The iNSIDE Out Series, held monthly at the Roger Smith Hotel in midtown Manhattan, is a unique series of short, informal concerts in which performers, composers and audiences explore the “inner workings” of featured pieces while considering the outer context within each one lies.

Often, the contemporary works are paired with complementary pieces of traditional repertoire. Each extra-musical theme lends itself well to discussion during the performance as well as the reception at the end.

These intimate concerts, held at 4 pm on the 4th Sunday of each month, are conducive to breaking barriers between audience, composers and performers, engaging each person as an active and equal participant in the existence of a performance.

This spring, Talea will record a very special CD of Fausto Romitelli”s music at the finest American recording institution, EMPAC, which will be released on Tzadik. The CD will consist of five world premiere recordings and the first release of Romitelli”s music on an American record label. Talea will collaborate with EMPAC recording staff during four consecutive days of recording from March 27-30, 2012.

Talea has become connected to Romitelli”s body of work after bringing this unique composer”s voice to the United States through six US Premieres in the past two years, including the first American performance of the cycle Professor Bad Trip in 2010, and the United States premiere of his final masterpiece, An Index of Metals in 2011. Romitelli”s music is a collage of styles that defy classification; his work drawing from all corners and incorporating timbres associated with psychedelic rock music and spectral harmony. From screaming electric guitar and electronics to sensual textures, his music is fresh and innovative in the contemporary canon. At times, his hellish sound-world evokes nightmarish and hallucinatory qualities that inspire a visceral listening experience. Romitelli”s career was just beginning to flourish when his life was tragically cut short at age 41. As Talea has dedicated so much to this remarkable composer, this new recording on Tzadik will be a special landmark and tribute to a modern master.

Talea is thrilled to collaborate with Tzadik and EMPAC on this project. Presented by EMPAC, the week in Troy will culminate in a Fausto Romitelli Portrait Concert on March 31, 2012. Come experience these masterpieces in one of the finest acoustics in the world and stay tuned to hear how you can be the first get your copy of the Tzadik Romitelli release!

Beginning in the summer of 2012, the Harvard Summer Institute for Music Composition is proud to host its first International Summer Course for Composers of New Music. The inaugural gathering of twelve young composers will take place from August 13th to August 27th in two of England’s best known sites: Concord’s historic Colonial Inn and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachesetts.

During the first week of two-week residency, composers will meet with the composition faculty for individual lessons and meet each other in organized one-on-one sessions to discuss their compositions. Furthermore, each composer will offer a presentation before the entire group, introducing his or her music for feedback and discussion.

During the second week of thei course, these activities will continue supplemented by lectures on notation, instrumental techniques, and full practical application of compositional knowledge and realization through intense and focused rehearsals as the Talea Ensemble joins the course in Harvard’s historic and newly renovated Paine Hall. Here Talea will prepare two full-evening concerts of twelve world premiere pieces that the composers have written commencing eight months prior to the public event. Works involving electronic setups will be welcome. Additionally, during the last days of the course, a symposium open to the public will take place focusing specifically on some of today’s most pressing-aesthetic issues and the new technologies.

International lecturers and young composers from diverse music departments from across North America and overseas will be invited to participate in round-table discussions and attend the concerts and receptions. Admission to the concerts and symposium is free to the public.

The Harvard Summer Institute is made possible by the generous support of Harvard University, the Harry and Alice Eiler Foundation, and the administrative staff of Harvard Music Department.

Conference Schedule
9:30-10:10 am Anthony Cheung, Old Technologies, New Signifiers: Non-tempered Horn Writing in 20th Century Music Through Ligeti’s Hamburg Concerto
10:10-10:50 Toby Twining, Tuning, Imagination, Accuracy
10:50-11:30 Frank J. Oteri, Wyschnegradsky: Paths Not Taken and Missing Links
11:30-12:10 Christopher Trapani, Cognitive Consonance: Composing Precise and Practical Microtones in an Ensemble Context
1:00-1:40 Robert Hasegawa, “Le vertige de la durée pure”: Time and Harmony in Gérard Grisey’s Vortex Temporum
1:40-2:20 Dean Drummond, Performing Harry Partch
2:20-3:00 Panel discussion moderated by Frank J. Oteri

Concert Program
Ivan Wyschnegradsky: String Quartet No. 2 (1931)
Dean Drummond: Mars Face (1997)
Toby Twining: 9:11 Blues (2003)
Enno Poppe: Holz (2000) *US Premiere
Tristan Murail: Seven Lakes Drive (2006)
Anthony Cheung: Discrete Infinity (2011) *US Premiere