By Parker Thomas Staff writer
On Monday, Oct. 10, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble will perform at Stretansky Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Martha Baker Blessing Musicians-In-Residence Series.
The Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble is comprised of eight musicians and two artistic directors who reside throughout the country, except for one who lives in Paris.
The group of artists gather in Pittsburgh annually for a summer season at City Theatre, during which they premiere new classical and theater compositions by established and emerging artists.
Since its founding in 1976 by the late David Stock, the ensemble has premiered nearly 300 pieces of music.
Following Kevin Noe’s position as the current artistic director and conductor in 2000, the ensemble began experimenting with the use of lighting, sound, stage design and drama, which has received positive reviews and increased turnout for PNME’s concerts by over 600 percent.
Throughout its existence, PNME has had multiple artists join and leave. Being an ensemble, PNME only includes a few performers and thus only a few types of instruments and singers. When their repertoire requires an additional instrument or voice, the ensemble will acquire a guest artist. Pianist Erika Dohi will be joining PNME in the performance at Susquehanna.
Current members of the ensemble include flutist Lindsey Goodman, clarinetist Eric Jacobs, bass-baritone singer and actor Timothy Jones, soprano Lindsay Kesselman, cellist Norbert Lewandowski, percussionist Ian Rosenbaum, violinist Nathalie Shaw and Kevin Noe as the conductor and artistic director, who also performs as an actor and singer.
Not every member of PNME can attend the Musicians-In-Residence program at Susquehanna due to conflicting schedules. Those attending are Goodman, Shaw, Lewandowski, Rosenbaum, Jones and Noe. Due to its lack of members, the ensemble’s repertoire will be slightly altered in order to make up for the loss in its composition.
The ensemble will arrive at Susquehanna in the afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 9 and will have dinner with interested music majors.
The next day, PNME will hold rehearsals throughout the day, which music majors will be able to sit in on and watch the artists as they work, discuss and try to fix issues in the performance.
Noe will also work with a class of conducting students, and Goodman will host a master class with all flute students majoring in music. The performance will be open to students and the public.
“Because the ensemble premieres new music and are working with composers all the time, our students are going to benefit very greatly from this endeavor,” said Sarah Adams, the music admissions coordinator.
