A tribute to a Northwestern alumnus and an event for children hosted by the NU Marching Band highlight the early fall schedule of Bienen School of Music performances.
The school announced the lineup Tuesday. The Institute for New Music, co-directed by Bienen Profs. Hans Thomalla and Timothy McAllister, will kick off its second year with “Ned@90,” a tribute to the 90th birthday of composer Ned Rorem (Bienen ’44). The two-day celebration will consist of opening and closing concerts and a roundtable discussion of Rorem’s legacy featuring Bienen professors and other composers.
Rorem, who entered the School of Music at age 17, has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, Fulbright Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He is a renowned composer of art songs.
The school’s musical offerings will begin Saturday with “March with the Band,” an event for children ages 3 to 8 that “provides budding young musicians with the chance to play their toy drums and flutes as they parade around Welsh-Ryan Arena with the Wildcat Marching Band,” according to a University news release.
Other fall events include a concert by instrumental group Trio Solari on Oct. 6, a master class with clarinetist and Trio Solari member Chad Burrow on Oct. 7 and a concert by mandolin player, composer and vocalist Chris Thile of Punch Brothers on Oct. 15.
— Joseph Diebold