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Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe performed her composition \u201cFountain of Youth\u201d at the closing of the 21st Biennial Festival of New Music on Jan. 31. Held at Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, the festival also showcased new compositions alongside performances by the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra and the University Wind Orchestra.<\/p>\n The compositions were selected from hundreds of submissions, reflecting the festival\u2019s mission to highlight living composers and the evolving language of contemporary music.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the concert concluded, Wolfe\u2019s \u201cFountain of Youth\u201d stood as the grand finale, becoming the evening\u2019s most talked-about performance and earning a standing ovation. The closing program reflected the Festival of New Music\u2019s ongoing commitment to contemporary composers while providing students and audiences alike with the opportunity to engage directly with new musical voices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For Wolfe, whose music is known for its intensity and rhythmic drive, that physicality is something essential.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRhythm can be a propelling force. It is kind of the heartbeat of music,\u201d Wolfe said to the FSView. \u201cI love to work with grooves and counter-rhythms that convey a kind of body energy. It is exciting when everyone locks into that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That sense of momentum shaped \u201cFountain of Youth,\u201d a piece that gradually layers sound until the orchestra feels almost animate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe beginning evoked anticipation \u2014 I didn\u2019t know what was going to happen next,\u201d sophomore cello player Maria Ruiz said to the FSView. \u201cAnd then once the winds came in, it felt like a revelation. I really love how the bass and percussion mimicked a heartbeat. It was just really beautiful. I didn\u2019t know exactly what the piece meant, but then I read the title \u2018The Fountain of Youth,\u2019 and it all just clicked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Emotional clarity \u2014 even without an in-your-face explicit narrative \u2014 is something Wolfe actively seeks in her work. Although many of her compositions draw from social history, she is less interested in explanation than in connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I went to university, I hadn\u2019t intended to study music,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cI was interested in the social sciences, history and political issues. Much later, I came full circle \u2014 back to those interests \u2014 now addressing them through the lens of music. There are plenty of great books to read and documentaries to watch. But it is different to tell history through music. It offers a kind of emotional response.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That visceral experience fills in the gaps where perhaps words are void. For Sergio Ramirez, a music composition student earning his master\u2019s, Wolfe\u2019s music suggested movement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I hear music like that, I imagine soaring over sites from above,\u201d Ramirez said to the FSView.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The festival setting allowed listeners to experience Wolfe\u2019s work alongside a wide range of new compositions, creating space for comparison and recognition.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve actually heard some of Julia Wolfe\u2019s pieces before this weekend,\u201d composition major Charlie Nelson said to the FSView. \u201cTexturally, it\u2019s similar to what she does in \u2018Big, Beautiful, Dark and Scary.\u2019 So it was around what I expected \u2014 incredible.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Wolfe\u2019s presence at the festival also offered students an example of what a career in contemporary music can look like. As a co-founder of \u201cBang on a Can,\u201d a collective that challenged genre boundaries and traditional concert formats, Wolfe helped reshape how new music is presented and heard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t fit into the existing scenes or structures,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cAfter meeting in coffee shops and complaining a lot, we decided to do something. That something was a 12-hour marathon of new and adventurous music. Almost as a joke, we called it the \u2018First Annual Bang on a Can Marathon.\u2019 We are now going on 40 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For Wolfe, collaboration remains central, especially when working with students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMusic is essentially a collaborative art,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cWorking with musicians in school is just the beginning of building important relationships. You learn by hearing your music, by trying new ideas, by being in the room together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n