During the month of February, Shenandoah Conservatory presents a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary residency with indie-classical music ensemble Newspeak. Hailed by The Washington Post for it’s “sophisticated compositions by cutting-edge composers” and “virtuosic playing on electrified instruments,” Newspeak is a collaboration of David T. Little, Ph.D., Shenandoah Conservatory’s director of composition and new music coordinator. The ensemble’s residency at Shenandoah features a line-up of masterclasses, performances and Q&A’s with members of Newspeak and special guest artists, such as choreographer Rebecca Lazier.
“The residency with Newspeak is one of the conservatory’s most adventurous collaborations of the year,” stated Managing Director Courtney Reilly. Reilly continued, “Increasingly, we are seeing classical music move into popular culture in new and exciting ways – from collaborations with bluegrass and roots musicians to cutting edge crossover music on independent labels. We are fortunate to have one of the pioneers of this movement, David T. Little, as part of our campus and community.”
During the week of Feb. 16, Little’s Newspeak music ensemble partners with choreographer Rebecca Lazier and her company Terrain Dance to recreate a multi-disciplinary work titled Coming Together/Attica, first premiered in New York City in 2013. Inspired by Frederic Rzewski’s composition of the same title, which was written in response to the 1971 prison uprising in Attica, Lazier’s Coming Together/Attica is a kinetic meditation on larger ideas of isolation and collision, order and chaos. It combines the stark intensity of Rzewski’s composition with layers of spoken word, live music performed by the eight-member Newspeak new music ensemble, and contemporary dance by Lazier’s acclaimed company of seven dancers. The work, which was recently part of an American Embassy tour in Greece, will be presented during a two-night run at Shenandoah Conservatory’s Glaize Studio Theatre, on Thursday, Feb. 19, and Friday, Feb. 20. The performance is approximately 50 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A with the artists.
The following week, Newspeak soprano Mellissa Hughes returns for two performances – a Feb. 26 solo concert at the Bright Box and Feb. 27 performance with EDGE Ensemble, Shenandoah Conservatory’s new music ensemble. Praised by The New York Times as a “versatile, charismatic soprano endowed with brilliant technique and superlative stage instincts,” Hughes solo performance (with electronic accompaniment) will feature Jacob Cooper’s hauntingly beautiful Silver Threads (recently released on Nonesuch Records) and works by Newspeak’s Caleb Burhans. Her performance with EDGE features the premiere of a new version of Alex Temple’s Liebeslied, Keeril Makan’s Carnegie Hall-commissioned Target and a new work by Shenandoah Conservatory senior composition major Matthew Triplett ’15, winner of this year’s William Averitt Prize in Composition.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:
Newspeak with Rebecca Lazier & Terrain Dance
Coming Together/Attica
Feb. 19 & 20, 2015 (7 p.m.)
Glaize Studio Theatre, Shenandoah University
Tickets: $10 (student/military) | $23 (senior) | $25 (adult general public)
Mellissa Hughes of Newspeak (soprano)
Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 (8 p.m.)
Bright Box Theatre, downtown Winchester
Tickets: $5 (student/military) | $9 (senior) | $10 (adult general public)
EDGE Ensemble with Mellissa Hughes of Newspeak
Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 (8 p.m.)
Armstrong Concert Hall, Shenandoah University
Tickets: $5 (student/military) | $9 (senior) | $10 (adult general public)
Tickets and additional information are available at www.ConservatoryPerforms.org and 540/665-4569.