Bowling Green State University in northern Ohio has an excellent Philharmonia that is one of the oldest collegiate orchestras in the United States, founded in 1918. The Mid-American Center for Contemporary Music is also based out of Bowling Green, and the university annually hosts visiting composers. Albany's The Voice of the Composer: New Music from Bowling Green, Vol. 5, is a direct result of BGSU's efforts on behalf of new music and features a slate of six composers whose works have been performed in their festival ...
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Bowling Green State University in northern Ohio has an excellent Philharmonia that is one of the oldest collegiate orchestras in the United States, founded in 1918. The Mid-American Center for Contemporary Music is also based out of Bowling Green, and the university annually hosts visiting composers. Albany's The Voice of the Composer: New Music from Bowling Green, Vol. 5, is a direct result of BGSU's efforts on behalf of new music and features a slate of six composers whose works have been performed in their festival concerts. It is an interesting slate, as it runs from an elder statesman -- Samuel Adler -- to very young composers such as Steven Bryant and Huang Ruo. Each composer contributes to the album in the form of a brief, spoken prolog to each composition; the overall effect is not unlike listening to a radio program. The colloquial phrase "over the top" might well summarize the first two works on the program, and in the case of Steven Bryant's Loose Id (1996), it is intended as a compliment....
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