Cornell hosts Switch Ensemble residency

The Cornell Contemporary Chamber Players (CCCP) will host The Switch Ensemble for a five-day artistic residency Feb. 26 to March 3 that will include workshops, a lecture recital, a recording session and two concerts.

The concerts will feature pieces composed by Cornell graduate students and faculty, and performed by the Switch Ensemble.

“The ensemble is eager to collaborate with young composers and artistically contribute to the Cornell community a repertoire in constant collaboration with living composers around the world,” said Jihyun Kim, a Cornell doctoral student in music composition who is one of the organizers of the residency.

Established at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., The Switch Ensemble collaborates with young composers and focuses on developing and performing impactful new music. The work produced during the residency will become a part of The Switch Ensemble’s concert repertoire. The Switch Ensemble performs pieces which incorporate technology and multimedia as intrinsic materials to contemporary art creation.

Because of its focus on collaboration, the ensemble’s residency will include a composition forum and post-concert question and answer sessions, which will allow artists and audience members to discuss their work on a more intimate level.

“The open workshops and concerts offer further engagement with the Cornell community, allowing people from a wider list of disciplines and academic backgrounds to witness the creative process in the workshops,” Kim said.

The ensemble will premier six new student works as well as works by faculty members Kevin Ernste, associate professor of music,  Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri, assistant professor of music, and Roberto Sierra, Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities.

Concerts will be at 8 p.m. March 1 and 2  in the auditorium of Barnes Hall. They are free and open to the public.