MODESTO – The Modesto Junior College Department of Music presents the 37th Annual New Music Concert on Friday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Performing and Media Arts Center on East Campus, 435 College Avenue.

The program will feature performances of original music compositions by student, faculty and local composers.

 The award winning compositions from the 37th Annual MJC Celebration of the Humanities student arts award contest will be performed. Awards will be presented in the categories of classical music, popular music and electronic music composition and music solo.

 Rich Little, a guitarist, Chapman Railboard player, singer and composer, will perform his latest music compositions accompanied by MJC Professor of Music David Dow on keyboards. 

 Dow will also perform his composition “Trapped in Amber.” The piece features video, electronic music soundtrack and live synthesizer performed by the composer.

 The MJC Faculty Chamber Ensemble will perform “Septet” by Igor Stravinsky. Jeff Crawford, music professor at University of the Pacific in Stockton, will perform his latest electronic music composition.

Local Turlock composer and California State University, Stanislaus Professor Sam Regalado of Boscoe’s Brood will perform his original compositions.

 The New Music Ensemble will perform an original group improvisation.

The New Music Concert was founded 37 years ago as a collaborative effort between Dow and Shirley Woodward, MJC music professor emeritus, to encourage students and faculty to create and perform new music. After creating the music, students would be able to enter their works in “The Manuscript Madness” composition contest and win cash prizes. The Manuscript Madness competition later became a part of the MJC Celebration of The Humanities Contest that is still going strong today.

The concert, which is coordinated and hosted by Dow, is open to the public and admission is free. A reception will be held in the Auditorium Lobby during intermission and following the performance.