NOTUS performs 1st concert of the year

The Jacobs School of Music’s NOTUS: Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Dominick DiOrio and guest composer Caroline Shaw, performed its first show of the year Tuesday at Auer Hall.

The select group of 24 singers performed “TIMESCAPES: Ancient Reflections in Modern Music,” a program of seven modern works with connections to the past.

“We’re performing all music from the last 25 years or so, but all of it takes quotations from older music, from Baroque or classical eras, or even the Renaissance,” said DiOrio, an assistant professor of choral conducting.

To evoke a sense of the past, many instruments from older eras, such as the harpsichord and viola da gamba, were played at the concert.

The works performed came from a variety of composers, including Paul Mealor, Dominick Argento and Sven-David Sandström.

 DiOrio and guest composer Shaw had their pieces performed in the show as well.

Shaw, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition at Princeton University, became the youngest winner of the award when she won for “Partita for 8 voices,” part of which was performed by the ensemble, at the age of 30.

“We’re really lucky to have Carolyn with us,” said DiOrio, who previously worked with Shaw when they were both master’s students at Yale University. “She’s just a fantastic person all around.”

During the performance, Shaw addressed the crowd and said that “Passacaglia,” the piece that the ensemble performed, was originally written for eight singers.

 She said DiOrio was very intuitive in adapting the original for the 24 NOTUS singers.
DiOrio began conducting NOTUS last year when he joined the Jacobs faculty.

He said the position fits him well because he’s both a conductor and a composer.

“I’m very committed to both choral music and new music, so it’s the perfect position for me,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier to be here.”

The group will perform again at IU in the spring as well as travel to New York City, among other places, for a performance at Carnegie Hall.

DiOrio recognizes the hesitation many people feel when thinking about contemporary classical music.

“A lot of people get scared when they think of new classical music as sort of crazy and alienating, but I deliberately choose music for my concerts and craft it in such a way so that people who come to the concert really have an experience by the time they leave,” he said.

At Tuesday’s show, he said he crafted the works to send a message about modern music and the connections it shares with pieces from history.

“All the music we hear today is somehow built on something that came before it,” DiOrio said. “In some sense there’s a part of some larger community and we’re all sharing in similar ideas and similar foundations, and even ideas that are 400 years old continue to inspire composers still living today.”

Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.