Roundtable Discussion: "Classical Music, And Now, What?–March 13, 2004

As part of Santa Fe New Music's 2003-2004 season and in conjunction with the concert appearances by composer and leading new music critic Kyle Gann, SFNM presents an unprecedented gathering of four of our nation's leading experts in new music, to take place Saturday, March 13, 2004 at 5:30 at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe.

Entitled "Classical Music: And Now What? The Changing Paradigm of Post-Classical Music," this roundtable discussion is a candid exploration by of four of our nation's leading experts in contemporary classical music, of current trends and thought surrounding today's classical music. This roundtable discussion, free of charge, is made possible in part by a grant from the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities.

Participant Bios

Kyle Gann, born 1955 in Dallas, Texas, is a composer and has been new music critic for the Village Voice since 1986. Since 1997 he has taught music history and theory at Bard College. He is the author of The Music of Conlon Nancarrow (Cambridge University Press, 1995) and American Music in the 20th Century (Schirmer Books, 1997). A collection of his Village Voice columns titled Music Downtown is forthcoming (University of California Press). Gann studied composition with Ben Johnston, Morton Feldman, and Peter Gena, and his music is often microtonal, using up to 37 pitches per octave. His rhythmic language, based on differing successive and simultaneous tempos, was developed from his study of Hopi, Zuni, and Pueblo Indian music. His music has been performed on the New Music America, Bang on a Can, and Spoleto festivals.

He received a 1994 commission from Music in Motion for his Astrological Studies, and in 1996-97 a National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artists' Fellowship. A 2001 commission from the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir resulted in Transcendental Sonnets, a 35-minute work for choir and orchestra, and he is currently writing a trilogy of microtonal chamber operas with librettist Jeffrey Sichel, called The Hudson River Trilogy. The first opera, Cinderella's Bad Magic, was premiered in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In addition to Bard, Gann has taught at Columbia University, Brooklyn College, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Bucknell University. His writings include more than 2000 articles for over 35 publications, including scholarly articles on LaMonte Young (in Perspectives of New Music), Henry Cowell, Mikel Rouse, and other American composers. He writes frequently for Chamber Music magazine and the New York Times, and he was awarded the Stagebill Award (1999) and Deems-Taylor Award (2003) for music criticism. Also in 1999, his compact disc Custer's Ghost was released on the Monroe Street label. In 2003, the American Music Center awarded Gann its Letter of Distinction, along with Steve Reich, Wayne Shorter, and George Crumb.

James Keller is program annotator for the San Francisco Symphony and the New York Philharmonic, as well as a writer and editor at The New Yorker. A prolific author, Keller has had his work published in numerous publications, among them Opera News, Travel & Leisure, the Sunday New York Times, Le Monde de la Musique, Gramophone, Newsday, Strings, and BBC Music Magazine. A recipient of a Deems Taylor Award for Music Journalism, Keller has been heard as a critic and commentator on National Public Radio's "Performance Today," "Morning Edition," and "Weekend Edition."

Christopher Shultis is a Regents' Professor of Music at the University of New Mexico where he has taught since 1980. A former Fulbright guest professor in American Studies, Shultis has a wide range of expertise including American music, twentieth-century music, popular music, and interdisciplinary fine arts. An active composer and creative artist, he also teaches composition for UNM's Department of Music. Shultis is a widely published author specializing in John Cage, American Music, and experimental music, and is an award-winning composer as well as a former percussionist who worked with many of the masters of the past century.

John Kennedy is Santa Fe New Music's Founder and Artistic Director.