CROMA, Contemporary Music Cycle, aims to promote and disseminate Portuguese contemporary music. In its second edition, from the 13th to the 18th of March, in Oeiras, we present a program dedicated to some of the main formations of the musical avant-garde.
This cycle’s mission is to broaden the horizons and borders of the relationship between today’s composers and today’s public.
13 MAR
10:00 – 13:30 Workshop with Angela da Ponte
With a PhD from the University of Birmingham and a Masters in Music Teaching from the University of Aveiro, Ângela da Ponte is a composer, teacher, and researcher. Her music has been performed by many prestigious ensembles, soloists, and orchestras, including Smirnov Quartet (Basel Music Academy), Remix Ensemble Casa da Música (PT), Oregon Symphony (USA), Vertixe Sonora (ES) and Ensemble New Babylon ( IN).
17:00 Open Rehearsal with the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group
19:00 Round Table with the musicians
20:30 Concert with GMCL
GMCL (Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa) was founded in 1970 by Jorge Peixinho, in collaboration with some Portuguese musicians, including Clotilde Rosa, Carlos Franco, and António Oliveira e Silva. Throughout its more than 40 years of existence, the GMCL has performed in numerous countries, performing at various Contemporary Music Festivals, and having been distinguished with the Medal of Cultural Merit by the Secretary of State for Culture in 1991. GMCL includes several works by Jorge Peixinho conducted by the composer himself and by other conductors. The GMCL’s main objective is to disseminate, through concerts and recordings, works by contemporary Portuguese composers.
14 MAR
10:00 – 13:00 Workshop with Christopher Bochmann
Christopher Bochmann studied composition at Oxford University, studying under David Lumsden, Kenneth Leighton, and Robert Sherlaw Johnson. He is currently a Full Professor at the University of Évora. He has also been the principal conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica Juvenil since 1984 and frequently directs the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group. His compositions cover almost all musical genres, from music for soloists to orchestral music, from chamber music to opera, in addition to numerous orchestrations and arrangements.
17:00 Open Rehearsal with Sond’Arte
19:00 Round Table with the musicians
20:30 Concert with Sond’Arte
Founded in 2007, Sond’Arte Electric Ensemble is an innovative contemporary music ensemble. Its central structure is the permanent combination of 5 to 7 acoustic instruments (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, viola, percussion, and voice) and electronics, which relies on the technical expertise of Miso Studio. Sond’Arte Electric Ensemble’s repertoire includes some of the most important works for ensembles of 5 to 8 instruments of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is specialized in the interpretation of contemporary erudite music and is composed of a group of young musicians with individual careers as soloists.
15 MAR
17:00 Open Rehearsal with Schalfeld Ensemble
19:00 Round Table with the musicians
20:30 Concert with Schalfeld Ensemble
Founded in 2013, the Schalfelld Ensemble is an international contemporary music ensemble, created by Klangforum Wien alumni and composition students from the Kunstuniversitat Graz. It is currently composed of songs from 8 nationalities. The group’s sound is guided by its lively virtuosity and refined chamber music, with interpretations that pay special attention to the concert format, adapting them specifically to each location. Schalfelld Ensemble’s mission is to bring the music of young international composers to Austria and act as an ambassador for new international music productions.
16 MAR
10:00 am to 1:00 pm | 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Seminar with Frank Bedrossian*
Our Lady of the Cape Music School, Linda-a-Velha
Franck Bedrossian’s music, in addition to its immediate physical impact, employs a dramatic intensity with strength and refinement. The inventiveness of his sound and the expressive density of his writing carve out a musical form rich in ambiguities and acoustic illusions. Bedrossian studied composition with Allain Gaussin before joining the CNSMDP, where he studied with Gérard Grisey and then with Marco Stroppa. His work is published by Éditions Billaudot Verlag Neue Music and Maison ONA.
16 MAR
16:30 Concert by EAE Students
7:00 pm Round Table
20:30 Electronic Music Concert
March 16th marks the start of a three-day composition seminar with composer Frank Bedrossian. This day will be oriented towards the promotion and dissemination of young composers and performers, integrating concerts by ensembles of students from different schools of Specialized Education in Music from various parts of the country during the afternoon. The day ends with an electronic music concert with Higher Education Composition students from different Portuguese universities.
17 MAR
10:00 am to 1:00 pm | 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Seminar with Frank Bedrossian*
17:00 Open Rehearsal with Lisbon Ensemble 20/21
19:00 Round Table with the musicians
20:30 Concert with Lisbon Ensemble 20/21
Ensemble 20/21 is a formation without a fixed format, dedicated to contemporary music with a base instrumentation of seven performers. Its initial formation included the musicians João Pedro Fonseca (flute), Óscar Viana (oboe), Nuno Antunes (clarinet), Sérgio Ventura (bassoon), Filipe Coelho (trumpet), José Correia (horn), António Santos (trombone ) and Miguel Leiria (Double Bass). Today the group has eight more elements, maintaining a certain flexibility in its composition in order to be able to adapt to repertoires. Its programming includes works for musical theatre, electroacoustic projects, video projects, chamber music and ensemble concerts.
18 MAR
10:00 am to 1:00 pm | 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Seminar with Frank Bedrossian*
17:00 Open Rehearsal with Opuspiritum Ensemble
19:00 Round Table with the musicians
20:30 Concert with Opuspiritum Ensemble
The OpuSpiritum Ensemble is a chamber music group founded in 2017 and made up of young professional musicians who want to promote their work in a chamber music context, having as their training base a double wind quintet: two transverse flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns. Headquartered in the city of Coimbra, the group arises due to the almost non-existence of this type of formation in our country, making it possible to explore the existing repertoire and take advantage of new creations by contemporary composers for that formation.
* A project by the Associação Portuguesa de Compositores with free admission to all activities, except for participation in the Seminar, with prior registration through the email geral@apcompositores.pt
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