NEW MUSIC AMERICA '81 FESTIVAL Calendar

Sunday, June 7

2:30pm. Intersection Theater presents German composers Paul and Limpe Fuchs; 756 Union Street

7:45pm: Japan Center Theatre:

Paul Demarinis-Songs with Anne Klingensmith; Maggi Payne-Electronic; Stuart Dempster-Didjeridu with tape; The Leo Smith Ensemble-New "Jazz"; Terry Allen-Solo Piano and Country Songs.

Installations opening today: Nicolas Collins' "Water Works" at the Golden Gate Ferry Terminal; Liz Phillips' "Sunspots" at the SF Museum of Modern Art, Main Gallery.

Monday, June 8

10:00am: New Music Alliance Business Meeting at the Exploratorium, Nigel Redden, Performing Arts Director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Chairperson

Noon: Daniel Schmidt "Sound Column Performance," Palace of Fine Arts Rotunda.

1:30pm: Workshop; COMPUTERS IN COMPOSITION AND PERFORMANCE at the Exploratorium.

7:45pm: Japan Center Theatre; The Arch Ensemble performing works by : Robert Erickson, Robert Hughes, "Blue" Gene Tyranny and Charles Amirkhanian, plus a work for Cello ensemble by Julius Eastman.

One Minute Movies starring the RESIDENTS directed by the RESIDENTS and Graeme Whifler.

Tuesday, June 9

10:00am: New Music Alliance Functions, at the Exploratorium, Mary MacArthur, Director of the Kitchen, Chairperson.

Noon: David Behrman in Collaboration with Bob Watts and Bob Diamond, "Cloud Music" at Fort Mason Conference Center, Room 1.

1:30pm: INSTRUMENT DESIGN WORKSHOP at 80 Langton Street.

7:45pm: Japan Center Theatre: The League of Automatic Music Composers-Computer music; Joe McPhee-Solo Saxophone; John Adams-Joe Kubera performing work for solo piano; Peter Garland-Work for 2 violins and percussion; Robert Ashley-Performance.

Wednesday, June 10

10:00am: New Music Alliance Election and Discussion of Goals and Aims; at the Exploratorium: Robert Stearns, Director of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Chairperson.

Noon: Ingram Marshall's "Poor People's Music" at the Palace of Fine Arts Rotunda.

1:30pm. Meet the Composer, California Organizational Meeting, at the Exploratorium.

7:45pm: Japan Center Theatre: Laurie Spiegel-Video and Acoustic Music; Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith-Improvisation; Jim Pomeroy-Performance; Peter Gena-2 Pianos and Electric Bass; The George Lewis Ensemble-4 Trombones.

Thursday, June 11

10:00am: Funders Panel at the Exploratorium, Robin Kirk, New Music America '81 Director, Chairperson.

1:30pm: Improvisation Workshop at the Exploratorium.

7:45pm: Japan Center Theatre: Paul Dresher-Electronic; Diamanda Galas-Extended Vocal Performance; Ned Sublette-Cowboy Songs; Nancy Karp & Dancers; Terry Riley-Vocal.

Friday, June 12

Noon: Ralph Jones' "Rotunda Sounding" at the Palace of Fine Arts Rotunda.

Noon: Pauline Oliveros' "Travelling Companions" at Marx Meadow in Golden Gate Park.

1:30pm: Publishing and Distribution Workshop at the Exploratorium.

2:00pm: New Music from the San Francisco Conservatory featuring Hermann LeRoux and the Veil of Isis group, in Hearst Court of the de Young Museum.

7:45pm Japan Center Theatre: Margaret Fisher-performance; Conlon Nancarrow-Player Piano; Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

8:00pm: Keith Terry and Jazz Tap Percussion Ensemble at the Performance Gallery

11:00pm: Douglas Hollis' celebration/performance/installation "Fire Watercycle" at the Palace of Fine Arts Rotunda.

Midnight: Other Music at the Complex, 535 Stevenson Street; A special late-nite performance of modern American gamelan music, $2,50.

Saturday, June 13

9:30am: Workshop with Conlon Nancarrow at the Exploratorium, $2.00 admission.

Noon: Pauline Oliveros' "Travelling Companions" at Marx Meadow in Golden Gate Park.

3:00pm: Bonnie Barnett's "Tunnel Hum" at the pedestrian tunnel under the Great HIghway at the beach (end of Judah Street)

7:45 pm: Japan center Theater: Laurie Anderson-Performance, Mixed-media; Lou Harrison Gamelan Ensemble

11:00pm: Buster Simpson installation at the San Francisco Art Institute

SPECIAL EVENTS

May 29 - August 2: Brian Eno's "Music for Museums"; University Art Museum, Berkeley.

May 30: 12pm - 3pm, Macy's, Jacqueline Humbert and David Rosenboom perform the "J. Jasmine Review", song stories about contemporary women's realities.

June 1-13: Peter Richards' "Wave Organ"; Marina Breakwater at the St. Francis Yacht Club (East of St. Francis Yacht harbor).

June 1-30: Bill Fontana's "Landscape Sculpture with Foghorns", East Wall of Pier 2 at Fort Mason.

June 2-22: Instruments by Chris Brown, Tom Nunn, Dick Dunlap, Bruce Fier; San Francisco Airport, North Terminal.

June 4: 10am, Embarcadero Center: "MEAL" and Ben Azarm

June 6: 1pm-3pm: Embarcadero Center: "The Scientists".

june 4, 5, & 6: Pacific Film Archive presents films scored by contemporary composers; June 4, 7:30pm, Graphic Sound films; June 5, 7:30pm, Moderns; 9:00pm, the Electronicists; June 6, 7:30pm, New Voices; 9:30pm, Minimalist Directions. June 4, 5, & 6: German composers Paul and Limpe Fuchs at Intersection Theatre, 8:00pm; $6 & $5.

June 6: New Music from the Center for Computer Music, Stanford University. Out-of-doors concert of new music by composers at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics including real-time performances played directly from CCRMA's computer music system; 8:29pm; $6 & $3, 1600 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto (between Page Mill Road and Alpine Road off Freeway 280).

June 8: Cinematheque presents an evening of film & music by Phil Niblock at 8 pm. For information call 586-8486.

Audium Theater of Sound Sculptured Space, 1616 Bush Street, San Francisco, 771-1616. The first theater of sound for the performance of electronic music using 136 speakers, located all around the theater. Performances at 1:30 pm, Tuesday, June 9, 11:00 pm, Wednesday, June 10 & Thursday, June 11. Admission $4.00. No one will be admitted after the performance begins.

June 14: Old First church Center for the Arts, Van Ness & Sacramento Streets, Karlton Hester Ensemble & Dancers, 4:00 pm; $3.50, 776-1535.

Funders: L.J. and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation Paul Fromm Fund for Music California Arts Council through the Exploratorium Martha Baird Fund for Music National Endowment for the Arts Bay Area Art Services Pacific Telephone and Telegraph San Francisco Examiner Meet the Composer (with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Helena Rubenstein Foundation; the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music, NL Industries Found., Inc. & Xerox Foundation) National Public Radio-Satellite Development Fund

New Music America '81 This seven-evening festival, featuring some of America's outstanding pathbreakers in contemporary music, will introduce the vital, changing profile of an avant-garde scene which has moved from a preponderance of harsh, dissonant pointillism, toward a music which communicates with deep intensity to many more listeners, initiated or not, than ever before in the past 25 years of contemporary Western music.

And it is under the banner of the New Music alliance which has organized two previous such festivals successfully, in New York City at The Kitchen (1979), and in Minneapolis at the Walker Art Center (1980), and the San Francisco Examiner, that a beautifully variegated grouping of composer-performers will present their works this June 7th through June 13th at the Japan Center Theatre in San Francisco.

Consider the excitement of having onstage in the same evening one of the world's greatest improvising composers, Ali Akbar Khan (classical Indian sarod), and player piano composer Conlon Nancarrow of Mexico City, recently acclaimed by fellow-composer Gyorgi Ligeti as "the best composer living today."

That concert on Friday, June 12 will be followed on Saturday the 13th by appearances by New York performance artist Laurie Anderson and Californian Lou Harrison who composes exquisitely-crafted music for gamelan instruments of his own design tuned in the ancient and ethereal method of "just intonation".

Other highlights of this year's event will include works by Brian Eno, Robert Ashley, Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros, Leo Smith, Stuart Dempster, "Blue" Gene Tyranny, Maggi Payne, Margaret Fisher, The Arch Ensemble (Robert Hughes, conductor), George Lewis, Paul Dresher, Laurie Spiegel, Joe McPhee, Terry Allen, Ingram Marshall, Diamanda Gala, Robert Erickson, Nancy Karp, Davey Williams, LaDonna Smith, Peter Gena, Jim Pomeroy, Peter Garland, Paul de Marinis, and the League of Automatic Music Composers.

Thus, there are represented the fields of "new music", world music, new wave, avant garde jazz (free improvisation and "creative music"), American gamelan, electronic music (computer generated & analogue), music for chamber orchestra and small ensembles, microtonal music, dance, performance art, and country & Western art satire-all under one aegis.

Festival Director, Ms. Robin Kirk, has been at work for over ten months raising funds and organizing committees to produce the San Francisco version of the Festival which next year will very likely be held in Chicago. During the seven days of "New Music Week", so proclaimed by San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, the entire Bay Area will swarm with special sound installations in Union Square, the Exploratorium, Golden Gate Park, and countless other sites.

Just remember--if you don't like what you hear from one composer, stick around for ten minutes. There'll be variety galore in store and many happy surprises! --Charles Amirkhanian

Composer Charles Amirkhanian is recognized internationally as America's leading broadcaster of avant-garde music. Since 1969 he has served as Music Director of Radio Station KPFA (Pacifica) in Berkeley, California. Six of his "text-sound compositions" were released recently on the album LEXICAL MUSIC by 1750 Arch Records.