Contemporary Music Ensemble

Membership in the ensemble is by invitation of the director. The core instrumentation of the ensemble is Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Violin, Violoncello, Double Bass, Piano, and Percussion. Other instruments and players are added as required by the repertoire.

LCCME performs music by 20th- and 21st-century composers: established masters, emerging artists, and students. Now in its ninth season, LCCME has premiered 24 new pieces, all of which were composed specifically for–or by–the ensemble. LCCME has also performed music by master composers Arvo Pärt, John Cage, George Crumb, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Terry Riley, and others .It performs one-two concerts each academic year.

LCCME regularly incorporates electronics, improvisation, video, lighting, and theatrical elements into its programs. Recent projects include a micro opera on a student libretto, a live performance of a sound track to the silent film Nosferatu, and many premieres of student compositions.

 

The ensemble is directed by Kirk O’Riordan.

Learn more about the ensemble
Visit the Contemporary Music Ensemble website

Video / Audio

Sunday, 10:17 am

A micro-opera composed by the ensemble on a libretto by Ilana Goldstein ’19. The music is almost entirely improvised, and performers have speaking roles.

LCCME performed the soundtrack to the silent movie Nosferatu live during a screening at the Landis Theater in Buck Hall. This is the live performance synced to the film.

Avian Requiem is a program-length piece composed by the ensemble in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the extinction of the Carrier Pigeon. This concert was part of a series of events organized by the Lafayette College Art Galleries.