The lights dimmed and only stereos adorned the stage during the 39th annual New Music Festival at Sursa Hall on Friday night, and the crowd didn't know what to expect.
Music focusing on the strengths of new technologies was the focus of the three-day festival, and many said the music that emanated from the stage was far from traditional.
"The festival includes music with technical components, including electronics, video and computer accompaniment," Coordinator Keith Kothman said.
The festival began with a composer forum on Thursday, followed by concerts on Friday and Saturday. It was funded in part by the Sue Derexa Smith Memorial Concerts series and the Special Events Fund.
Ball State students performed, as well as guest composers who have studied around the world. Cleve Scott, predecessor to Kothman, was the first to invite outside composers, which Kothman said adds variety to the performance.
"We're pretty diverse about what we program, including a range of styles from what people submit," Kothman said. "We're focusing on living composers from the Midwest."
Some performances were original, like graduate student Vanissa Law's piano medley.
"I had some small mistakes, but that happens," Law said. "Overall, we had a good show."
Music technology students operated the sound boards and changed the setup on stage before each piece. Junior Paul Marquissee said that his job dealt with programming, making patch changes and making sure the sound doesn't produce feedback.
"Our job is pretty strict," said Marquissee. "We like to know what we're doing and have everything pre-set."
Senior Blake Smith was another student who worked behind the scenes. Smith said concerts like this help him to prepare for a future in the industry.
"This is great experience for us as music technology majors because we get to work with live sound," Smith said.
Setup for the performances began on Wednesday. During the concerts, extension cords, microphones and sound equipment were scuttled on and off stage before almost every performance.
"Sursa Hall offers great technical opportunities, and, in the last couple years, the concerts have included technical components," Kothman said.
Some of the students in the crowd said they attended the concert for credit in their music education classes, but sophomore Nathan Daywalt said he came for a different reason.
"I chose to attend this concert because I like to see music as it evolves over the ages," Daywalt said.
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