Southern Exposure Series to present Exposed Wiring III

The Southern Exposure New Music Series and xMUSE, USC's Experimental Music Studio, under the direction of Reginald Bain, will combine forces once again to present an evening of music, technology, sound, and sight.

Part of the Southern Exposure New Music Series, Exposed Wiring III will feature composer Paul Lansky from Princeton University and Seattle-based composer/performer and guitar virtuoso Michael Nicolella, who first performed at the series in 2005. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in the School of Music Recital Hall.

Admission is free, and the concert is open to the public.

"Lansky is truly one of the great pioneers in the history of electro-acoustic music, and his music and research span the bounds of traditional classical music and computer science," said John Fitz Rogers, an associate professor in the School of Music and founder and creative director of the Southern Exposure New Music Series. "In fact, the band Radiohead paid homage to Lansky by sampling his work on their CD Kid A."

Considered one of the most accessible of the modern American composers, Lansky writes primarily for the medium of computer-generated sound and has made advances in purely technical areas. He received his MFA and Ph.D. from Princeton and has been teaching there since 1969. He is a former chair of the music department and has been the William Shubael Conant Professor of Music since 2001.

With a repertoire spanning from classical to classic rock, Nicolella is recognized as one of America's most innovative classical guitar virtuosos. An eclectic and versatile artist, he blurs the lines between musical styles and disciplines and is part of a growing trend in classical music to revitalize the role of the composer/performer.

As a concert artist, Nicolella frequently programs his own works for guitar in solo recital and chamber music settings. Known for his creative programming, he has introduced electric guitar into his "classical" programs and extended the repertoire and audience of his instrument not only with his own compositions and transcriptions but also by premiering and commissioning works by some of today's most exciting emerging composers.

Joining Nicolella are USC School of Music faculty members Craig Butterfield, Joseph Eller, Scott Herring, Robert Jesselson, and Joseph Rackers in a concert of multimedia works by Lansky and Nicolella as well as Reginald Bain, Dennis Miller, and Jimi Hendrix.

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