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- by  New College News

New College of Florida invites the public to attend three musical events this spring: Pamela Z on April 25, Composer Mandy Fang on April 28 and Sarasota Piano Quartet Performs Student Works on May 3. For information and reservations, contact the New College Office of Special Events at 941-487-4155 or email [email protected].

On April 25 at 8 pm in Mildred Sainer Pavilion, New Music New College will conclude its 10th season of presenting contemporary music to Sarasota-Bradenton audiences with guest artist Pamela Z, whose cutting-edge solo performance work and diverse recordings place her at the leading edge of contemporary vocal music. Tickets are $12; the event is free for New College students, staff and faculty.

Pamela Z is a wonderfully compelling performer whose classically-trained voice adds resonance to her virtual encyclopedia of sounds, human and otherwise.  The San Francisco-based composer/performer and audio artist works primarily with voice, live electronic processing and sampling technology.  She creates solo works combining operatic bel canto and experimental extended vocal techniques with found percussion objects, spoken word, digital process, and a MIDI controller called The BodySynth, which allows her to manipulate sound with physical gestures.  In addition to her solo work, she has composed and recorded scores for dance, theater, film and new music chamber ensembles.

Pamela Z will also give a free lecture/demonstration on Friday, April 24 at 3:30 pm in Sainer Pavilion. No reservations are necessary.

On April 28 at 5 pm in College Hall, New College’s “Meet the Composer” collaboration with The Hermitage Artist Retreat will conclude with a discussion with Mandy Fang, composer-in-residence at The Hermitage.  Also known as Fang Man, she was born in China and is currently a freelance composer living in New York City.  Fang’s original concert music has been performed by outstanding orchestras and ensembles in Europe, the Far East and America.  The event is free and no reservations are required.

On May 3 at 4 pm, the Sarasota Piano Quartet will perform music by New College student composers at a free concert at the Mildred Sainer Pavilion. No reservations are required.

This is the 8th year of the collaboration between New College and the Sarasota Orchestra, in which select New College student composers work with one of the Orchestra’s resident chamber ensembles.  The students meet with the professionals five times throughout the academic year to hear their music rehearsed and to learn more about composing for specific instrumental combinations.

This year, the Sarasota Piano Quartet –Jennifer Best, violin; Matthew Pegis, viola; Christopher Schnell, cello; Jonathan Spivey, piano –worked with New College students Alejandro Castaño and Adele Fournet, both of whom have participated in previous collaborations between New College and the Sarasota Orchestra.
Alejandro Castaño’s work, entitled The Act of Faith, is a single piece in five sections. He was born in Bogotá, Colombia and grew up in Tokyo, Japan, where he began taking drumming, recorder and piano lessons. Castaño later moved to Florida, where he picked up a set of additional instruments, including the harmonica and banjo. He began composing around 2003 and recording with his band, “The Red Fetish.” He started seriously studying composition in 2005 under Professor Stephen T. Miles at New College.  Now in his final year at New College, he has previously composed for the Sarasota Brass Quintet and the Sarasota String Quartet as part of the Sarasota Orchestra learning collaboration.  A double major in Music and Political Science, he has composed a multi-movement work for chamber orchestra as part of his senior project.

Adele Fournet’s composition is called Evolution in Three Movements. She is also a fourth-year music major at New College, with an interest in composing all kinds of music: experimental, rock n’ roll, pop and traditionally notated pieces for ensemble.  From Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fournet came to Florida specifically for what she calls New College’s “liberal and liberating” academic atmosphere.  While she is officially a music student at New College, she is also pursuing her serious interests in philosophy, sociology and Spanish language.

On February 27, 2009, Fournet appeared at New Music New College “Crossroads” concert as a vocalist and keyboardist in the student band, The Done For. Her senior thesis is an ethnography of female rock instrumentalists in Tampa.