Experience the Experience

Fifty years of history offers quite a bit to look back on, but the New Music Circle would rather you look to the future with them. For the first concert of its 50th season, the NMC goes big — very big — with the Vinny Golia Large Ensemble. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Golia blends contemporary chamber music with improvisational ideas taken from the jazz tradition in his compositions for the VGLE. And while Golia does indeed write the music and lead the band, he has an egalitarian approach to the music that emphasizes the role of the individual musician as much as his own creative vision. "The music we play is an amalgam of our life experiences. It's not just the 'Vinny Golia experience;' it is the sum total of all musicians involved," Golia stressed in a 1998 interview. So come be a part of the experience, along with the 27 local and national musicians assembled for this performance. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Webster Community Music School (534 Garden Lane, Webster Groves; 314-567-5384 or www.newmusiccircle.org), and tickets are $7 to $15.
Sat., Sept. 27, 2008