The Reinhardt University Contemporary Arts Festival included a composing masterclass. Photo by Jeff Reed
Reinhardt University musicians shined, through their performances and enthusiasm to learn, in the third annual Contemporary Arts Festival.
The festival was founded in 2015 to showcase the talents of the University’s faculty and students; it celebrates the musical, theatrical, visual and written arts surrounded by contemporary campus settings.
This year, Reinhardt hosted guest composers Luke Carlson and Olivia Kieffer, a former Reinhardt percussion instructor. The three-day festival took place in Flint Hall at Falany Performing Arts Center and featured musical and vocal performances, classes and discussion.
Carlson’s first presentation offered a behind-the-scenes look at his inspiration and compositional style, focusing on a few select works. Later, he presented a “composition masterclass” in which he offered feedback to Reinhardt’s music students on their recent work.
Reinhardt faculty then joined Carlson and Kieffer to lead a discussion on collaboration in the arts. Audience members asked questions and joined the discussion.
Finally, Kieffer gave a lecture-recital. She discussed the transitions she made throughout her composing career and provided insight into some of her recent works. She then performed three pieces, with Reinhardt’s School of Performing Arts Dean Dr. Fredrick Tarrant joining her for the final piece.
