2 Utah composers featured

The Contemporary Music Consortium is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season. Founded in 1986, CMC has fought to bring new music to a larger cross section of the community while attempting to dispel the stigma that the term "contemporary" has for many.

Since 1998, CMC has been under the direction of pianist/composer Jeffrey Price and flutist Laurel Ann Maurer, who have continued to encourage performances of contemporary works and make them accessible to a wider audience.

Along with that, Maurer has made it her goal to program at least one work by a Utah composer on each concert. "My goal is to represent our community on each concert," she said. "We have a lot of fine composers here in Utah, and I would like to bring as much of their music to our concerts as possible."

For the opening concert of their new season, which takes place Thursday in the First Unitarian Church, there will be two local composers represented, Stan Funicelli and Dr. Ann Hankinson. "They are two very different composers," Maurer said. "Ann's music is slower paced and sparse at times, and with a lot of subtlety. Stan is from the school of Bach in a sense — in his counterpoint and development — yet modern."

Funicelli, who is also a wonderfully talented guitarist, will play three works: "Prelude," "Soliloquy and Pavane" and "Etude No. 1 ('Stormsong')." Maurer and pianist Jed Moss will perform Hankinson's "Three Places in Utah." Thursday's concert also features one world premiere and three Utah premieres.

Violinist Jennifer Bogart will give the first performance of Christopher Marshall's "Woman Rising" for solo violin, and will also later record the piece.

Receiving their first local performances are Carson P. Cooman's "Distant Glittering Orbs" for solo alto flute and Sonata for Flute and Piano, and Meyer Kupferman's "Tanktotem II" for solo piccolo.

" 'Distant Glittering Orbs' is quite an evocative piece, and very interesting," Maurer said. "Carson's music is very carefully constructed. Sometimes it's a bit sparse, but it's well done."

Cooman is a great fan of Kupferman's music, Maurer said. "He dedicated his Flute Sonata to Meyer. That's why I decided to pair it with Meyer's 'Tanktotem II.' "

This season, two of CMC's concerts will be part of First Unitarian's new concert series, "First Thursdays at the First." The concert is free, as are all of CMC's concerts, but donations will be accepted. "A percentage of the donations will go to the Red Cross towards hurricane relief," Maurer said.

If you go

What: Contemporary Music Consortium

Where: First Unitarian Church, 1300 East and 600 South

When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

How much: Free but donations accepted

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com