Calendar of Events

The University of Tennessee College of Music’s annual Contemporary Music Festival celebrates contemporary music through concerts of new music, workshops, and paper presentations each spring. It welcomes guest performers, scholars, and composers from around the world.

Wednesday, February 28
5:30 – 6:30 PM | The Emporium Downtown (100 S. Gay Street) -- Alejandro Rutty (6-string bass) and Jorge Variego (clarinets)

Thursday, February 29
12:55 – 2:10 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Room 40 -- Ian Dicke presentation

5:30 – 6:30 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Powell Recital Hall -- Ian Dicke presents “Cowboy Rounds,” his debut album that reimagines a collection of folk songs from the John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip archive at the Library of Congress. Using the text and vocal contours of the original field recordings as a foundation, each track weaves an intricate sonic tapestry of processed loops that reflect the source material’s grit. The multidimensional songs explore themes of loneliness, oppression, and paranoia that form alarming parallels to the issues plaguing contemporary American society today.

Friday, March 1
9:10 – 10:00 AM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Room 40 -- Lecture by Rodrigo Sigal (Supported by the Fulbright Foundation). Sigal joins us from Mexico where he teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia.

10:20 – 11:10 AM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Room 40 -- Eunmi Ko, Anruo Chen, Ania Vu, and Chen-Hui Jen discuss the MUTED project

2:30 – 3:30 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Powell Recital Hall -- Rodrigo Sigal (monographic concert of electronic music).

5:30 – 7:00 PM | Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Powell Recital Hall -- Eunmi Ko presents MUTED, featuring music of composers Anruo Cheng, Grace Ann Lee, Chen-Hui Jen, and Ania Vu.

University of Tennessee College of Music
117 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
1741 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville TN 37996-2600
Phone: 865-974-3241
Email: music@utk.edu
https://music.utk.edu/events/cmf/

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL, Wednesday, February 28 at 7:30PM at the Bijou Theatre.

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, https://knoxbijou.org/

New Music for Low instruments
February 28 @ 5:30 PM
Free and open to the public at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street

The duo will present repertoire exclusively dedicated to original compositions that transit the fine line between jazz, free improvisation, and the music from el Rio de la Plata. The combination of a bass clarinet and a 6-string bass results in a unique blend of mellow deep resonances. The integration of these instruments manifests in an inviting sonic landscape of intimate sounds. The musicians:

Jorge Variego (compositions, clarinet) was born in Rosario, Argentina. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and is currently on the Music Theory/Composition faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. In 2017 he was named Mentor of the year in the College of Fine Arts and Sciences, Performing Arts division at UT. In 2018 his book on algorithmic composition was released by the National University of Quilmes, in Argentina. His book “Composing with Constraints” was published by Oxford University Press in 2021. Jorge is the founder director of the Domino Ensemble a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, commission, and performance of new music with improvisation. The group released its first album “Purple Ego” (Centaur) in 2019, the EP “Drunken Raccoon” in 2020 and “Recompensa” (Centaur 2023). With the support of the Nora Roberts Foundation and the TN Arts Commission the group has led several educational workshops and commissioned and premiered dozens of works from young composers. In 2021, and with the support of a Catalyst Programming grant, the Ensemble presented “New Music from el Rio de la Plata”. He is also the founder director of the UT Electroacoustic Ensemble, a student group dedicated to free improvisation with electronic media and is member of the Society of Composers National Council. His music can be heard in the Parma, Albany Records, CMMAS, Centaur and Naxos libraries www.jorgevariego.com

Composer and bassist Alejandro Rutty is best-known for his distinctive mix of South American styles, lyrical melodies, meticulous rhythmic detail, and exotic textures. His symphonic and chamber works have been performed around the world. Long time arranger and bassist of the Lorena Guillén Tango Ensemble, Rutty recently became captivated by the resonance of the modern extended-range electric bass and dedicated his attention to composing bass solos, duos, trios and quartets to perform by himself and/or with other musicians. In 2023 released two albums: “Less” with various chamber works and the all-bass album "Why Bass?" Alejandro Rutty is Professor of Music Composition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. https://alejandrorutty.com/albums#whybass and www.alejandrorutty.com

By Lois Lowry
Adapted by Eric Coble
Clarence Brown Theatre
February 14 – March 3, 2024

From one of the most popular young adult novels of our time. Jonas’ world is perfect. It’s safe. Controlled. Without war or pain. Without color. Where every person is assigned a role in the community. At age 12, he’s chosen to be keeper of the community’s memories from The Giver, the only person with memories of real pain and joy. As Jonas begins to experience these memories, he is faced with a decision: conform to society’s expectations or control his own destiny.

Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information/tickets: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com

Copper, wood and even salvaged plastic waste come together in a new art exhibition exploring the natural world at Pellissippi State Community College. The Ashton Ludden Exhibit is on display at the Bagwell Center for Media and Arts Gallery until March 1. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the gallery, located on the college’s Hardin Valley Campus, is free and open to the public.

“My work considers our relationship with wildlife as the natural world becomes estranged through human’s perpetual desire for rapid expansion,” said Ludden, the founder, co-owner, director and active artist of Relay Ridge Collaborative Artist Space in north Knoxville. “My work evokes a renewal of attentiveness toward our direct and indirect impacts on the wild and aims to rejuvenate a passion for conserving wild spaces.”

Ludden uses processes such as hand-engraving, printmaking, murals, ceramics and weaving in her works on display. The labor-intensive process forces her to slow down, meditate and focus as she creates, she said. Through her work, she works to find “ways to connect us to distant species and environmental concerns across the world, transforming our hopeful – yet seemingly futile – attempts in saving the natural world into something just as beautiful.” Outside of her studio practice, Ludden, who earned a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from the University of Tennessee, teaches printmaking at Knoxville’s Community School of the Arts, Governor’s School for the Arts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Relay Ridge, and is currently teaching screenprinting at the University of Tennessee. You can learn more about her at www.ashtonludden.com or find her on Instagram @ashton_ludden.

For a list of Pellissippi State’s upcoming exhibitions in the Bagwell Gallery this spring, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts.
Pellissippi State | 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37933

Knoxville Watercolor Society Exhibition
Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
Free and open to the public
When: Reception Friday, February 16, 2024, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

Gallery hours: 9:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday and 9:00-1:00 Sunday
2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Knoxville Watercolor Society: Passionate About Art
For more than 60 years, the Knoxville Watercolor Society (KWS) has provided area watercolor artists, students and supporters with the only local art organization dedicated to the practice, advancement, and promotion of watercolor as a serious art form. KWS enjoys a long-standing reputation for the artistic excellence, expertise, passion, and mutual support of its members. Membership in KWS is open to all Knoxville area residents 18+, including experienced water-media artists, aspiring or developing water-media artists, art teachers, art students, patrons of the arts, representatives of arts organizations, and vendors. For more information, go to https://knoxvillewatercolorsociety.weebly.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/knoxville.watercolor.society/

Work by eight of the region's most prominent Black artists are on display through March 9th. Opening reception is this Saturday, February 3, 1:00 - 4:00. Many of the artists will be in attendance and light Hors D'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Please join us for this wonderful show!

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

February – March 2024

Sonia Jackson Summers received her Bachelors in College Scholars: Illustration and Writing from The University of Tennessee in 2008. During her time at the University of Tennessee, Sonia cartooned for “The Daily Beacon.”

In 2011, Sonia married and relocated to her husband’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, and during that time Sonia was commissioned to participate in Vulcan Park and Museum’s public art project called “Vulcans on Parade.” Sonia’s painted Vulcan statues stand on display in two downtown Birmingham businesses. Sonia has work in the permanent collection of The Joy Gallery in Homewood, Alabama and rotating art at the Blue Phrog Gallery in Montevallo, Alabama.

Since moving back to Knoxville with her husband and kids in 2019, Sonia has broadened her scope to include painting en plein air (live on-site landscape painting), as well as competitive sidewalk chalk art/“Madonnari” festivals and sidewalk chalk art commissions, in addition to her fine art, illustration, and murals. Sonia has a deep appreciation for Impressionism, focusing on bridging the relationship between observation and interpretation, impressionistic capabilities of skill and realistic reaction in rendering. Sonia enjoys public art such as murals and sidewalk chalk for their ability to make art accessible to everyone.

In 2023 Sonia accepted the Fine Arts Teaching position at Chesterton Academy, a new classical high school in Knoxville. She also teaches recreational art classes at Painting with a Twist in Farragut.

Sonia’s art can be seen in sidewalk chalk/madonnari festivals, such as the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk, through exhibitions with both the Arts and Culture Alliance and Dogwood Arts, and she currently has a mural featured by Dogwood Arts in Strong Alley in downtown Knoxville.

https://knoxbijou.org/community-outreach-2/art-gallery/

MAIN GALLERY
Reception Feb. 2, 5-8 PM
https://andrewscottross.com/home.html
https://tristararts.org/the-gallery/f/a-drawing-of-a-lion-shaped-by-fear

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-5. Information: https://tristararts.org/visit

First Friday February 2nd 6-9pm at Relay Ridge

-Jenn Kaplan "No Sudden Movements" opening gallery reception
-Open Artist Studios
-Printmaking demos/artist features in the printshop

Jennifer Kaplan invites participants to slow down and listen to the nuances of verbal and nonverbal communication. This show emphasizes the isolated gestures of touch through a progression blend of functional and figurative forms, giving shape to that which exists inside us and has been shapeless. Clay has the capacity to communicate what cannot be said, what is unspeakable, where words fail.

“Where I End and You Begin” are a series of entangled bodies which follow the gestural action of hands folding into one another, signing in motions of tenderness, reception, and formal fluidity. These tangled masses are finished in waxes and chalk, raw and bright, or crater glazes, molten and encrusted, with blurred edges, to amplify the soft strength of vulnerable participation within a community.

Everything is connected and survival is en masse. Hope lives not in isolation but through the potential of collaborative movement. Jennifer’s ceramic practice acts as a filter for understanding cycles of grief and regrowth, encouraging the potential within collaborative action and mutual aid.

We invite you to engage your senses in the relational works but please, be gentle.

Relay Ridge, 4124 McKinley St, Knoxville. https://relayridge.org/ and https://www.instagram.com/relay_ridge/

Featuring all media – including oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, drawings, sculpture in any medium, jewelry, collage, printmaking, photography and digital media.

Reception will be from 6:30pm – 8:00pm and awards will be announced on Friday, Feb 2 at 7:00pm.

Hours: Tuesday - Thursday, 10 AM - 4 PM
Phone (865) 357-2787
Email: fcacinfo@gmail.com
The Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Road, Knoxville, TN 37918

Blackberry Farm Gallery & William “Ed” Harmon Gallery
Gallery Hours 10AM - 5PM Monday - Friday
Free Admission

Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com