Baltimore may not have the busiest new music scene in the country, but there's remarkable life in it - especially tonight, when, within the space of a few blocks, two intriguing concerts will be presented.
The inaugural offering in the Mobtown Modern Music Series at the Contemporary Museum takes its cue from current events. As saxophonist Brian Sacawa, a co-curator of this venture, puts it: "We celebrate President Bush's final State of the Union address by presenting a political statement of our own."
That statement will come in the form of diverse works that deal, in one way or another, with political issues past and present. Come Out by Steve Reich, for example, is a response to a controversial murder trial that followed the 1964 riots in Harlem, N.Y. Coming Together by Frederic Rzewski incorporates letters from an inmate at the Attica state prison in New York during the 1971 riot there.
The program includes a 2005 piece by Erik Spangler (aka DJ Dubble8) called Iraq Mix; and Louis Andriessen's Workers Union, a 1975 score written "for any loud-sounding group of instruments."
Video imagery - including footage from last night's State of the Union address - will be a part of the concert. A toy piano, turntables and more traditional instruments will be employed. Sacawa, Spangler and pianist Michael Sheppard are among the performers.
The concert is at 8 tonight at the Contemporary Museum, 100 W. Centre St. Tickets are $5-$10. Call 410-783-5720 or go to mobtown modern.com or www.contempo rary.org.
Meanwhile, the Evolution Contemporary Music Series, founded a couple seasons ago by composer Judah Adashi, will offer a program called "Synchronisms," featuring music by such distinctive composers as David Lang, James MacMillan and Mario Davidovsky.
The premiere of a work by Peabody faculty member McGregor Boyle will also be a part of the concert, which features violinist Courtney Orlando (a member of the wonderfully out-there ensemble called Alarm Will Sound) and pianist Ken Osowski.
This performance is at 8 tonight (a pre-conversation with Boyle and the players starts an hour earlier) at An die Musik, 409 N. Charles St. Tickets $10-$15. Call 410-385-2638.
Also on the contemporary front, don't forget the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where modern music is practically the lingua franca. Among forthcoming events is a concert of works by Stuart Saunders Smith, including A Viet Nam Memorial - Transitions and Leaps. (This is obviously quite the week for music with a political undercurrent.)
