International Society for Contemporary Music

ISCM Romania organized 8 days of SONIC GARDENS in November 2019 The ISCM Romanian Section (part of the Union of Romanian Composers and Musicologists) organized the 15th edition of MERIDIAN International New Music Festival between November 3-10 2019 in Bucharest as well as in other 4 cultural centers in Romania: Arad, Cluj, Timişoara and Sibiu. The new team of ISCM Romania – composers Diana Rotaru (president), Gabriel Mălăncioiu, Alexandru Ștefan Murariu, Constantin Basica and composer, performer and musicologist Irinel Anghel (artistic consultant) conceived an exciting theme, “Sonic Gardens”, each event of the festival being structured after the model of an imaginary or real type of garden. “Garden of Delights”, “Wild Garden”, “Electronic Jungle”, “Labyrinth Garden”, “Garden of Fog” or “Zen Garden” are just a few of the concepts that were discovered during MERIDIAN in 2019. During 8 intense days, 25 events took place (concerts, talks, electronic music, improvisations and film projections), including 28 brand new works and 36 Romanian premieres. SONIC GARDENS was the Romanian debut of the “ISCM Collaborative Series” project between members of ISCM, as 6 works from ISCM-Israel, ISCM-Switzerland and Musikagileak (Basque Country) were selected by the organizers to be performed by Romanian ensembles and musicians during the festival (Archaeus Ensemble, Marius Ungureanu – viola, Diana Moş – violin, Mihai Măniceanu – piano and ATEM Ensemble). Two Round Tables around the activities of ISCM and the present state of new music were organized in Bucharest and Cluj. Amongst the participants, ISCM Romania had the honor to have a very special guest, George Kentros (Sweden, member of the ISCM Executive Board) who gave an explosive violin and electronics recital on November 10th, part of the “Electronic Jungle” theme: “This Violin Must Die”. Apart from George Kentros, SONIC GARDENS hosted international artists such as flutists Mario Caroli (Italy/France), violonist and viola player Luosha Fang (USA), pianists Alfredo Ovalles (Venezuela/Austria) and Michael Djupstrom (USA), or performer Aleksander Gabryś (Poland), alongside Romanian artists such as flutists Matei Ioachimescu, Ionuț Ștefănescu, performer Irinel Anghel, GAME Percussion ensemble, SonoMania ensemble, pianist Horia Maxim, Trio Contraste, PERCUSSIOnescu, INTER-ART and so on. MERIDIAN – SONIC GARDENS was co-financed by the National Culture and Identity Ministry, with the aid of the Romanian Cultural Institute, the “Dinu Lipatti” House of Arts, the National “Tinerimea Română” Art Center, the National “George Enescu” Museum, the Arad State Philharmonic and the Sibiu State Philharmonic. Full program and full list of partners at https://snr-simc.org. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeridianFestival https://www.facebook.com/ISCMRomanianSection. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZM64B9KXk

Decolonizing Western contemporary music, 2/2

Decolonizing Western contemporary music, 1/2