Composer/conductor Armando Bayolo tried to go through the usual channels in order to form the chamber ensemble he envisioned. Gathering paperwork and networking was unsuccessful, so he turned to every musician’s best friend, Craigslist. The call led to seven area musicians coming together to form the core of what would become Great Noise Ensemble (GNE). The initial plan was to have a small ensemble, but there was enough interest in the group that after some extra recruiting efforts, GNE grew to its present lineup of eighteen instrumentalists and two singers. Tonight, this new music ensemble will begin its third performance season at the Capital Fringe Festival.

Bayolo, a visiting professor at Hamilton College, sees himself as an advocate of new music and it was a dream of his to start an ensemble that could present cutting edge, contemporary classical music. “In my still young career I have known a lot of composers whose music deserves to be heard, but who still cannot get many performances, no matter how hard they work," he said. "Starting a new music group, for me, is a way to do something for these people whose music I value.”

The basic criterion the ensemble uses in determining what constitutes “new music” is that the pieces in its repertoire, for the most part, were written after 1970. An increasing number of pieces are developed in-house because several GNE members, in addition to Bayolo, are composers themselves. Bayolo, as musical director, has final say on the pieces chosen, but musical diversity is one of his goals.

“I don't believe in a kind of monolithic new music. The biggest underlying trait of contemporary music is its plurality. A new music group should reflect that and I think that, so far, GNE has been successful in doing so.” To that end, a typical concert will juxtapose challenging pieces, which are not for the faint of heart, along side more accessible works and even the occasional pop tune.

Photo from Great Noise Ensemble's web site

The theme of this week’s performances is “guerrilla new music,” a concept that relates to the guerrilla-like tactics this under-financed ensemble has employed in order to develop its repertoire. The program will remain the same over the course of the Fringe Festival and will feature minimalist works by Steve Reich, a duet between mandolin and, of all things, soda cans, by Ken Ueno, as well as a chamber symphony by Bayolo himself. Other highlights will include a setting of Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus and the Carpenter by Tom Schnauber and Dances, a brass quintet by Blair Goins.

Today, New York, whose scene is led by the influential collective Bang on a Can, is the source of much of the country’s new music. Bayolo hopes to change that. “I’d like GNE to lead the charge in turning D.C. into a new music town. I'd love to rival, or at least complement, really, New York's new music scene. This is the nation's capital, after all.”

Great Noise Ensemble’s Fringe performances will take place at the Source Theater, 1835 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009. Show times are tonight at 7 p.m., Friday at 9 p.m., and Sunday at noon. Tickets are $15 and available here.