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Festival of New American Music
November 7-14, 2021
This year marks the 44th annual Festival of New American Music! Check back later this year for additional info. Information from 2020 is below...
How to Watch
All concerts and some events were streamed on the Sacramento State School of Music's Facebook Page. Direct links can be found on the highlighted concerts below. You do not have to have a Facebook account to access the page.
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We rely upon your financial support. Please help us continue to inspire, educate, and entertain the Sacramento community with high-quality performances of music by America’s most exciting artists by making a donation here.
Email Co-Director Scott Perkins
2020 Festival Highlights:
Local Voices
Thursday, November 5, 7:00 p.m. | WATCH VIDEO
FeNAM presents its third annual “Local Voices” concert featuring music by local composers presented by local performers. Check back soon for details!
Mivos Quartet
Friday, November 6, 7:00 p.m. | WATCH VIDEO
The Mivos Quartet, “one of America’s most daring and ferocious new-music ensembles” (The Chicago Reader), is devoted to performing works of contemporary composers and presenting new music to diverse audiences. Since the quartet's beginnings in 2008 they have performed and closely collaborated with an ever-expanding group of international composers. They have appeared on prestigious series such as the New York Phil Biennial, Wien Modern (Austria), the Asphalt Festival (Düsseldorf, Germany), HellHOT! New Music Festival (Hong Kong), Shanghai New Music Week (Shanghai, China), Edgefest (Ann Arbor, MI), Aldeburgh Music (UK), and Lo Spririto della musica di Venezia (La Fenice Theater, Italy).
Their performance will also feature works by Kate Soper.
Olivia de Prato, violin
Saturday, November 7, 7:00 p.m. | WATCH VIDEO
Internationally recognized as a soloist as well as a chamber musician, Austro-Italian violinist Olivia De Prato has been described as “flamboyant ... convincing” (The New York Times) and an “enchanting violinist” (Messaggero Veneto, Italy). De Prato has collaborated closely with composers Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, Anthony Braxton, Michael Gordon, Helmut Lachenman, David Lang, Benedict Mason, Meredith Monk, Krystof Penderecki, Bernard Rands, Steve Reich, Ned Rothenberg, Julia Wolfe, and Georg Friedrich Haas, among others.
Olivia De Prato studied at the University of Music and Arts in Vienna and received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music. She received her Master of Music as a member of the first graduating class from the Contemporary Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music.
Visit Olivia de Prato's website
Closing Concert: Gaw Vang Williams and Friends
Sunday, November 8, 7:00 p.m. | WATCH VIDEO
The closing concert of this year's Festival will feature jazz vocalist Gaw Vang Williams, along with several other performers. Gaw became the director of vocal jazz program at Sacramento State in 2014, where she earned her Bachelor of Music in jazz studies and Master of Music in voice performance. Under Williams' direction, the Sac State Vocal Jazz program has won multiple Downbeat Magazine Student awards.
Ms. Williams performs at numerous venues throughout Northern California; professional appearances as an assisting artist include live performances with Nancy King, New York Voices, Ben Folds , and the San Francisco Symphony.
About the Festival of New American Music
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. 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.