Schedule:

Thursday, February 8, 2024

12:05 pm - 1:00 pm: Taproot New Music Festival: Opening Concert
Sam Nichols, director

Performers:
Colin Minigan, percussion

Splinter Reeds
Kyle Bruckmann, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Nicki Roman, saxophone
Jeff Anderle, bass clarinet
Dana Jessen, bassoon

Empyrean Ensemble
Sam Nichols, director

Program:
Selections will include
John Cage: Child of Tree
Dean Boursiquot: Serving Realness

Free, a Shinkoskey Noon Concert?
Location: Ann E. Pitzer Center

7:00 p.m - 8:00 p.m: Taproot New Music Festival: Zachary James Watkins
Electronic musician Zachary James Watkins presents a solo show at Armadillo Records in downtown Davis.
Free
Location: Armadillo Records, 207 F Street, Davis

Friday, February 9, 2024

7:00 p.m - 8:00 p.m: Taproot New Music Festival: Side By Side
Sam Nichols, director

Performers
UC Davis Percussion Ensemble, Chris Froh, director
Students from Music 16B (Elementary Musicianship)
Chris Froh, percussion

Program
Phil Acimovic: Three Chords for Agnes Martin (Premiere)
written for Chris Froh

Sarah Hennies: Everything Else (2016)

John Cage: Branches (1976)
for multiple percussionists, using amplified plant materials

Free
Location: Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Saturday, February 10, 2024

1:00 p.m - 1:45 p.m: Taproot New Music Festival: Pendulum Music
Sam Nichols, director

Musicians
Alysa Banks (’21)
Diego Gordon
Noah Homsy-King
Alyssa Melendez
Gabriel Peters
Ruby Walker

Program
Steve Reich’s Pendulum Music (1968) is a performance piece, which will be set in the Events Plaza at the Manetti Shrem Museum. Pendulum Music makes use of multiple microphones swinging, pendulum-style, over loudspeakers. Featuring dramatic squawks of feedback, the piece concludes when the inertia of the swinging microphones naturally come to rest. Sharp rhythms gradually wind down into a sustained drone piece. The composer writes, "If it’s done right, it’s kind of funny."

Free
Location: Events Plaza, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art

2:00 p.m - 3:00 p.m: Taproot New Music Festival: “Renderings Of Things We Couldn’t Take Home”
Sam Nichols, director

Performance at 2:00pm, repeated at 2:30pm. Please note that in case of rain, the performance will move inside to the Shields Library lobby, and will not be repeated at 2:30pm.

Program:
The UC Davis Percussion Ensemble (Chris Froh, director) will perform Jen Wang’s percussion quartet Renderings of Things We Couldn’t Take Home (2009); this performance is coached by graduate student composer Colin Minigan.

Free
Location: Courtyard, Shields Library

7:00 p.m - 8:30 pm: Taproot New Music Festival: Splinter Reeds
Artists-in-Residence

Splinter Reeds
Kyle Bruckmann, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Nicki Roman, saxophone
Jeff Anderle, bass clarinet
Dana Jessen, bassoon

Program:
Trey Makler: Can’t live without you (Premiere)
Phillip Sink: New Work (Premiere)
Shahrzad Talebi: What will remain (Premiere)
Zoë A. Wallace: Shards (Premiere)
Zachary James Watkins: Treatment VNiloufar Nourbakhsh: Firing Squad (2018)

Free
Location: Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Sunday, February 11, 2024

2:00 p.m - 3:30 p.m: Taproot New Music Festival: Empyrean Ensemble
Sam Nichols, director

Empyrean Ensemble
Sam Nichols, director
Matilda Hofman, resident conductor

Musicians Playing
Tod Brody, flute
Sandy McPherson, clarinet
Jennifer Ellis, harp
Michael Seth Orland, piano
Ben Prima, percussion
Hrabba Atladottir, violin
Ellen Ruth Rose, viola
Leighton Fong, cello

Program:
Dean Kervin Boursiquot: Serving Realness
Stephen Ryan Jackson: Antrum Crepitus
Kory Reeder: My Mother
Amber Vistein: The Auscultation of Weathered Breath

Free, no tickets required
Location: Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Date: February 8 - 11, 2024

Location: Various Venues in Davis, CA 95616

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