Published May 4, 2016
MONROE, La. — Composers from around the U.S. and beyond are coming to the Monroe/Ruston area
from June 1st through June 4th to have their music performed at the New Music on the
Bayou Festival.
Monroe concert venues will include the Masur Museum of Art, The Palace, and the Biedenharn
Recital Hall of the University of Louisiana Monroe.
Ruston venues will include Louisiana Tech’s F. Jay Taylor Visual Arts Center as well
as the Dixie Center for the Arts.
Daytime sessions will be filled with rehearsals (open to the community) allowing performers
and composers to exchange artistic ideas as they prepare the selected compositions
for afternoon/evening concerts.
Earlier this year, Festival coordinators issued a “call for scores,” which received
over 100 submissions from composers around the globe. Forty-five of those pieces,
which include combinations for instruments and voice, were accepted. Composers, from
distances as far as Italy and as close as Bossier City, will be available for discussion
with community members following each concert.
There will be a short performance of nature-inspired music at the Black Bayou National
Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, June 4 at noon. This event is meant to recognize the
uniqueness of the area and to highlight the “nature theme” of the Festival. A $500
composition prize sponsored by Friends of Black Bayou will be awarded to the piece
that best demonstrates the connection between music and the natural world.
The last two concerts will be followed by receptions offering audiences the opportunity
to meet the composers and performers. The final concert at the Dixie Center for the
Arts in Ruston is a ticketed event and will include the announcement of the composition
award winners. All other events are open and free to the public.
The New Music on the Bayou Festival has been made possible in part by contributions
from the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, Ecoutez Press, the Monroe Symphony League,
and your 24 local State Farm agents.
More information about the Festival can be found at newmusiconthebayou.com including
a complete schedule and list of participants.
