Join us Friday, March 1 for Young Composer’s Festival!

What is Young Composer’s Festival?

The festival aims to inspire the inner composer in each student by bringing in exciting guests to lead a day of workshops, panel discussions, and concerts for students of all ages.

This year’s theme is Come Together: Building Community Through Creativity. We’re so excited to feature many CMCB Faculty members, such as Akela Franklin, Manuel García Baró, Emiliano López, and Matt Savage and guest artists from Boston and beyond!

Schedule

4 – 4:30 pm: How Does Your Neighborhood Sound? with María Doreste Velázquez

For Ages 4-7

Come explore the meaning of community through storytelling, pictures and songs! Participants will recreate their own neighborhood shapes and lines, composing small patterns inspired by them.

4 – 4:45 pm: In the Moment: Crafting Soundscapes through Improvisation and Noise with Emiliano López

For Ages 12+

This workshop aims to introduce attendees to a series of alternative strategies for creating music. The focus will be on utilizing common objects as musical instruments or as raw sound material. The workshop is designed to cover two main areas: Techniques for using common objects as sound sources. Techniques for improvisation and spontaneous composition, enabling participants to integrate the obtained sounds into a musical context. As a result, the workshop will involve a hands-on exploration of different objects in a sonic context and their utilization in the creation of a musical piece. The final composition will be recorded using a simple field recorder.”

4:40 – 5:10 pm – Jazz Improvisation for Kids with Matt Savage

For Ages 7-12

This workshop will explain the basics of jazz improv, what sets it apart from other 20th/21st century musical styles, and how “call and response” techniques can be used at all skill levels. There will be jazz solos performed by Matt Savage in class, in addition to recorded excerpts from some of his favorite songs.”

4:45 – 5:30 pm –  Beat It! Creating Beats on your Computer (For Free) with Manuel García Baró

In this interactive session, participants will learn how to create simple beats from start to finish using a laptop and free software. No prior production music needed- just come ready to have fun creating music!

5:30 – 6:30 pm – Everyone Should Sing with Akela Franklin

All ages are encouraged to attend!

“Everyone should sing and anyone can be a musical creator.” Join soprano and music educator Akela Franklin for an interactive workshop imbued with musical play, vocal exploration, group improvisation, and radical acceptance. Through the workshop, Akela aims to empower and challenge people of all ages and musical backgrounds to re-examine their relationships with their own voices, be open to new possibilities, and collaborate in the creation of a musical product that they can all take pride in.

6:30 – 7 pm – A Concert with Sarah Bob

All ages are encouraged to attend!

Pianist Sarah Bob, considered a “trailblazer when it comes to championing the works of modern composers and combining art media in the process…,” is the Founding Artistic Director of the New Gallery Concert Series. She is devoted to commissioning and uniting all types of new music and contemporary visual art with their creators, thus making the New Gallery Concert Series eclectic, thought provoking, and fun. From her work as a concert pianist to the creation of “The Nasty Cooperative,” from giving students private piano lessons (including many years at CMCB!) to teaching graduate study courses as faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, the goal, her strong suit, is to introduce music, art, and community in a loving, inclusive and intoxicating way.

This interactive concert experience will include a performance of “Never Has Been Yet” by Shaw Pong Liu. For more information on her career, accolades, and concert schedule, please go to www.sarahbob.net.

7 – 8 pm – Interweaving Traditional and Contemporary Music Styles with Kevin Harris Trio

All ages are encouraged to attend!

What do jazz and classical music have in common: a few elements or a lot? In this presentation, Kevin Harris will lead the audience to discover the important and exciting commonalities of European classical music and Pan-African jazz. Understanding this interlacing is key to grow not only a true appreciation for both genres, but more importantly to further develop one’s own music style.

Join us for this evening of musical demonstration, improvisation, and stimulating participation!