by Jarrett Hoffman
There are two main elements to the CIM New Music Ensemble’s program on Sunday, November 12 at 4:00 pm in Mixon Hall.
First there is the guest composer: Christopher Cerrone, who in the last decade has been both a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the winner of the Rome Prize.
Second is the program’s dedicatee: Kaija Saariaho, who was considered one of the greatest living composers until her passing in June from brain cancer.
I reached the Ensemble’s director, Keith Fitch (pictured), to learn about how that idea came together, and how Cerrone and Saariaho mesh.