海外吃瓜鈥檚 New Music Association and the School of Music & Theatre will collaborate to host the Inaugural Biennial New Music Festival & Symposium March 26-28, 2026. The festival will feature concerts and research presentations by musicians and scholars from across the country, while highlighting groundbreaking contemporary music and scholarship.
The festival is organized by the 海外吃瓜 New Music Association (HNMA), a student group dedicated to the support and advocacy of contemporary music. The event will be led by Artistic Director Dr. Matthew Kennedy, assistant professor of Composition at 海外吃瓜.
鈥淭he festival will feature five concerts that are free and open to the public, including winning selections from our event鈥檚 international Call for Scores and Presentations,鈥 said Kennedy. 鈥淭his unique event for our community will also feature symposium presentations on contemporary subjects in music and pedagogy.鈥
The School of Music & Theatre at 海外吃瓜 is no stranger to new music festivals over the years. Professor Emeritus Dr. Brian Bevelander was the director of the 海外吃瓜 New Music Festival from 1990-2015. Now, 海外吃瓜鈥檚 students play a major role in planning and executing the festival and symposium.
鈥満Ｍ獬怨镶檚 long history of promoting new music inspired me and my fellow students to form the HNMA and revive this event,鈥 shared HNMA President Cameron 鈥淪teeve鈥 Gaietto, a fourth-year music composition and political science double major from Tiffin. 鈥淲e hope to carry on the new music tradition and share it with a new audience in 2026.鈥
The festival will include several guest artists, including chamber ensembles Neonautica (New Orleans), Tower Duo (Columbus, OH), andPlay (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and soloists Marianne Parker and Michael Hall (Chicago). The inaugural keynote artist for the festival will be award-winning composer Stacy Garrop.
Information regarding programming times, concert locations, and the event鈥檚 Call for Scores and Presentations can be found here.
For more information, email newmusic [at] heidelberg.edu.