After rehearsing for only a month, the School of Music performed its annual “Illinois
Modern Ensemble” concert Thursday, April 14. The concert showcased four
compositions, each composed by a different student.
“Contemporary music is just as abstract as contemporary art,” said Carlos Carrillo,
assistant professor of composition theory, who conducted and directed the ensemble.
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“When you approach this form of art, the questions ‘What is this supposed to be?’ ‘What
is going on?’ come in your mind, and that’s what happens when you listen to
contemporary music — you attempt to analyze, decipher and understand the meaning
behind the music.”
One of the concert’s pieces was an inexplicable one— it sounded mysterious, and all
the while felt as if you were walking in an enchanted forest that also happened to be
haunted. “Evening Prayers” was written by student Timothy Sapp, who is currently
pursuing a master’s degree in music composition.
Sapp said the piece seeks to depict a “ritualistic appeal to the divine and the channels,”
where such an appeal would have to go through to actually be heard by its intended
audience.
“Evening Prayers” was inspired by Russian liturgical music, and it felt like living in a
certain era was required in order to understand the piece.
Another piece, “Skull’s Gene,” was composed by Zhaoyu Zhang, who is pursuing his
doctorate in music composition.
Zhang, who has written several pieces before, said he still feels the excitement when
seeing his work being performed on stage.
Inspired by a Japanese novel, “HardBoiled Wonderland and the End of the World,” the
work attempts to demonstrate the “uncertainty and fear of the protagonist.” The
performance finished with a loud bang at the end, which was an attempt to symbolize
that an indefinite answer exists — both for the piece and in the story.
Withall four pieces possessing very unique meanings, being at the concert was truly
required in order to get a sense of what each piece was attempting to imply. With
varying degrees of all different genres, the “Illinois Modern Ensemble” concert was truly
one of a kind.
Rating: 8.5/10