The New Music Help Desk is a unique opportunity for composers and performers to get face time with Spektral – to ask pointed questions about notation, feasibility, tuning systems, harmonics, or simply how to stay motivated in the midst of a quarantine.
If you are interested in participating (or just watching), complete this brief form:
We will select a few questions in advance and then open it up to attendees using the Zoom Q&A feature. Which is to say, even if yours is not one of the few chosen beforehand, you can still ask us your question live during the event. If we don't get to your query this time around, have no fear. We’ll keep all submissions in the mix for future Help Desk sessions.
We are stoked to have Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Jerry Hou for this Help Desk. We had the opportunity to work with him in the Grossman Ensemble last season and were inspired by his balance of rigor and humor. On faculty at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Jerry is a top-level pedagogue, and he is equally skilled in traditional and new musics. He is also one of the friendliest, wicked-smart artists we know. You are in for a real treat here, friends.
More about Jerry Hou
Recognized for his dynamic presence, insightful interpretations, versatility, and commanding technique, Taiwanese-American conductor Jerry Hou was recently appointed Associate Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted the Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Teatro Colon, Rochester Philharmonic, and San Antonio Symphony, among others.
In the summer of 2018, Hou lead to much acclaim the opening concerts of the Grand Teton Music Festival, in a program of Copland, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto with renowned soloist Daniil Trifonov. Known for his flexibility in many styles and genres, he has conducted a wide range of repertoire from classical to contemporary. Last spring, Hou led performances of a new collaboration between composer Steve Reich and artist Gerhart Richter to commemorate the opening of New York City’s new performing arts space and center for artistic invention, The Shed.
A leading interpreter and conductor of contemporary music, he has collaborated with internationally acclaimed composers such as Steve Reich, John Adams, Steve Stucky, John Harbison, George Lewis, Bernard Rands, Gyorgy Kurtag, Helmut Lachenmann, Unsuk Chin, Brett Dean, Mark Anthony-Turnage, and Peter Eötvös. In addition, he worked closely with the next generation of leading composers including Kate Soper, Anna Clyne, and Andrew Norman. Hou has conducted leading contemporary music ensembles Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Signal, Remix Ensemble, Musiqa, and Alarm Will Sound. He is on the faculty of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas.
Spektral Quartet’s programming is supported by our members, our donors, and by the following foundations and organizations:
