The Inland Empire deserves to enjoy music — for free — that elevates the senses.
That’s why Ian Dicke, associate professor of composition at the University of California, Riverside, is excited to present the 2019-20 Outpost Concert Series. Now in its seventh season, the series kicks off Wednesday, Nov. 6, with Mobius Trio at the Culver Center of the Arts in downtown Riverside.
All five concerts, which run on a monthly basis through April 2020, challenge the norm in different ways. Four of the five groups are new to the Outpost Concert Series. The series’ mission is threefold: expose the Inland Empire community to new music, make Riverside an accessible venue for performers, and cultivate diverse audiences, Dicke said.
“This is also meant to bring the community together and expose them to relatable storytelling, presented by groups who are just starting out and by those who have been around for a while,” Dicke said. “Also, the Inland Empire is a great stop and the Culver Center is a wonderful space, so why not?”
All of the performing artists specialize in the performance of contemporary art music and each program will include music composed within the past 40 years.
When these musicians come to Riverside, they connect the local musical culture with the larger national scene because many are commissioned artists who have performed around the globe, Dicke said.
They also interact with UCR students. The saxophone quartet, ~Nois, for example, will collaborate with UCR student composers for a workshop where students’ new work will be read and critiqued.
“I want the community to walk away feeling like they were exposed to something new,” Dicke said. “I want to break down the idea that classical music is for a certain kind of people or that it sounds a certain way. These artists fearlessly explore groundbreaking territory.”
All concerts are free and open to the public. Complete artist biographies: outpost.ucr.edu.
Meet the artists
Mobius Trio — Wednesday, Nov. 6 (guitar trio)
Mobius Trio has commissioned music from more than three dozen composers in its first few years of existence, including Sergio Assad, Luciano Chessa, and Ryan Brown. The group’s music fully integrates the classical guitar into the 21st century’s nascent musical lexicon. Mobius Trio was formed in 2010 by guitarists Robert Nance, Mason Fish, and Matthew Holmes-Linder while studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Read more.
The Living Earth Show —Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 (guitar and percussion)
The Living Earth Show received the grand prize in the University of South Carolina’s SAVVY Chamber Arts Competition and has commissioned and premiered more than 60 new works by some of the most vital composers in the world. Formed by guitarist Travis Andrews and percussionist Andy Meyerson, The Living Earth Show will release its third album, “Echoes,” with Andrews and Meyerson serving as artists-in-residence at the University of South Carolina and the University of Michigan. Read more.
~Nois —Tuesday, Feb. 25 (saxophone quartet)
~Nois is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet that defies categorization by working between the boundary of contemporary classical music and experimental improvisation. Founded in 2016 by graduate students at Northwestern University, where they also completed a residency, ~Nois has earned prizes at prestigious chamber music competitions, including the second prize in the Open Division of the 2018 M- Prize International Chamber Arts Competition at the University of Michigan. Read more.
Panic Duo — Monday, March 9 (violin and piano)
Panic Duo is a Los-Angeles based ensemble dedicated to the performance of music of our time. Violinist Pasha Tseitlin and pianist Nic Gerpe’s repertoire includes pieces by composers John Adams and John Corigliano, and they have collaborated with composers such as Gernot Wolfgang, Anne LeBaron, and Stephen Cohn on commissioning, premiering, and recording new works. Panic Duo has performed as part of the Los Angeles-based new music concert series Tuesdays at Monk Space, as well as at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Read more.
Mivos Quartet — Tuesday, April 7 (string quartet)
Mivos Quartet, the recipient of the 2019 Dwight and Ursula Mamlok Prize for Interpreters of Contemporary Music, is committed to working with guest artists, exploring multi-media projects involving live video and electronics, and performing improvised music. Mivos Quartet is composed of violinists Olivia De Prato and Maya Bennardo, violist Victor Lowrie Tafoya, and cellist Tyler J. Borden. The quartet has performed with artists such as Timucin Sahin, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Nate Wooley. Read more.
