The New Music Ensemble, Part 4 - Documented Performances and Misc.

The final installment of this series is sort of an info dump. I have compiled all of the known performances by the NME, with and without Larry Austin, from its inception in summer 1963 to its dissolution in 1967. This probably doesn't contain every performance. Concert programs, program notes, personal accounts, etc. would likely reveal more. In the mean time, this is a lot more than we had before, and we can see in greater detail than ever:

1. who played in the ensemble over the years,
2. that the group improvised alongside its performances of contemporary repertoire,
3. that often these contemporary compositions were themselves infused with improvisational ideas, and
4. what newspaper reviewers thought about the NME's activities.

I use the following format:

Year

• Month, Date - Day, time, location. Here I'll usually offer a short synopsis, followed by

Program included

Any compositions performed.

Performers

Any named performers.

"Anything contained in quotation marks is a direct quote from one of the media resources linked to in the entry."

Review (if extant)

1963

• February 12 - Not an NME performance, since the name is not used. Larry Austin's "Improvisations for Orchestra and Jazz Soloists" was performed here. Also on the program were "Improvisations", performed by Austin, Woodbury, Lunetta, and John Mosher, a bassist.

• July 31 - Wednesday, 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall, UC Davis. This was the NME's debut performance.

Austin: "The idea is to perform significant, contemporary, chamber music; whatever is instrumental; to explore new composing and performing techniques; and to develop a concept of group improvisation."

"In frequent rehearsals over the past two months the ensemble has been primarily concerned with developing various approaches to group improvisation, particularly since all the works on this debut concert involve improvisatory and/or chance techniques in varying degrees. To begin with, all the players are fluent improvisers, either as creative performers, as composers, or both. The problem for the group was to perfect a sort of creative rapport which would enable us to improvise freely as a group and create aesthetically successful musical moments."

Program included:

Elegy for solo percussion (Jerome Rosen)

Extrados for solo clarinet (Garrett Bowles)

Collage (Austin) ["which makes use of considerable free improvisation"]

Domains II for solo percussion (Richard Swift)

Refrain for piano, celeste and vibraphone (Stockhausen)

Densities for clarinet, vibraphone, harp and bass (Schuller)

Scherzo (Over The Pavement) (Ives)

Of Collages, Austin said:

"This work is an agglomeration of nine musical fragments. The present order of the fragments is arbitrary. In fact, in the future I will no doubt add more fragments or perhaps discard some, depending on the music situation. In two fragments, the instrumentation is indeterminant [sic], Square being for any combination of from two to four instruments and Uncommon Canon for any combination of any number of instruments. The remaining fragments, including the improvised interludes, are for specific instrumentations.

"I have used improvisation and chance as compositional resources. Varying degrees of compositional control are exerted, from freely improvised fragments with only the time span indicated to through-composed compositions with only a few free [elements].

Austin also describes the other five fragments, which include homages to the Modern Jazz Quartet and Ornette Coleman.

Performers:

Larry Austin, trumpet

Jerome Rosen, 

Richard Swift, piano

Donald Brewer, trombone

Adrienne Castelian, piano

Sylvia Hoffman, harp

Jon Gibson, saxophone

Barbara Johnson, piccolo

Wayne Johnson, reeds, vibraphone

Jerry Lopes, bass

Arthur Woodbury, reeds

From a different article: "Several of the members play more than one instrument during the concert. There is even one new instrument - a pianoform - derived from an old upright piano."

Review by William C. Glackin

• September 27 - 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall. "...a program of contemporary works..."

Program included:

A Broken Consort (Larry Austin, MJQ Music)

Serenade No. 2 (Morton Subotnick)

Domains I (Richard Swift)

Concert for piano and orchestra (John Cage)

"A Broken Consort ... In six movements, it applies the tone row technique of serial composition to certain elements of traditional jazz, including the 12 bar blues. The players are given room to improvise."

Performers:

Larry Austin, trumpet

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, winds

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Donald Brewer, trombone

Alexander Chambers, tenor

Barbara Johnson, flute

Sally Kell, cello

Mura Kievman, percussion

Paul Marsh, tuba

William Michael, horn

John Mosher, string bass

Noami Sparrow, piano

Marvin Tartak, piano

• October 13 - 3:00pm, E. B. Crocker Art Gallery.

"...the ensemble will perform some free group improvisations. These will be of varying lengths and for various groups within the ensemble."

Oct 13th, 1963

Larry Austin

Jon Gibson

Wayne Johnson

Stanley Lunetta

Jerome Rosen

Richard Swift

Arthur Woodbury

Billie Alexander

Program included:

Apparitions (Jon Gibson)

Octet '61 (Cornelius Cardew)

Uncoverings (Stanley Lunetta)

Cuttings (Richard Swift)

• October 17 - 8:15pm, "Improvisation '63" lecture/demonstration by Austin / Swift. Home Economics Auditorium, UC Davis.

"The group will illustrate the discussion with explorations of free improvisation using the common languages of 20th century music."

Performers:

Larry Austin

Richard Swift

Jerome Rosen

Jon Gibson

Wayne Johnson

Stanley Lunetta

Arthur Woodbury

[Billie Alexander apparently sat this one out. -ME]

• December 15 - 2:00pm, Belmonte Gallery. 2975 35th Street, Sacramento, CA

"...an improvisation concert."

Larry Austin

Wayne Johnson

Richard Swift

Stanley Lunetta

Arthur Woodbury

Jon Gibson

Pat Woodbury
Jerome Rosen

In one blurb, Pat Woodbury / Billie Alexander is mistakenly [??] referred to as Dixie Alexander!

1964

• January 20 - 12:30pm, luncheon for Sacramento Symphony Center

"Larry Austin and his seven piece New Music Ensemble will be the featured entertainment."

No program or personnel info listed. 

• April 3 - 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall, 101 Horticulture Building

"In addition to a number of free improvisations, the group will perform..."

Alarm, Square, Parle (Larry Austin)

May, 1962 (Philip Krumm)

Variations I (John Cage)

Hundreds of Butterflies (Stanley Lunetta)

Cuttings (Swift)

Billie Alexander, soprano

Larry Austin, trumpet, flugelhorn

Jon Gibson, flute, soprano saxophone, clarinet

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, flute, alto saxophone, bassoon

Review by Glackin.

"Trying to convey in words what happens in one of these [free improvisation pieces] ... would be like trying to convey Finnegan's Wake in sign language, only harder."

• April 23 - Thursday, 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall. "Research Concert". Not an NME performance, but several members were included.

Performers:

Marvin Tartak, harpsichord

Jean Cunningham, flute

Bruce Haynes, oboe

Helen Stross, cello

Linn Subotnick, viola

Morton Subotnick, clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, celesta

Theodore Karp, oboe

Arthur Woodbury, bassoon

Larry Austin, trumpet

"...all on a variety of instruments."

Program included:

Bucolics (Richard Swift)

Sonata (Jerome Rosen)

Continuum (Larry Austin)

Sonata for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord (Elliott Carter)

"Rosen describes his work as a 'long, rather free and rhapsodic piece; the performer is called upon to improvise on material previously given him and is more than usually responsible for details of phrasing and proportion.'"

Review by Philip C. Freshwater

Freshwater includes this puzzling note: "Although [Continuum] has grown out of his work with the New Music Ensemble, as Austin states in the excellent program notes, the free improvisation of that group has been sharply reduced, leaving only tempo and meter relatively free."

• April 24 - 7:00pm, TV broadcast (Channel 9).

• April 27 - 10:30pm, TV broadcast (Channel 6, KVIE). Re-run of previous concert?

• April 29 - 12:15pm, Hertz Hall "Noon Concert"

The Noon Concerts were a regular series at Hertz Hall for years. The Berkeley Improvisation Ensemble also performed several of these later in the 1960's. I wasn't able to find any more info on this.

• May 10 - 1:00pm, Belmonte Gallery.

"An unusual experiment mixing painting with music, both on an improvisatory basis, will be staged ... next Sunday ... The New Music Ensemble of [UC Davis] will play group improvisations in various combinations of instruments. On the same program four painters from the university will demonstrate the similar experiments which have been going on in the art department, in which several artists, taking turns, work on the same painting."

Performers:

Larry Austin

Richard Swift

Arthur Woodbury

Wayne Johnson

Jon Gibson

Stanley Lunetta

Billie Alexander

• July 7 - 10:00am, SCC Auditorium (Sacramento City College)

Performers:

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon

Billie Alexander, soprano

Jon Gibson, clarinet, flute, soprano saxophone

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Wayne Johnson, bass clarinet

Austin was not mentioned as a performer, likely because he was overseas in Rome.

• August 12 - Wednesday, 8:15pm, East Hall Studio Theater, UC Davis

Program included:

Recitative and Improvisation (Elliott Carter)

Serenade (Jerome Rosen)

    -written for Billie Alexander and Arthur Woodbury

The Trial of Tender O'Shea (Richard Swift)

    "an opera for the New Music Ensemble". Libretto by Dorothy Swift.

"In addition, the New Music Ensemble will perform a group of free improvisations."

Performers:

Billie Alexander, soprano

Jon Gibson, flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, flute, alto saxophone, bassoon

Again, no mention of Austin.

Three UCD students, Carolyn Francis, Mary Offerman, Phillip Symonds, are also named. David Freund directed The Trial of Tender O'Shea.

Review by Glackin

• August 13 - Mime Troupe Theater, San Francisco

"[The] New Music Ensemble ...  gave a program of improvisations, preceded by 'musical' compositions of John Cage, Jerome Rosen and Philip Krumm."

Review by Paul Hertelendy.

• August 14 - Mime Troupe Theater, San Francisco

"The ensemble saved the best for the end, playing Richard Swift's short opera The Trial of Tender O'Shea after several short instrumental improvisations."

Review by Hertelendy.

"With the improvising instrumental group in the background, the soprano sings about O'Shea in various roles, and O'Shea himself sings at some length on tape recording (played by Alexander Chambers)."

• October 18 - Sunday, 3:00pm, Belmonte Gallery. 

"Concert Will Feature Musical Monopoly Game"

Program included:

Lincoln Center (Philip Krumm)

Variations I (Cage)

Performers:

Richard Swift, piano

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Wayne Johnson, woodwinds

Jon Gibson, woodwinds

Arthur Woodbury, woodwinds

Robert Bloch, violin

Billie Alexander, soprano

"The entire concert will be repeated Monday (10/19) in San Francisco in a live broadcast over KPFA."

• November 22 - 3:00pm, Belmonte Gallery, Sacramento. (Recorded for KPFA? Possibly a separate show)

Program included:

Ad for 11/22/64 concert

Concerto For Anything (Philip Krumm)

Concert With Aria (John Cage)

"The group also will include several of its free improvisations, spontaneous and collective."

• November 23 - 8:30pm, KPFA-FM Studio, 321 Divisadero St., San Francisco

Their press release is quoted in a strange blurb here.

Concerto For Anything (Philip Krumm)

Concert With Aria (John Cage)

• December 11 - 8:30pm, Eaglet Theater, 15th and H Streets, Sacramento, CA.

Program included:

The Trial of Tender O'Shea (Swift)

Concert Piece for solo violin (Seymour Sheffren)

Duo For Two Fluent Improvisers for piano and percussion (unknown composer)

Performers:

Billie Alexander

Robert Bloch

Richard Swift

Jon Gibson

Wayne Johnson

Stanley Lunetta

Arthur Woodbury

1965

At the beginning of 1965, the NME received an invitation from Franco Evangelisti to participate in the 1966 Nuova Consonanza:

Evangelisti: "We are extremely impressed by the creative virtuosity and control displayed by the composer-performers in the NME ... This is particularly significant for European musicians, for such groups of cooperatively creative composer-performers are all but non-existent in Europe. Hence, an appearance by your group would have great - even historic - impact in Europe, we are certain."

• March 21 - Sunday, 8:15pm, Belmonte Gallery

Program included:

[unknown title] (John Cage)

May 1962 (Krumm)

as well as "several of the group improvisations for which the NME is noted..."

Billie Alexander, soprano

Robert Bloch, violin, mandolin

Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, alto saxophone, bassoon

John Moore, trumpet (guest on the Cage piece)

• April 7 - 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall, UC Davis

"As a result of these [free group] improvisations, which recently have been recorded, [the NME] has been invited to appear at the Venice Festival, Palermo Festival, and the Nuova Consonanza Festival in Rome during the spring of 1966.

Program included:

Atlas Eclipticalis (John Cage)

Winter Music (Cage)

Concerto for violin and chamber ensemble (Richard Swift)

and eight improvisations.

Performers:

Billie Alexander, soprano

Robert Bloch, violin, mandolin

Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, alto saxophone, bassoon

Review by Glackin

• June 14-15 - Little Theater, Sacramento State College. Recording for New Music Ensemble II.

• July 7 - Wednesday, 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall

Program included:

Concert for piano and orchestra (John Cage)

Aria (Cage)

Projection 4 (Morton Feldman)

Digressions (Robert Moran)

"...in addition to characteristic freely improvised pieces."

Performers:

Billie Alexander, soprano

Robert Bloch, violin, mandolin

Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, alto saxophone, bassoon

Review by Freshwater.

• November 14 - Monday, 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall

The Applicant (Richard Swift)

Speculum Dianae (Frederic Rzewski)

Inerziali (Roland Kayn)

"The group ... devoted more than half of the evening to what is quite evidently their favorite method of performing, free group improvisation."

Billie Alexander, soprano

Larry Austin, flugelhorn, string bass

Robert Bloch, violin, mandolin

Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, alto saxophone, bassoon

[Austin returns from Rome. -ME]

Review by Glackin.

• December 6 - Monday, 8:15, Freeborn Hall 

Not an NME show, but some of its members were featured.

Program included:

Meditation (Gunther Schuller)

Galaxis (Roland Kayn)

Ordini (Franco Evangelisti)

Fluxion (Enrique Raxach)

Catharsis (Larry Austin)

also works by Mozart and Wagner

Catharsis is "for a four track tape of electric sounds ... plus a big ensemble and a small ensemble (a quintet last night, made up of members of the New Music Ensemble). The tape was heard from four speakers, two on each side of the hall; the players were onstage. The players have freedom to improvise along lines suggested by the score, which does not indicate any pitches or rhythms..."

Review by Glackin.

1966

• January 9 - Sunday, 8:15pm, Wyatt Pavilion Theater, UC Davis. "Music Theater"

Program included:

The program "will include improvisations, the group's favorite field, and three structured events":

Views (John Heineman)

Roma, A Theater Piece in Open Style for Improvisation Ensemble and Tape (Larry Austin)

Quartet, 1965 (Stanley Lunetta)

"Austin calls Roma an abstract theater piece: Within an explicit context the piece asks for interpretive movement as well as interpretive sound. The attitude of the 'movement improvisation' is suggested by the reaction - before, during and after the event - of the player to the lighting, the stage properties, the movements of other players, the audience and the nature of the hall. The reaction to the tape sounds and/or the group's improvisations determines the attitude of the 'sound improvisation.'"

Lighting by Carolyn Tash. Stage director was David Freund, designer was Natalie Dobb.

Performers:

Billie Alexander, soprano

Larry Austin, flugelhorn, string bass

Robert Bloch, violin, mandolin

Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, alto saxophone, bassoon

Guests:

Roberta Baines

Barbara Johnson

Stephen Wolfe

"A grant from the Music Performance Trust Fund of the Recording Industries supplies performers' fees."

Review by Freshwater.

Review by Philip F. Elwood

• In early 1966, the NME's second record was released.

• March 3rd - Thursday, 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall. "Research Concert".

Not NME, but its members performed.

Program included:

PanJorGin (Stanley Lunetta)

Green and Red (John Mizelle)

The Maze (Larry Austin)

10 Beginnings (Jerome Rosen)

Carmina Archilochi (Richard Swift)

"Members of the New Music Ensemble and guests" including

Larry Austin

Richard Swift

Jerome Rosen

Stanley Lunetta

(Dary) John Mizelle

• May 5 - SSC Little Theater, Sacramento State College. 

Possible performance by the NME? There was a graduate seminar at SSC on American music, described by Philip Freshwater. The NME is mentioned only in passing. No program or personnel notes are included.

• May 22 - Sunday, 8:15pm, Home Economics Theater (Room 176), UC Davis. "Composer's Forum"

"New works by Philip Krumm, Stanley Lunetta, John Mizelle, Julian Woodruff will be performed along with the "First Piano Sonata" by Boulez and improvisations by the New Music Ensemble."

• In August a headline appeared saying "Modern Music Concert Unit is Forming". The article is about the founding of Composer/Performer Edition. Here's another article, mentioning the founding of SOURCE.

• September 7 - 5:00pm, 9:00pm, Freeborn Hall. "Twoconcert".

Program included:

First half, 5pm

Sound Machine (Philip Krumm)

Prelude to Naples (Joel Chadabe)

Obos (Harold Budd)

..."and some group improvisations by the NME."

Second half, 9pm

Music for Prepared Piano (John Cage)

Liaisons (Roman Haubenstock-Ramati)

III (Harold Budd)

..."and more improvisations." Hertelendy mentions five improvisations total.

Performers:

Billie Alexander, soprano

Larry Austin, flugelhorn, string bass

Robert Bloch, violin, mandolin

??Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute

Wayne Johnson, clarinet, bass clarinet

Stanley Lunetta, percussion

??Richard Swift, piano

Arthur Woodbury, alto saxophone, bassoon

Guests:

Marvin Tartak, prepared piano

Harold Budd

Thomas Gentry, piano

Barbara Johnson, flute

John Mizelle, trombone

Fred Utter, cello

Review by Glackin

Review by Hertelendy

"It should also be added that if the men in the group really appreciate Miss Alexander's thoughtful vocal contributions they ought to quiet down once in a while so she can be heard."

• October 13 - Thursday, First Unitarian Church, Sacramento. Composer/Performer Edition.

"The C.P.E. turns out to be the N.M.E... under another name, but this prgram [sic] had a good deal less improvising and much more written or at least blueprinted music than most N.M.E. concerts have had."

Some improvisations are mentioned. Lunetta and Bloch are mentioned.

Review by Glackin.

• November 10 - Thursday, 12:00pm, Music Building (Room 115) UC Davis

"The second free concert of the NME's 66-67 season"

Program included:

In Memoriam Esteban Gomez (Robert Ashley)

John Smith (Ashley)

Pfft (Stanley Lunetta)

Thursday Afternoon (Alvin Curran)

"Members of the Ensemble then will perform two free-group improvisations."

Performers:

Billie Alexander

Larry Austin

Wayne Johnson

Stanley Lunetta

John Mizelle

Arthur Woodbury

Guests:

Sherman Amerson

Steve Reuben

Robert Bloch

• December 9 - 7:30pm (TV, Channel 6) "The Mod Sound In Music"

An "unusual program of contemporary music".

• December 27 - 7:00pm (TV, KVIE) "Horizons '67"

A shared program. The NME appeared alongside several other groups.

1967

• January 6 - 8:15pm, First Unitarian Church 2425 Sierra Blvd. [Postponed]
• February 17 - Friday, 8:15pm, Freeborn Hall

Program included:

Kontakte (Karlheinz Stockhausen)

Kontra-Punkte (Stockhausen)

Klavierstuck XI (Stockhausen)

Zyklus (Stockhausen)

Spazio A5 (Franco Evangelisti)

World One (Michael von Biel)

Performers included:

Stanley Lunetta. The NME is mentioned, but no other specific performer names.

Guest:

David Tudor

Review by Glackin

• February 19 - 8:30pm, Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley

Apparently a follow-up performance of the Stockhausen concert from Feb 17.

NME - That New Sound From Davis Is Experimental Music