Boston Modern Orchestra Project In Residency At Wellesley College

When Triple Helix, performers in residence at Wellesley College for the past few years, took a sabbatical, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) stood out as a good choice for a replacement.

BMOP, devoted to playing 20th- and 21st - century orchestral music, has several ties with Wellesley College faculty, according to Nina Berger, spokesperson for Wellesley College. Wellesley College's David Russell, a cellist, is a member, and Wellesley College Music Department Chair Marion Dry has known BMOP founder and  Artistic Director Gil Rose for years.

"BMOP's expertise will help serve the growing interest among the Wellesley student body in composition. Intellectually rigorous, dynamic and at the forefront of new music, the ensemble is known for their mentoring of young composers, and for actually performing their works," Dry said.

The BMOP will be in residency and perform a three-concert series at Wellesley College during the 2010-11 academic year. Throughout the year, BMOP musicians will interact with Music Department student composers, performers and music historians through master classes, ensemble coaching and classroom visits. 

On Saturday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m., BMOP will present "Luminous Noise" featuring works by Chen Yi and a world premiere by Music Department faculty member Jenny Olivia Johnson.  Subsequent public performances are scheduled for Jan. 29 and April 14 at 8 p.m., and will feature the works of Bang on a Can, Wayne Peterson, Milton Babbitt and Wellesley Professor of Music Martin Brody. All performances are free, open to the public and held at Houghton Chapel on the Wellesley College campus.

BMOP is widely recognized as the premier orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing and recording new orchestral music. Since its inception in 1996, BMOP has commissioned new works and brought to the stage rediscovered "classics" of the 20th century.