Department of Music

UVA's New Music Ensemble (NME), under the direction of I-Jen Fang, will present “A Night of New Music” on Thursday, April 7th, 2022 at 8pm in Old Cabell Hall.

Made up of undergraduates, graduate students and community members, NME performs contemporary interpretive works, often involving group improvisation, ranging from playful and anarchic to lush and meditative. The UVA New Music Ensemble will perform four pieces including world premieres by the members of the ensemble and Stay on It by American composer, Julius Eastman. Described by Bradford Bailey on soundohm.com, on February 25, 2022, Stay on It is “Rigorously demanding, the resulting sounds are minimal, while threaded by wild polyrhythms, writhing distances, and heavy grooves, as though Eastman deconstructing the groundwork of minimalism in real time through the interventions of free jazz.”

NME is a collaborative group of musicians who realize experimental and improvised music. The ensemble works together to arrange, interpret, and frequently compose works for the specific group. Each member brings their own perspective to the ensemble which shapes the ensemble’s sound and approach to composition and performance. Current members include Becky Brown, Bob DuCharme, Lauren Roos, and Hannah Yee. 

The UVA New Music Ensemble director, I-Jen Fang, was described as an “intrepid percussionist” by Fanfare Magazine.  I-Jen has a career as a solo performer, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher.  She joined the faculty of the Department of Music at the University of Virginia in 2005 and as Principal Timpanist and Percussionist of the Charlottesville Symphony.

All programs are subject to change.

For more information please call the Department of Music at 434.924.3052.

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