2015 Festival

The Women Composers Festival of Hartford continues its annual tradition of celebrating the diversity of women’s music with its 2015 Festival. Featuring Composer-in-Residence, Michigan-based Lisa Coons, and Guest Artists Iktus Percussion. The festival includes performances of Dr. Coon’s music, in addition to an international selection of historical and living women composers, held at the historic Charter Oak Cultural Center and across the Greater Hartford area.

2015 Composer-in-Residence: Lisa Coons

Lisa Renée Coons is a composer and sound artist with a special affinity to noise composition, collaboration, and experimentation. She is dedicated to progressive art and focuses on partnerships with other artists and musicians as a means of developing innovative new works. She has received awards and support from the Other Minds Festival, ASCAP, and Meet the Composer, among others. Recent commissions include an evening-length work for The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and pieces for The California E.A.R. Unit. Read more about Lisa Coons

2015 Guest Artists: Iktus Percussion

Based in New York City, Iktus Percussion is an ambitious, dynamic young ensemble committed to expanding the boundaries of the percussion genre. Iktus is a collective-based operation, featuring an array of industrious and multi-talented percussionists with Chris Graham, Justin Wolf, Josh Perry, and Piero Guimaraes at the core. Read more about Iktus Percussion

2015 Festival Schedule

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
1:30 pm – Lisa Coons at UConn, University of Connecticut Music Building Rm 102, Storrs, CT 06269 – *Free Event
5:00 pm – Lisa Coons at The Hartt Composers Seminar, Bliss Music Room, The Hartt School, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave. West Hartford, CT 06117 – *Free Event

Thursday, March 5, 2015
12:15 pm – The Art of Creation: Improvisation and Gender in Music and Dance,
A panel session with  Gail Woldu, Jennifer Allen, Lesley Farlow, and Lisa Coons, Halden Hall, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106 – *Free Event
2:30 pm – Lisa Coons at Western New England University, Rivers Memorial Hall Rm 140, Western New England University, 1215 Wilbraham Rd. Springfield, MA 01119 – *Free Event
6:00 pm – Concert 1: The Invisible Women, Centinel Hill Auditorium,  Capital Community College, 950 Main St. Hartford, CT 06103 – *Free Event
8:00 pm – Welcome Reception, Salute, 100 Trumbull St. Hartford, CT 06103

Friday, March 6, 2015
10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Networking 101: Building Your Life in Music Workshop with Jessica Meyer, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – WCForum Session 1, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – WCForum Session 2: Lisa Coons, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106
7:30 pm – Concert 2: Iktus Percussion, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106

Saturday, March 7, 2015
9:30 am – 11:30 am – WCForum Session 3, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm – WCForum Session 4: Why does music by women composers matter?, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106
2:30 pm – 5:30 pm – New England Guitar Quartet Reading Session, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106
7:30 pm – Concert 3: Alpaca String Quartet and Local Women Composers, Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, CT 06106

Sunday, March 8, 2015
11:00 am – Farewell Brunch, Location TBA
2:00 pm – Concert 4: Julia Mortyakova and Miguel Campinho, New Music for Piano, Christ Church Cathedral, 45 Church St. Hartford, CT 06103
4:30 pm – Lisa Coons at the Young Composers Project, The Hartt School, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave. West Hartford, CT 06117
** Open only to Hartt Community Division families and prospective Young Composers Project students/parents.