun Chung, Wenbin Lyu, Paul Novak, Charles Peck, Paul Richards, Sami Seif and Octavio Vazquez.
Friday, Feb. 17-Sunday, Feb. 19
Annual “Vision of Sound” performance
Syracuse, Geneva and Rochester (venues TBA)
Times TBA
An SNM tradition for 17 years, “Vision of Sound” presents an evening of original music, dance and movement by regional artists. The Society Players perform works by Christopher Cresswell ’11, former Syracuse professor Sally Lamb McCune, Ryan Chase, Carrie Magin, Mark Olivieri and Doc Woods.
Sunday, March 26
Syracuse Symposium concert “Repair Works”
Hergenhan Auditorium (Newhouse 3), Syracuse University
2 p.m.
SNM marks Syracuse Symposium’s yearlong theme of “Repair: Retelling, Resisting, Reimaging” with the world premiere of a piece by former Syracuse professor James Gordon Williams. Rounding out the program are Glorious Mahalia by Stacy Garrop; Oh, Freedom by guest composer Anthony R. Green; and I told you by Flannery Cunningham.
Sunday, April 23
Music by SNM prize-winners
St. Paul’s Episcopal (220 East Fayette St., Syracuse)
4 p.m.
SNM concludes its 51st season with new music by prize-winning composers. Featured are SNM-commissioned composer Steve Ferre’s Shadows of Innocence, winner of the Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers; Octavio Vazquez’s Migrant, co-commissioned by SNM and the National Endowment for the Arts; and 2022 Israel/Pellman prize-winner Christian-Frédéric Bloquert’s Serenade: Recomposed.
SNM is the brainchild of Neva Pilgrim, who co-founded the successful nonprofit in 1971. Not even a global pandemic has deterred SNM from continuing to fund commissions, present concerts and workshops, and recognize emerging composers. “We’re excited about the next 50 years,” says Pilgrim, who has served as an artist-in-residence at Syracuse and Colgate universities. “The success of the Society for New Music is a testament to not only the hard work of many people, but also the growing popularity of contemporary classical music.”
Pilgrim, who also has produced and hosted Fresh Ink on WCNY-FM for the past 26 years, sums up the SNM aesthetic with three words: “Variety. Imagination. Originality.”
Regular tickets are $20. Student and senior citizen tickets are $15. Audience members 18 and under are free of charge.
“Repair Works” is free to Syracuse students, faculty and staff with ID.
