The University of Tennessee College of Music’s annual Contemporary Music Festival celebrates contemporary music through concerts of new music, workshops, and paper presentations each spring. It welcomes guest performers, scholars, and composers from around the world.

2024 Schedule

Wednesday, February 28

5:30 – 6:30 PM | The Emporium Downtown (100 S. Gay Street)

Alejandro Rutty (6-string bass)

Jorge Variego (clarinets)

Thursday, February 29

12:55 – 2:10 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Room 40

Ian Dicke presentation

5:30 – 6:30 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Powell Recital Hall

Ian Dicke presents “Cowboy Rounds,” his debut album that reimagines a collection of folk songs from the John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip archive at the Library of Congress. Using the text and vocal contours of the original field recordings as a foundation, each track weaves an intricate sonic tapestry of processed loops that reflect the source material’s grit. The multidimensional songs explore themes of loneliness, oppression, and paranoia that form alarming parallels to the issues plaguing contemporary American society today.

Friday, March 1

9:10 – 10:00 AM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Room 40

Lecture by Rodrigo Sigal (Supported by the Fulbright Foundation). Sigal joins us from Mexico where he teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia.

10:20 – 11:10 AM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Room 40

Eunmi Ko, Anruo Chen, Grace Ann Lee, and Chen-Hui Jen discuss the MUTED project

2:30 – 3:30 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Powell Recital Hall

Rodrigo Sigal (monographic concert of electronic music).

5:30 – 7:00 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Powell Recital Hall

Eunmi Ko presents MUTED, featuring music of composers Anruo Cheng, Grace Ann Lee, Chen-Hui Jen, and Ania Vu.

MUTED was supported by New Music USA’s Creator Fund with support in part from the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Cheswatyr Foundation, The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, and the BMI Foundation. Support for New York-based artists is provided by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and/or the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Support for the Creator Fund is also provided by contributions from the New Music USA endowment. Additional funding provided by the University of Tennessee Humanities Council.