New Music New College receives $49K to keep experimental music coming

New Music New College, an experimental concert series at the New College of Florida, received an influx of cash to continue bringing musicians to the school for the nearly 20-year-old concert series.

This week, the school announced that Sarasota County awarded New Music a $49,302 tourist development cultural/arts grant to support its 2017–2018 season.

In addition to hosting concerts that often feature non-conventional artists, New Music ties in several educational events to each concert. Visiting musicians often lead artist conversations, and music fans can attend panel discussions, pre-concert talks and post-concert receptions to get to know the musicians.

Stephen Miles, professor of music at New College and the concert series’ founder, expressed gratitude for the funding.

“Sarasota has such a vital arts scene, with so many institutions competing for funding from the county’s tourist tax revenues,” he said. “We’re very proud that New Music New College’s contribution to our community has been recognized with this large grant.”

This season, New Music is bringing in the Amernet String Quartet, the electric guitar quartet Dither, and bassist Ken Filiano and jazz drummer Lou Grassi. Violinist Ari Striesfeld and vocalist Rachel Calloway (as Duo Cortona), guitarist James Moore of Dither, and pianist Marilyn Lerner will perform as well.

The theme for the 2017-18 season, which kicks off on Oct. 7, is “Frankenstein’s Monster.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 12:25 PM with the headline "New Music New College receives $49K to keep experimental music coming."