New York-based sextet yMusic makes its Los Angeles debut with a compelling program of works created specifically for it. This ensemble is one of four lighting up the Tune-In Festival L.A. during the weekend of March 27-29.

A new music festival making its debut in Los Angeles will put a much-deserved focus on the evolution of the contemporary ensemble and give Los Angeles audiences an opportunity to hear four award-winning ensembles they may not have yet encountered locally.

The Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA will present Tune-In Festival L.A., a multi-performance weekend March 27-29 that will feature four ensembles with a vibrant and energetic approach to classical repertoire, showcased alongside exploratory work by modern composers.

Tune-In Festival L.A. is the evolution of a contemporary music festival that CAP UCLA artistic and executive director Kristy Edmunds curated for the 2011-2012 season of New York’s Park Avenue Armory.  

“These are four virtuosic, ebullient and award-winning ensembles that are quite literally changing the landscape of contemporary music one note at a time,” Edmunds said. “It’s only a matter of time before they become household names. They all hold a passion for exploring and playing in a new contemporary terrain and are bringing forward the next generation of composers. They are not only impeccable performers; they are also a lot of fun.”

Described by an L.A. Times writer as a "super-ensemble," multi-Grammy-winning Eighth Blackbird will headline the final show of the festival. They'll be joined by yMusic and four UCLA percussionists.

And CAP UCLA is offering students, staff and faculty plenty of opportunities to get involved. The performances will be free to UCLA students while staff and faculty will be able to attend performances for $15. To take advantage of this, just show their BruinCards at the UCLA Central Ticket Office when purchasing tickets ahead of time or at the box office the night of the show.

Also, listen for the sounds of talented student musicians, who will be grabbing their share of the limelight throughout the festival. Globally inspired student ensemble “Tahkt Dirty” will be performing during intermission on Thursday, March 27, at Schoenberg Hall while the OMG (Omni-Musicality Group) Brass Trio will be entertaining festival-goers on Friday, March 28, on the Schoenberg patio between two scheduled concerts. Another student-led group, the OMG String Quartet, will perform Saturday, March 29, during intermission at Royce Hall.

Tune-In Festival L.A. kicks off on Thursday, March 27, at Schoenberg Hall. Local ensemble Quattro will perform free just outside the auditorium beginning at 6:30 p.m. Then North America’s premier wind quintet Imani Winds takes the Schoenberg stage at 8 p.m. in an earthy and eclectic program that features a performance by Palestinian-American oud and violin virtuoso and composer Simon Shaheen. Imani Winds will also present the West Coast premiere of New York-based composer Mohammed Fairouz’s “Jebel Lebnan.” Fairouz, who was on campus last November working with the UCLA Philharmonia on the program "Listening to the Other: Mideast Musical Dialogues," will also join Edmunds for a pre-show discussion of his work as part of opening-night festivities.

On Friday, March 28, there will be two concerts at Schoenberg Hall from a pair of emerging forces in contemporary music, ETHEL at 6 p.m. and yMusic at 8 p.m.

String quartet ETHEL has for the past decade and a half actively and aggressively adapted its epic skillset to the presentation of rainbow-colored music of every style and description. They perform with virtuoso guitarist Kaki King, who has won an international following for her work. The Rolling Stone named her one of the "New Guitar Gods.” 

 ETHEL’s program is anchored by a groundbreaking re-imagining of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 and also includes works from ETHEL’s repertoire by Phil Kline and John Zorn. Original works by Kaki King and a world-premiere composition for ETHEL and Kaki King by Serbian composer Aleksandra Vrebalov will round out the program.

Imani Winds will open the festival with an earthy and eclectic program at Schoenberg Hall.

Later that evening, New York-based sextet yMusic, hailed by NPR’s Fred Child as “one of the groups that has really helped to shape the future of classical music,” makes its Los Angeles debut with a program of works created specifically for them. Equally comfortable with classical music and rock, yMusic has launched new projects with Dirty Projectors, Gabriel Kahane and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire.

Tune-In Festival L.A. wraps Saturday, March 29, at 8 p.m. with a command performance from multi-Grammy-winning “eighth blackbird performing work from The National’s Bryce Dessner, Tristan Perich, Ligeti and Johnson and more.

To close the festivities, yMusic and four UCLA percussionists from the Herb Alpert School will join the headliners Eighth Blackbird for a rousing interpretation of Louis Andriessen’s “Worker’s Union.” The final performance event will also include a pre-show artist talk on the Royce Terrace and informal post-show meet-and-greet with the performers.

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