Please join us for our season Finale featuring four works for violin and piano performed by Network Ensemble musicians Hirono Oka and Charles Abramovic, captured live at Jacobs Music in Center City, Philadelphia.

The program begins in a 'Relaxed Mood' with the first movement of Road Movies by John Adams. Next is Peace, by Jessie Montgomery. Written a month into the quarantine in 2020, Ms. Montgomery makes peace from the shock and sadness of the global pandemic. Also on the program is Winter Light by Heidi Jacob. This work was inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s 1962 film of the same title which contains the recurring themes concerning the nature of existence, God’s silence, and the nature of love. The program also includes Distance de Fee by Toru Takemitsu. This work is inspired by the poetry of Shuzo Takiguchi and describes an elusive mythological creature living in “air’s labyrinth ...it lives in the spring breeze / That barely resembled the balance of a small bird.”

Please enjoy these outstanding performances of timely music.

On Sunday, February 14, 2021, 4pm, G-town Radio 92.9 broadcast a special program curated by Network for New Music including the premiere of five newly commissioned electro-acoustic compositions integrating spoken-word love stories from residents of Germantown. 

Created in collaboration with First Person Arts, this digital event uses five stories about love, told by residents from Germantown, as the inspiration for five newly commissioned electro-acoustic reflections on each individual story. The compositions use the resonance of the storytellers’ voices and integrate them into original compositions. Each one is a chapter in the larger love story of our community.

The works from this collaboration were created by pairing the following composers and storytellers:

You Can Make It
Storyteller: Marquita Shine
Composer: Jerod Sommerfeldt
Listen at 0:00

The 2100
Storyteller: BL Shirelle
Composer: Leila Adu-Gilmore / BL Shirelle
Listen at 4:33

When I Think About Germantown and Love
Storyteller: Michael Baker
Composer: Quinn Collins
Listen at 12:45

No Storm Can Shake My Inmost Calm
Storyteller: Pastor Amy Yoder McLoughlin
Composer: Paul Schuette
Listen at 20:20

My Love For Germantown
Storyteller: Tanesha Ford
Composer: Wendel Patrick / Kevin Gift
Listen at 26:15

Following the full February 14 broadcast, the ‘chapters’ will again be broadcast during daytime programming from February 15 through February 19 and culminate in another repeat broadcast of the full program on February 20, 5PM. Please visit G-Town Radio’s website for detailed daily program scheduling.

Listen to an interview conducted by Tom Casetta, G-Town Station manager, with Thomas Schuttenhelm and Neil Barhan (First Person Arts).

On January 9 2021 we celebrated Richard Wernick's 87th birthday with a special event devoted to his music. The program began with a performance of his Suite for Unaccompanied Cello featuring Thomas Kraines. This suite — his first of three — contains a cryptogram in the titles of the movements and like so much of Wernick's music, it adds prominence to the genre. Next on the program is the Piano Sonata No. 3. This work is dedicated to and performed by Charles Abramovic. The sonata contains many allusions to past works and styles and the last movement demonstrates Wernick's inventive approach to both form and content. Abramovic and Kraines join together for the last piece on the program — a rousing performance of the Scherzetto from the duo for cello and piano.

Network for New Music is pleased to present three exciting performances for our last event of 2020! First on the program is a special encore performance of Roberto Pace’s Solo on Puryear (a Network commission) performed by Mary Javian. Some of you might remember Mary’s premiere performance in 2017 at the Print Center and you won’t want to miss this brilliant new performance including slides from Martin Puryear’s prints that served as the inspiration for this important work. Next on the program is the premiere performance of Hatchback Tortoise for cello and guitar by Tom Kraines. You may already recognize Tom as a core Network Ensemble member, and also a member of the Daedalus Quartet; Thomas Schuttenhelm will join him on guitar for this, his Network debut as a composer! The concert concludes with a performance of Caleb Burhan’s Time Well Spent for solo marimba featuring Phillip O’Banion. The part requires the marimbist to sing while playing and Phil creates an outstanding interpretation of this ‘timely’ work.

Our program opens with Emma O'Halloran's Sum of Its Parts, an evocative work for tenor saxophone and electronics. The overlapping layers of sound create an experience that is impossible to quantify! The second half of the program consists of four works from Gregory T.S. Walker's post-modern collection: Rock, Pop, and Hip-hop Fantasies. These exquisitely constructed pieces are full of contemporary resonances we are sure you will enjoy. This music is expertly performed by Network’s wonderful musicians, Hirono Oka, Julia Li (violin), and Matthew Levy (saxophone & electronics).

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AVAILABLE ON-DEMAND UNTIL 11/21 at 11:59PM

Join us on Saturday, October 17th at 7:30 PM (networkfornewmusic.org/live, password required) for a special Network for New Music commission and premiere performance of Amanda Harberg's Tales of Lyra for solo bass clarinet composed especially for Paul R. Demers. In this piece Harberg depicts "a powerful eagle carrying memories of Orpheus filled with loss and beauty into the stars, for all to feel."

The event also includes the Philadelphia premiere of Karen Walwyn's poignant For Spangled Hearts for viola and cello, performed by Marvin Moon and John Koen. The piece was originally conceived as a response to September 11 but according to the composer, in the age of a pandemic and protests, it has a new significance. The movement "Are We Still Listening" repeats themes with a determination that the composer hopes will help encourage us to keep advancing. Please join us for these special performances and commentary with the composers.

Visit our Broadcast FAQ for any streaming questions you may have.