What makes a piece of music special? with Hub New Music

Called “contemporary chamber trailblazers” by the Boston Globe, Hub New Music — composed of flute, clarinet, violin, and cello — is forging new pathways in 21st-century repertoire. The ensemble’s ambitious commissioning projects and “appealing programs” (New Yorker) celebrate the rich diversity of today’s classical music landscape. In recent seasons, HNM’s performances have been described as “gobsmacking” (Cleveland Classical), “innovative” (WBUR), and “the cutting edge of new classical music” (Taos News). Hub New Music brings its passion for adventurous and relevant programming to global audiences as both a quartet and as collaborative artists. Recent projects include Matsuri with shakuhachi player Kojiro Umezaki and the Asia / America New Music Institute (AANMI); The Nature of Breaking, a 30-minute collaborative work with composer/harpist Hannah Lash; Requiem for the Enslaved, an evening length mass by Carlos Simon supported by Georgetown University’s GU272 Project that honors the lives of 272 African American slaves and their descendants; and a choreographed production of Robert Honstein’s Soul House with Boston’s Urbanity Dance. The Question of the Week is, "What makes a piece of music special?" This week, we discuss what makes a piece of music special to each of the group's members, the process of curating a concert program to optimize the audience experience, how to find the special quality within a piece of contemporary music, how delving into different areas of the classical music field affects your musicality, and the group's amazing new album, Soul House. You can find out more about Hub New Music on their website, hubnewmusic.org and hear their new album, Soul House, on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. 

Om Podcasten

Con Fuoco is a podcast about the field of classical music and its future. The objective of the podcast is to discuss the current state of the field of classical music and where it is headed in the future. Each episode will center around one question regarding our world of classical music, which I discuss with a guest who I believe can offer insight and answers into each subject and its future. The aim of this podcast is not to answer these questions, but to spark conversations about who we are. This podcast is meant to utilize our greatest strength as human beings - the ability to share and discuss information and use our unified ideas to better our communities. Con Fuoco can be found on Apple Podcast and Stitcher. This podcast is hosted by conductor and violinist, Daniel Cho. Daniel is currently based in Oregon and serves as Conducting Fellow of the Eugene Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Oregon Mozart Players and Eugene Opera. If there is a question you would like to submit, a guest you would like to see on the show, or if you would like to discuss anything on the show, please email at [email protected] Thank you for listening!