Birmingham New Music Festival: Au Naturel

Kenneth A. Kuhn begins the concert with Overture to The Revelation of Nature, a piano realization of the opening movement of his large-scale orchestral work. Pensacola composer/pianist Michael Coleman performs his poco più di niente, guest composer Robert Voisey’s Persistence of Melancholy, and Kadisha Onalbayeva’s Alla. The LeBaron Trio (soprano Melanie Williams, clarinetist Lori Ardovino, and pianist Laurie Middaugh) play a set that includes Ardovino’s Adventures in Wonderland, a setting of texts by Lewis Carroll relating to water animals. Adam Bowles closes the program with performances of Kyle McGucken’s meditative Pothos Variations and Joshua David Davis’ Prelude and Fugue titled The Arctic Snow.

The Birmingham Art Music Alliance (BAMA) announces the 10th Anniversary Birmingham New Music Festival in seven concerts presenting a wide range of music by Alabama composers including solo piano, four chamber music ensembles, choral music, live electronics, improvised music, and new takes on Appalachian folk music. The festival will take place at Birmingham First United Methodist Church, East Village Arts, Samford University’s Brock Recital Hall, and UAB’s Hulsey Recital Hall. All concerts are free. The festival was implemented in 2014 to further BAMA’s mission of promoting music by Alabama composers and presenting concerts of recently created art music to communities in Birmingham. The 2024 festival honors two composers who died in 2023, Joe L. Alexander and Ed Robertson. Our guest composer is New York City-based Robert Voisey, who founded the 60X60 and Fifteen Minutes of Fame projects.