The UT Martin Department of Music presented the Contemporary Music Group Spring Concert on April 16 at 7:30 pm in Blankenship Recital Hall.
The UT Martin Contemporary Music Group (CMG) is an ensemble directed by Dr. Michael Mathenia that performs a variety of music from the 20th and 21st centuries.Â
The musical ensemble encompasses a unique array of instruments and each year’s ensemble is not like the last, fitting for a contemporary setting. This year, we heard piano, horns, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet, percussion, trombone, voice and guitars.
The concert included works from newer composers such as Andy Akiho, Michael Torke and Donnacha Dennehy as well as more established composers like Steve Reich and Arnold Schoenberg.
Characteristics of contemporary classical music are sometimes described as atonal, highly abstract and dissonant in sound so it provided for an interesting, avant-garde, one-of-a-kind musical listening experience. It is not every day that Martin, Tennessee can experience music like this so it is very inspiring to see the immense support from the audience.
By having a diverse line-up of composers and musical styles, this concert was certainly inspiring to attend. Audience members read and learned about contemporary musical terms like 12-tone systems, palindromes and tintinnabulation from program notes and brief introductions to the pieces.
Dr. Michael Mathenia even premiered his own piece for an electric guitar quartet, written originally for solo guitar during grad school. In 2018, it would turn into the guitar quartet that audience members heard at the concert.
For the performers, a lot of work was required of them with the challenging repertoire, but they persevered and played brilliantly through the challenges. Driving energetically to the finish by their last piece, the audience roared with applause as the final piece concluded.
To see past and upcoming events from UTM’s Department of Music, go to https://runway.utm.edu/organization/music/events.
