The Piedmont Duo, comprised of violist Ayn Balija and percussionist I-Jen Fang, is dedicated to expanding the repertoire for percussion and viola through commissioning music and sharing with the Charlottesville community and beyond. As part of their outreach, they have commissioned music by three noted women composers who have built and elevated music composition with their own unique voices while guiding college students to their passions in the UVA Music Department and beyond. Open workshops, performances, and a recording project will be part of the residency to be held the week of March 18, 2024.
More details, including the full program, will be available on February 16th, 2024.
The Piedmont Duo, founded in 2021, have toured and recorded works featuring the unique colors of the viola and percussion by internationally acclaimed composers. I-Jen Fang is an intrepid percussionist who explores new sounds and expands cultural horizons as a chamber musician and soloist. Her versatility has brought her to places such as Taiwan, United States, Poland, Austria, France, Romania, Hungary, and South Africa. She has appeared in the Staunton Music Festival, Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Charlottesville Opera, Victory Hall Opera, Wintergreen Music Festival, American Percussion Seminar, SEAMUS, PASIC, and PAS Day of Percussion. I-Jen is an Innovative Percussion Inc., Sabian, and Marimba One artist. Violist Ayn Balija, performs and teaches around the world providing innovative and collaborative experiences. As a guest artist, she has performed in New Zealand, Hungary, Canada, and the United States. She showcases musical innovation for the viola by premiering and commissioning new works by composers such as Judith Shatin, Jorge Variego, and Libby Larsen. She has appeared in the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Charlottesville Opera, Early Music Access Project, Victory Hall Opera, Carolina Chamber Music Festival, and the Staunton Music Festival. As an educator, Ayn coordinates and develops creative experiences for younger students with Violapalooza, an all-viola event, and coaching aspiring performers at the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts.
JoVia Armstrong, winner of the 2015 Best Black Female Percussionist of the Year through the Black Women in Jazz Awards, is a percussionist, sound artist, composer, and educator who explores the power of music with rhythm, sound, and timing. She joined the Department as Assistant Professor in 2022, and is already a strong contributor to the program.
Leah Reid, a Guggenheim Fellow, is a composer, sound artist, researcher, and educator, whose works range from opera, chamber, and vocal music, to acousmatic, electroacoustic works, and interactive sound installations. In her works, timbre acts as a catalyst for exploring new soundscapes, time, space, perception, and color. She has previously taught for several years in the Department and returns next year as Assistant Professor.
Judith Shatin’s music has been commissioned by organizations including Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the National Symphony and many others. She taught for four decades at UVA, founded and directed the Virginia Center for Computer Music, and was appointed the first chaired professor in the history of the Department. Sonic innovation and dynamic narrative design are hallmarks of her music, while collaboration with musicians, artists and community groups is central to her musical life.
This special project is sponsored by a grant from the UVA Arts Enhancement and an award from the Institute of the Humanities & Global Cultures Buckner W. Clay Endowment for the Humanities of which I-Jen Fang and Ayn Balija are 2023-24 Fellows. Performance: Friday, March 22, 8pm, Old Cabell Hall Auditorium, FREE Workshop: TBA
For more information, please visit https://music.virginia.edu/women-music.
Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA’s historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda. Parking is available in the central grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Rd, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner. Handicap parking is available in the small parking lot adjacent to Bryan Hall.
All programs are subject to change.
For more information please call the Department of Music at 434.924.3052 or write music@virginia.edu with any questions.