CLASSICAL | OSSIA

By Daniel J. Kushner @danieljkushner

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OSSIA – Eastman School of Music's student-led ensemble dedicated to contemporary classical repertoire — is no stranger to interpreting works by living composers. On Friday, OSSIA will present a concert that highlights Japanese composer Jo Kondo, who will be in-residence at Eastman for five days as a Howard Hanson visiting professor. Kondo's expressive compositional style is punctuated with modernist harmony and intriguing dissonances, yet his direct, concise approach to phrasing and instrumentation brings accessibility to the music. Featured compositions include "wait" for five percussionists and "Surface Depth and Color" as well as the world premiere of a composition Kondo wrote expressly for OSSIA. Opening with another world premiere, "Welcome, Jo" by Eastman Composition Chair Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, the program is further bolstered by works from Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen, both of whom meld the ethereal and visceral to brilliant effect.

OSSIA performs on Friday, December 4, at Eastman School of Music's Kilbourn Hall, 26 Gibbs Street. 8 p.m. Free. esm.rochester.edu.