Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts

AURA Concert: Eye of the Beholder

Friday, February 28, 2025

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

AURA performs music that explores different viewpoints and perspectives. Canadian composer Edward Top’s “Pots ‘n Pans Falling” memorializes the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting. In composing this work, Top took the perspective of one of the young seven-year-old survivors who innocently and disarmingly described the gunshots as sounding like “pots and pans falling to the floor.” “Media Control”, a work by composer and jazz-pianist Pascal LeBoeuf, critiques post-truth culture by referencing ideas from Noam Chomsky’s 2002 book with the same title. The musical material is developed through process-oriented procedures and seeks to represent the view that mass media in the United States serves as the primary vehicle for delivering propaganda.

Texas composer Steven Block intends “Seven Miniatures in Search of a Program”, a work commissioned by AURA, to be construed as program music, but does not describe a specific program. Instead, he asks the performers to create images to accompany the performance, or to encourage the audience to imagine their own program. In Paul Lansky’s trio “Just in Time”, for clarinet, guitar and cello, the performers’ perception of each other is constantly changing. Throughout the work they alternate between being together and being apart, gradually wandering in and out of focus.

In “TRaInspOrt”, for bassoon and two percussionists, Hungarian composer Theodor Burkali evokes the perceptions of a train passenger who moves between the first and second classes while traveling from one city to another. The traveler’s experiences vary greatly depending on the train car, and ultimately the city, they are in. “Nixon’s Beard”, by Lucas Marshall Smith, refers to Richard Nixon’s visible beard stubble from his televised debate with John F. Kennedy in 1960, the first ever televised US presidential debate. Many believe that the visible stubble gave Nixon a disheveled appearance and served as a significant factor in Kennedy’s 1960 victory and attests to the great importance of visual images in politics.

To learn more about AURA Contemporary Ensemble, please visit: uh.edu/kgmca/music/ensembles/aura

Program

Pots ’n Pans Falling (2013) – Edward Top (b.1972)
flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano & percussion

Media Control (2017) – Pascal Le Boeuf (b.1986)
flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano & percussion

Seven Miniatures in Search of a Program (2024) – Steven D. Block (b. 1952) world premiere
flutes, clarinets, violin, cello, piano & percussion

TRaInspOrt (2001) – Theodor Burkali (b. 1975)
bassoon & two percussionists

Just in Time (2013) – Paul Lansky (b.1944)
clarinet, cello & guitar

Nixon’s Beard (2014) – Lucas Marshall Smith (b. 1989)
flute, violin & piano

Important Construction Update:

As we enhance our campus with the Wilhelmina’s Grove Project and Loop Road Construction, parking and pathways to our venues have been temporarily adjusted. To ensure a smooth visit, please visit our Construction Navigation and Parking website for detailed maps, driving and walking instructions, and the latest updates.

Thank you for your patience and support as we work toward creating a more vibrant, accessible, and welcoming space for all.