Robert Xavier Rodríguez, an internationally known composer and professor of music at UT Dallas, will direct his Musica Nova ensemble in a concert featuring classical music, choreography, projected images and film.
The event, titled Old and New: A Multi-Media Concert, is Friday, Nov. 30, at 8 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall.
The concert includes music from J.S. Bach and his son C.P.E. Bach, plus music from composers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
“We will also present music from P.D.Q. Bach, a fictional character created by contemporary American composer Peter Schickele. The piece, which is meant to be a parody of the real Bach, is scored for piano and features ‘banned instruments,’ such as balloons, kazoo and slide whistles,” said Rodríguez.
Musica Nova will perform the concert under the direction of UT Dallas professor and composer Robert X. Rodríguez.
Additionally, the playbill will feature Table Music by Thierry de May, which calls for intricately choreographed percussion drummed on a table.
The piece is visually striking, Rodríguez said.
“Comedy will be an important feature of the concert. Cathy Berberian's Stripsody, based on comic strip noises, will include a visual projection of the score, complete with cartoons. UT Dallas theater professor Fred Curchack will enact the ‘outrageous text,’ and I’m sure his performance will be up to his usual stellar standard,” Rodríguez added.
Performers include UT Dallas students and faculty members Michael McVay and Winston Stone. Chloé Trevor will appear as guest violinist.
The concert will conclude with a showing of René Clair's classic surrealist film Entr’acte, which features the music of Erik Satie, an early 20th-century avant-garde composer.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information contact the Arts and Performance office at utdarts@utdallas.edu.