Has Baltimore become a haven for new music? It sure looks that way.
"I've always been optimistic about new music here," says Baltimore-born, Peabody-trained composer Judah Adashi, founder of the Evolution Contemporary Music Series.
"I'd definitely say that, with our series, Mobtown Modern, what Marin [Alsop] is doing at the BSO, and the High Zero Festival, we have a vibrant scene going. You might find something like this on every street corner in New York, but given the relative size of our town, there are really dynamic things on almost any given night," Adashi says.
Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of the Evolution series, based at An die Musik. Adashi's wide-ranging tastes have resulted in consistently interesting programs. This one will feature the NOW Ensemble, co-founded by composer Judd Greenstein, who helped launch the cutting-edge New Amsterdam Records. The group will perform works by Greenstein, Missy Mazzoli, Timothy Andres and others, at 8 p.m. Tuesday (a pre-concert chat with Greenstein and Adashi will be at 7 p.m.) at An die Musik, 409 N. Charles St. Call 410-385-2638 or go to andiemusiklive.com.
Works by several major contemporary composers, from Thomas Ades and Oliver Knussen to Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho, will be heard at subsequent Evolution concerts this season. For more info, go to evolutionseries.org.
As Adashi says, there's new music on almost any given night here. Take this week. It started Sunday with U.S. premieres by American and Greek composers in a concert presented by UMBC's Department of Music, which regularly showcases new sounds. At 8 p.m. on Thursday, compelling experimental composer/performer John Berndt will give a concert at UMBC's Fine Arts Recital Hall, 1000 Hilltop Circle. Call 410-752-8950 or go to missiontix.com.
On Wednesday, the New Music Ensemble at Towson University performs the premiere of a work by Linda Dusman on a program that also offers pieces by Luciano Berio and Morton Feldman. The concert is at 8:15 p.m. Dusman speaks about her music at 6:30 at TU's Center for the Arts, Osler and Cross Campus drives. Call 410-704-2787 or go to towson.edu/artscalendar.
And this weekend, the American Studio Orchestra, founded by horn player and Peabody alum Larry Williams, will give the premiere of film composer Jacob Yoffee's "Synergy Suite" with digital video.
