The University of Tennessee College of Music hosted its most recent installment of the New Sound Concert Series on Monday, Nov. 20. The series showcases student works by student composers and is not a new event for the College of Music.

Andrew Sigler, associate professor of music composition and area coordinator of music theory, composition and technology, explained a bit about the series.

“New Sound has been around for about 10 years,” Sigler said. “Every semester we have a concert of student works. These are primarily students from my composition studio, but we’ve also had students from related classes like sound recording, film scoring and other similar courses.”

While most of the works were more traditional chamber music, students also showcased less traditional works such as ragtime or experimental, almost performance art-style pieces. 

For instance, the piece composed by Cullen Burke, a senior music student, and performed by Siena Fulton, a junior music student, had Fulton listen to two recordings, both of which the audience could not hear, and then play something influenced by those recordings on the marimba.

Fulton also had an experimental piece of her own, combining a distorted electronic backing track and live percussion where at one point the performer, Trik Gass, a sophomore music student, put on a sleeve with wind chimes attached and continued playing. 

Experimental pieces are not a rarity for the New Sounds Concert Series. As new students move through the program, new ideas are brought in and students are free to experiment.

“Some concerts will have very standard piano pieces. Others will have very experimental pieces,” Sigler said. “We had a piece last spring that involved about two dozen egg timers, all set to go off and go on at certain times. It sounds like a novelty, but it really created a very interesting rhythmic soundscape.”

To prepare for this concert, the composers had to do everything from composing the piece to finding performers and organizing the rehearsals. While every part of preparation provides a unique challenge, the environment at the College of Music makes it where finding performers is not the hardest part. 

“One of the great things about the College of Music here at UT is that we have a real interest from performers to play new music,” Sigler said. “Often, performers really want to play Beethoven and Bach and Mozart, and sometimes they’re a little nervous about playing something that was just written, but fortunately that is not the case here.”

The concerts are free to both UT students and the public, allowing anyone to hear what these students have to offer and the diversity of music that comes with it. Many of the people in attendance on Monday night were there to support one of the student composers or performers. 

Hemi Cabral, a sophomore majoring in information sciences with a concentration in user experience design, was one of many there to support someone she knows but also attended for her own love of music.

“My boyfriend is performing — he’s a music education major, and I’m his self-proclaimed super supporter,” Cabral said. “And I used to do music, but I can’t anymore, so I like going to all the events here.”

Cabral’s boyfriend, Patrick Sealy, a freshman music major, played the bassoon in the concert’s opening number, an uptempo chamber piece composed by Tommy Bond, a junior majoring in music.

For those who missed this installment of the New Sound Concert Series, another installment will be held in the spring semester. Other upcoming concerts and events hosted by the College of Music can be found on their event calendar.