It was Roberta Michel’s speech, earlier during the semester, that inspired me to attend this concert, and I must say my curiosity was awarded with rather unusual evening at NYU’s Black Box Theater. Somewhat living up to my expectations with respect to atonal music in general (I find it very interesting, but always a challenge to make it pleasing to my ears), the performances were almost hypnotizing and dissonance composed quite “tastefully.” The following is a quick overview of the program:

Elevator Pitch by Kelli Kathman

Headspring by Cadillac Moon Ensemble

Wander & Wonder by Vigil

Bash by The NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble

The YouOpera: a sneak preview by The YouOrchestra

It must be noted that all of the abovementioned pieces are worth further discussion. However, given Roberta Michel’s enlightening presentation on flute, and consequently exposure to this concert, it is only a matter of common courtesy, to say the least, I focus on Headspring.

Headspring was commissioned from Ruben Naeff, the composer, by Cadillac Moon Ensemble and publically performed this year. According to the program notes, it is part of a trilogy along with Wander & Wonder and Bash, in part due to, “…having been written simultaneously and utilizing similar instruments… As they employ the same musical theme in different ways, the trilogy covers the life of a creative idea: the musical theme originates in Headspring, wanders around in Wander & Wonder, and clashes with itself in Bash.”

While listening to Headspring, one should be able to identify the theme within, even though this isn’t very easy to do for untrained ears. What captivates most, however, is not the melodic pattern per se, for it is much more entertaining to play this piece as opposed to listening to it (something that many will rightfully argue with respect to atonal music). The chemistry among the players, on the other hand, was absolutely praiseworthy, and this is what lies in the core of brining atonal music under the spotlight. It is not a secret that throughout its history, this genre was alienated within professional musical world, and even more so within broader audiences. Nonetheless, despite the small audience of roughly 40 people, Cadillac Moon Ensemble was able to captivate its listeners by its performance and apparent show of love toward the genre. After all, it is because of performers such as Roberta and other members of her band that we are able to keep this genre alive and utilize its theories in an attempt to expand our understanding toward tonality and evolution of music in general.