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Festival of New American Music
About the Festival
October 27-November 1, 2024
The Festival of New American Music brings extraordinary musicians to Sacramento, California, each year to present high-quality performances of a broad body of recently composed or improvised music by some of America’s most exciting artists. 2024 marks the 47th annual Festival!
Through public concerts, educational events, and outreach, the Festival serves three principal communities: those of the Sacramento State School of Music; the California State University, Sacramento; and the greater Sacramento region.
Committed to making music accessible to all, the Festival offers all of its concerts free of charge to the public. If you have any disability-related access needs to participate in our events, please contact us as soon as possible, and we will work with the Office for Disability Justice on arranging and meeting those needs.
The Festival concerts will be live-streamed on our Facebook page:
Questions?
Parking Info
Sac State uses virtual parking permits. To reserve a waived-fee permit during the Festival, use this link:
Select the Guest Login
- If you don't have an account, click here to create a guest account. Once you finish, click the visitor parking link provided above and use the Guest Login
- If you have an account already but forgot your password, click here to reset your password.
Complete the permit checkout process, making sure to select the correct valid date, to activate your visitor permit. Permits are valid for the whole day, up till 11:59pm.
Call for Scores 2024
The 2nd Annual Call for Scores is open to composers of any age. Applicants must reside in the United States, Mexico, or Canada. The competition is judged by composition faculty and ensemble directors at the California State University, Sacramento School of Music as well as by nationally and internationally recognized festival guest composers. The winning pieces in each category will receive a performance at the 2024 Festival of New American Music. The submission deadline is July 15. The application fee is $15 for each work submitted.
This year's categories are:
- Category A (chamber): Submitted works may be scored for flute (doubles piccolo and alto flute), clarinet (doubles Bb, A, Eb, bass clarinet), violin, and cello. One work will be selected and performed by resident ensemble, Hub New Music.
- Category B (percussion): Submitted works must be scored for two percussionists using a small to medium-sized percussion set-up and may include electronic elements such as digital playback, live processing, and video accompaniment. Potential instrumentation could include mallet keyboard duo, multi percussion duo, or a combination of pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments. One winning work will be selected and performed by Metaphor Percussion.
- Category C (choral): Submitted works must be scored for mixed choir in 4-6 parts, with moderate divisi, with keyboard accompaniment. One winning work will be performed by Sacramento State University Chorale with director Brett Judson.
- Category D (orchestral): Submitted works must be scored for no more than the following: 2.2.2.2 - 4.3.3.1 - timp +2 - strings. Chamber orchestra works are not accepted at this time. One winning work will be performed by Sacramento State Symphony Orchestra with director Ryan Murray.
October 27: Opening Gala
Featuring Hub New Music, Metaphor Percussion, and the Sacramento State Jazz Faculty Nonet.
October 28: Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet
Acclaimed pianist and composer Myra Melford has assembled a group with an impressive catalog as bandleaders and collaborators, the result of which is a gathering of some of the most compelling improvisers working today. Melford’s press has been plentiful and glowing. The New Yorker called her “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement”, and the New York Times wrote that she was “justly regarded as a fixture of the avant-garde”.
October 29: Metaphor Percussion
A duo comprised of Dr. Vivienne Boudreaux and Sac State Percussion Professor Dr. Jordan Shippy, Metaphor Percussion recently completed their inaugural U.S. tour including an aritst residency at Eastern New Mexico University. Formed in 2023, Metaphor was founded with the goal of commissioning and championing new and innovative percussion repertoire from upcoming and underrepresented composers.
October 30: Local Voices
Featuring the Hornet Horns brass quintet, the Sacramento State Faculty Wind Quintet, and various chamber groups from within the School of Music.
October 31: Hub New Music
Called “contemporary chamber trailblazers” by the Boston Globe, Hub New Music has commissioned dozens of new works for its distinctive ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, and cello. Hub’s “nimble quartet of winds and strings” (NPR) actively collaborates with today’s most celebrated composers on projects that traverse today’s rich musical landscape.
November 1: Closing Concert
Featuring compositions by Nina C. Young: chamber music by Hub New Music, and the winning Orchestra and Choir works selected from the National Call for Scores, performed by Sacramento State Symphony Orchestra (Ryan Murray, conductor) and University Chorale (Brett Judson, conductor).