BGSU to host 46th New Music Festival, featuring Meridian Arts Ensemble, more than 40 guest composers – BG Independent News

From BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY

The MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music (MACCM) at Bowling Green State University announces the 46th Annual Bowling Green New Music Festival, taking place Oct. 16 – 18, at the Moore Musical Arts Center. The 2025 festival marks the 50th anniversary of the College of Musical Arts and honors the legacy of composers and performers who have helped establish BGSU as a destination for new music over nearly five decades.

The festival will showcase eight concerts, featuring works by more than 40 contemporary composers, alongside panel discussions, masterclasses, and paper sessions exploring the cutting edge of musical innovation. BGSU will welcome home nine alumni composers and some alumni performers who will participate in the festival.

Festival Highlights

• Thursday, Oct. 16: The New Music Festival will open with a panel discussion on “Creativity, Ownership, and Connection in the Attention Economy” at 2 p.m., moderated by Christopher Witulski. Afternoon and evening performances will include solo and chamber works in Bryan Recital Hall at 3:30 p.m. and a MACCM-commissioned piano concerto featuring pianist Laura Melton with the Bowling Green State University Wind Ensemble concert at 8 p.m., in Kobacker Concert Hall.
• Friday, Oct. 17: The Meridian Arts Ensemble will take center stage with a morning masterclass and an evening concert at 8 p.m., featuring premiers by Tom Nazziola and the MACCM-commissioned Armando Bayolo. Additional concerts at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. present works by composers including Steven Hartke, Jeffrey Mumford, Christopher Dietz, and Roger Zare. A paper session on “Rethinking Multimedia” will round out the afternoon programming at 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 18: A morning concert at 10:30 a.m. will feature composers including Adrienne Albert, Juro Kim Feliz, and John Eagle. The New Music Festival culminates in collaboration with The Resonate Project, an initiative designed to explore the African Diaspora through contemporary American chamber music. Four commissioned composers – Brian Raphael Nabors, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Jordyn Davis, and Marcos Balter – will lead masterclasses with students at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and have performances at 3 p.m., in collaboration with musicians from project partners, Detroit Symphony, Michigan State University, Oberlin College & Conservatory, University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University. The New Music Festival will conclude at 8 p.m. with the Bowling Green Philharmonia and Collegiate Chorale performing works by Matthew Mariano, Jocelyn Hagen, Evan Williams, Marilyn Shrude, Reena Esmail, and the horn concerto by Samuel Adler featuring Andrew Pelletier.

About the Meridian Arts Ensemble

Founded in 1987 by students from Julliard and the Manhattan School of Music, the Meridian Arts Ensemble has dedicated itself to creating new works for brass quintet and championing underperformed repertoire. The ensemble has performed and taught in 49 states and internationally across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, producing 15 CD recordings and one live DVD.

About the New Music Festival

Launched in 1980, the Bowling Green New Music Festival has become one of the nation’s premier celebrations of contemporary arts. Over four decades, the festival has hosted composers including John Adams, Philip Glass, John Cage, Joan Tower, George Crumb, and more than 400 other distinguished guest composers and musicians. The festival serves as the cornerstone of MACCM’s mission to promote and preserve contemporary musical arts through concerts, panels, exhibitions, seminars, and masterclasses.

For a complete schedule and additional details, visit www.bgsu.edu/festival.

Posted by: Lindsay Jo Durham on October 14, 2025.
Last revised by: Jan Larson McLaughlin