Sonic Illinois 2019 Tunes Up
February 2019
Following the success of its first iteration in 2017, Krannert Center and the School of Music are collaboratively exploring the extraordinary diversity of today’s vital contemporary music scene during the months of February and March with the Sonic Illinois series. Sonic Illinois is a revival of the spirit of the University of Illinois Festival of Contemporary Arts, which was a major cultural force in the mid-20th century. The campus and community are invited to explore innovative composers, musicians, and scholars who continue to challenge conventions, forge new pathways, and expand the creative process through a variety of performances throughout Krannert Center’s spaces.
This celebration of new music will include historic compositions, global contemporary artists, University of Illinois School of Music ensembles, and works by Illinois faculty and students. Audiences can look forward to hearing pieces by Steve Reich, Astor Piazzolla, Joel Love, and Steven Bryant; University of Illinois School of Music composers Carlos Carrillo and Stephen Taylor; and student composer Zhaoyu Zhang.
Guest artists will include Kronos Quartet, Sō Percussion, Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, and Rachel Barton Pine (performing with the UI Symphony Orchestra). Featured colleagues from the University of Illinois will include Jupiter String Quartet, with special guest Chungliang Al Huang, who performed in Krannert Center’s 1969 inaugural events; the artists of Lyric Theatre @ Illinois featured in The Rape of Lucretia; Lishan Xue, the 2018 Krannert Center Debut Artist; and many others. The Illinois Wind Symphony will perform one concert featuring School of Music Professor of Saxophone Debra Richtmeyer as a soloist. The Illinois Modern Ensemble will present two concerts in the month of March. The March 1 performance will feature Jupiter String Quartet, Sō Percussion, and School of Music Associate Professor of Cello Dmitry Kouzov; the March 13 performance will feature the UI Percussion Ensemble. Explore the upcoming performance details.