2024 Program Guide | Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 14 CLARICE ASSAD  Sponsored by Cherrill Spencer and Alan Ritch KARIM AL-ZAND  Sponsored by Russ Irwin new and classic repertoire of the 20th and 21st-centuries. In his scholarly work, he has pursued several diverse areas of music theory, including topics in jazz, counterpoint, and improvisation (both jazz and 18th- century extemporization). Al-Zand was born in Tunis, Tunisia, raised in Ottawa, Canada, and educated in Montreal (McGill University, B.Mus 1993) and Cambridge (Harvard University, Ph.D 2000). Since 2000, he has taught composition and music theory in Houston at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University. embraces a variety of interests, issues, and influences. It explores connections between music and other media and draws inspiration from graphic art, myths and fables, folk music of the world, film, spoken word, jazz, and his own Middle Eastern heritage. From scores for dance to compositions for young people to multi-disciplinary and collaborative works, Al-Zand’s music is diverse in both its subject matter and its audience. His compositions have enjoyed success in the United States, Canada, and abroad, and he is the recipient of several national awards, including the “Arts and Letters Award in Music” from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Al-Zand is a founding and artistic board member of Musiqa, Houston’s premier contemporary music group, which presents concerts featuring The music of Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand (b. 1970) has been called “strong and startlingly lovely” ( Boston Globe ). In a wide-ranging catalog of solo, chamber, vocal, and orchestral compositions, his music More information and content is available at www.cabrillomusic.org FEATURED COMPOSERS FEATURED COMPOSERS ☆ COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE the multi-talented musician continues to attract new audiences both onstage and off. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Clarice Assad is one of the most widely performed Brazilian concert music composers of her generation. The recipient of numerous honors and awards, among them an Aaron Copland Award and several ASCAP awards in composition, she holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago and a Master of Music degree from The University of Michigan School of Music. “She energetically bendsmusic to her will and reshapes it with fascinating results.” — Jazz Improv Magazine 2022 with more than 70 works to her credit, she has been commissioned by internationally renowned organizations, festivals, and artists and is published in France (Editions Lemoine), Germany (Trekel), Brazil (Criadores do Brasil), and the United States (Virtual Artists Collective Publishing). An in-demand performer, she is a celebrated pianist and inventive vocalist who inspires and encourages audiences’ imaginations to break free of often self-imposed constraints. Assad has released seven solo albums and appeared on or had her works performed on another 34. Her music is represented on Cedille Records, SONY Masterworks, Nonesuch, Adventure Music, Edge, Telarc, NSS Music, GHA, and CHANDOS. Her innovative, accessible, and award-winning VOXploration series on music education, creation, songwriting, and improvisation has been presented throughout the world. Sought after by artists and organizations worldwide, A powerful communicator renowned for her musical scope and versatility, Brazilian- American Clarice Assad is a significant artistic voice in the classical, world music, pop, and jazz genres and is acclaimed for her evocative colors, rich textures, and diverse stylistic range. A prolific GRAMMY Award-nominated composer ☆ ☆