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