New Music: A Performance and Discussion

Dr. Jeffrey Jacob, Chair

Music Department

Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame

One of the primary goals of the congress was to offer the artist/holographers involved an opportunity to understand and discuss the pertinent issues facing
them in our contemporary art environment. It is notable that many of the concerns expressed by those artists in the wider arena of new technologies are also concerns of their contemporaries in music, theatre and other performance art areas.

In establishing the program for the congress the planning committee therefore elected to invite a speaker from outside the particular realm of the visual arts whose thoughts could broaden the artist's perspective on the similar issues which they faced.

Dr. Jeffrey Jacob is a world reknowned figure in the world of music and especially in the arena of keyboard music and a faculty member in the Department of Music at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame. His special interest and expertise is in the area of new music and he has been honored on various occasions by providing the premier performances of works by such reknowned artist/composers as George Crumb. In conjuction with the Congress Dr. Jacob presented an evening lecture and performance which offered representatives to the congress an opportunity to understand the parallel concerns of contemporary composers and musicians exploring the boundaries of new musical form in the 90's with an entrancing performance of works by George Crumb and compositions of his own invention.

Dr. Jacob's performances included:

Gnomic Variations composed in (1983) by George Crumb and Of a cognitive Dissonance composed in (1988) by Dr. Jeffrey Jacob.

Dr. Jacob's recordings are available commercially and include:

George Crumb: Works for Pinao Vol. 1 & 2 , (Jeffrey Jacob, Piano),
Centaur CRC 2050 (compact Disc)

Jeffrey Jacobs performs Contemporary Chinese Piano Music,
Redwood Records ES 39 (platter)