On Wednesday, August 14, San Diego New Music will present its Emerging Composers Concert at the Athenaeum Art Center in Logan Heights. Since the inaugural competition in 2018, SDNM has been inviting emerging San Diego/Tijuana/Ensenada–based student composers to apply for the Emerging Composers Commission Competition, an opportunity to submit an original work for an annual concert. Former executive director and current board member of San Diego New Music Eric Starr reports: “The goal from the outset was, and still is, to provide undergraduate college composers with a platform for their work to be heard outside the university.” The composers must either study at a college in San Diego or, if studying elsewhere, have graduated from a San Diego County high school. Starr says, “The local talent is immense and San Diego New Music and the Athenaeum can be proud to be part of the ecosystem that nurtures such talent.” The composers are selected from a pool of applicants and compose an original piece for the concert. Professional performers collaborate with the composers in the rehearsal process, just as they would with a professional composer, and do everything they can to honor the music. This year’s performers will be Rachel Allen (trumpet), Anahita Pestonjamasp (flute), Varun Rangaswamy (bassoon), and Eric Starr (trombone). Starr says, “Composer and bassoonist Varun Rangaswamy was an integral part of founding these concerts when he approached me about the concept at the soundON Festival at the Athenaeum in 2018. At the time, Varun was an undergraduate composer himself and felt that demographic of composer deserved more performing opportunities. Varun and I worked together to bring the concept to reality.” The result has been beloved concerts, and all 23 pieces that have been performed over four concerts are world premieres. Starr says, “August 14 will be our fifth Emerging Composers Concert and we are always excited to hear what happens!” Ensemble: Rachel Allen, trumpet Anahita Pestonjamasp, flute Varun Rangaswamy, bassoon Eric Starr, trombone) About San Diego New Music: San Diego New Music is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the public performance of notated music of the highest integrity and artistic caliber from the 20th and 21st centuries. We seek to advance the art form by promoting music composed with conceptual rigor, passionate energy and singular artistic vision. SDNM enriches the artistic culture of San Diego through the presentation of an annual concert series and the soundON Festival of Modern Music, and through fostering its resident performing ensemble, NOISE. In 1994, the only place in San Diego where you could hear an entire concert of 20th-century music was on a college campus. San Diego New Music pitched the idea of a concert series devoted to modern music and 20th-century classics at the Athenaeum. The concerts of modern music perfectly complement the exhibitions of modern art held in the Athenaeum’s galleries. In 1996, San Diego New Music presented its first season. The series was called "Noise at the Library," and the ensemble would later adopt the name, as well. San Diego New Music and the Athenaeum have been happily co-presenting concerts of new music ever since. For more information on the organization go to www.sandiegonewmusic.com. San Diego New Music on Instagram
