MUSIC

 The New England Conservatory Preparatory School's annual contemporary festival, "Today's Youth Perform Today's Music," was founded in 1991 by faculty membersRodney Lister and John Ziarko to give students and faculty the opportunity to study the performance skills needed for contemporary music. Featured composers work closely with students in workshops, seminars, and coachings.

In the recent past, there has been a surge of interest among Preparatory School students to study composition and perform their own music and that of their friends. This has become an integral part of the festival.

This year's visiting composer is Eve Beglarian. Rather than attempt to summarize the breadth of Beglarian's musical ideas, here's her own summary of her recent RiverProject:

"In the fall of 2009, I embarked on a four-month-long journey down the entire Mississippi River by kayak and bicycle. I immersed myself in local histories and the writings of those who had made similar journeys, including Mark Twain and Jonathan Raban. As I moved down the spine of my country, I kept a sonic journal about the people and places I encountered.

"BRIM is a music and performance project inspired by my voyage, a collection of original compositions, adventurous arrangements of river-related songs, images, videos, and spoken-word readings. A personal response to the U.S. economic meltdown, BRIM is my own, unofficial WPA project."