Ossia and Eastman Musica Nova teamed up with Ensemble Signal to present Steve Reich’s Tehillim in Kilbourn Hall in April 2014.
Ossia New Music, a student-run organization committed to contemporary music performance, is holding its first concert of the year on Thursday, October 1 in Kilbourn Hall at 8:00pm. The concert program includes music by Steve Reich, Witold Lutoslawski, Kaija Saariaho, Katharina Rosenberger, Chaya Czernowin and Justin Jaramillo (ESM BM ’16).
I had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming concert and Ossia’s plans for the year with Phil Pierick, the Co-Director of Outreach for the ensemble. Phil is a third-year Doctoral saxophone student from Iowa City.
John: For those who may be unfamiliar with OSSIA, can you tell us about the ensemble?
Phil: OSSIA is an entirely student-run new music ensemble and organization at Eastman. We curate and put on four concerts each year in Kilbourn Hall as well as other events throughout Rochester and beyond. We hope to involve as many ESM students as possible in order to foster a love for new music and support for emerging composers.
John: What would you like to tell the Eastman student population about OSSIA’s first performance of the year on Thursday?
Phil: We’re starting things off with a bang! We have a really unique program with a lot of depth that involves about 50 students as performers, composers, and organizers. There are two larger works—Steve Reich’s iconic Eight Lines and Katarina Rosenberger’s parcours iii—paired alongside four smaller chamber works that are as fascinating as they are distinct.
John: For students that may have never performed or listened to new music or simply don’t know much about it, what would your advice to them be?
Phil: First, come to the OSSIA Concert!! Second, have an open mind and open ears. One of the most daunting things about getting into new music can be sheer variety of kinds of music out there. With countless aesthetics to sift through, it’s worth spending some time just exploring what is out there. In the end, the variety within new music is one of its greatest assets.
John: What are some of the responsibilities and challenges of your position on the OSSIA board?
Phil: So far the biggest challenge has been finding times for all of our busy board members to be in the same room at once!
As co-director of outreach, a large part of my responsibilities within OSSIA relate to events other than our four concerts in Kilbourn. We have a collaborative concert at Cornell University in November set up, a few different events in the works for the spring, and are just launching OSSIA Presents—a monthly new music event held at Press Coffee. OSSIA Presents will offer more ESM students more opportunities to play new music off-campus in a more relaxed environment. Anyone interested should check out our website!
http://ossianewmusic.org
John: Does OSSIA have any big or exciting plans in the near future that you would like to share?
Phil: We’re already in planning mode for our 20th anniversary season next academic year. It will be an OSSIA-filled year!
— John Fatuzzo