MUSIQA Announces Its 2018-19 Season

Musiqa, two-time winner of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, is proud to announce its 2018-19 season. Building on the bold, adventurous programming of previous years, Musiqa's seventeenth season features new, exciting interdisciplinary collaborations, commissions, world premieres, and community and educational programming.

"Our 2018-19 season explores new musical paths with world premieres, adventurous interdisciplinary collaborations and exciting artistic partnerships," states Musiqa Artistic Director Anthony Brandt. "Musiqa's performances will trace geographic borders, retrace ethnic heritage, and explore how we as humans can leave our own traces through our art."

As in previous seasons, Musiqa concerts take place at a variety of venues around Houston and are divided into a major concert series and a series of informal loft concerts. The major concert series kicks off the season on Saturday, October 6 with "Origin Stories" at the Shepherd School of Music, as Musiqa explores the power of music to connect cultures. This program features the world premiere of Musiqa Artistic Director Anthony Brandt's Songs from the Source: Nine African Folk Songs for soprano and ensemble. We also go to Cuba as Tania León retraces her Havana roots in A la par for piano and percussion. And we hear Pierre Jalbert's Crossings, a work for chamber ensemble which imagines the cultural and emotional upheaval his French-Canadian ancestors faced as they migrated to the U.S. The program also features a reading of a new poem by the acclaimed Houston poet Sarah Cortez.

Musiqa returns to First Congregational Church Houston on Friday, November 2 for a program of works for saxophones. This concert explores music that blurs the line between classical, jazz, and folk music, with works like Jennifer Higdon's short Bop, David Ludwig's popular Josquin Microludes, and works by Texas-based composers Kyle Kindred and Joel Love.

On January 12, Musiqa makes its first appearance of the season at Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH) with "Traces of Blue: Color, Texture, and Motion in Music." In this program, creativity is front and center, as Musiqa premieres a new piano trio by Karim Al-Zand. In addition, celebrated Houston artist Geraldina Interiano Wise will create a brand-new painting accompanied by music live in front of the audience. The program also features chamber works by Annie Gosfield, Stephen Hartke, and Loren Loiacono.

Musiqa returns to MATCH on Oscars weekend, February 22, for "Reel Forces," an evening of music and film. The centerpiece of this program is the Aleksandra Vrebalov/Bill Morrison collaboration, Beyond Zero: 1914-1918, a moving and mesmerizing film of rare World War I archival footage with live string quartet accompaniment. The concert also includes two other musical works involving film, featuring composers Florent Ghys and Marcus Maroney. A second concert at First Congregational Church Houston finds Musiqa building an ensemble one instrument at a time. From the first piece, Simon Steen Andersen's Split Point for solo percussion, watch as we gradually make our way to Xi Wang's Silhouette, scored for Pierrot Ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano) and percussion. The program also includes works by Nina Shenkhar, Libby Larsen, Sebastian Currier, and Carolina Heredia.
The final concert in the major concert series involves Musiqa's first-ever collaboration with the Houston Chamber Choir. "Mass Observation" includes a performance of the major work by the same name of British composer Tarik O'Regan. The program also includes two more choral works: the premiere of Marcus Maroney's Im Grase and Karim Al-Zand's A Measure in Trance, as well as Augusta Read Thomas' Resounding Earth: Prayer for percussion ensemble.

In addition to these major concerts, Musiqa will once again present its series of free, informal loft concerts in collaboration with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. These concerts, which take place November 15, March 7, and May 9, will feature works carefully chosen to complement the respective exhibitions at CAMH.

New this season, Musiqa is introducing "pay-what-you-wish" ticketing with a limited quantity of $5 tickets for first-time attendees of a Musiqa performance. "We believe the arts should be available and accessible to all," stated Executive Director Brian Hodge. "Our commitment to eliminating barriers to experiencing contemporary music led us to examine our ticket pricing. 'Pay-what-you-wish' now makes it possible to hear the highest quality music for less than the price of a night at the movies."

MUSIQA is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. Founded in 2002 and led by four composers, MUSIQA aims to enrich and inspire the community through programs that integrate contemporary music with other modern art forms. Musiqa celebrates modern creative arts through interdisciplinary concerts that highlight modern music and its connections to literature, film, dance, art, and more. With its innovative collaborations and educational programming, MUSIQA strives to make modern repertoire accessible and vital to audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds.

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