The Georgia State School of Music is a vibrant center for contemporary classical music on campus as well as in the greater Atlanta area. With two new music ensembles in residence and a significant student composer series, it is clear that the music of our time plays a very important role in the artistic mission of the school.

neoPhonia New Music Ensemble, Nickitas Demos, Founder & Artistic Director

Founded in 1996, the neoPhonia New Music Ensemble promotes the music of established contemporary composers, presents important chamber works of the late 20th/early 21st century, hosts significant guest artists and provides an opportunity for the performance of music by emerging young composers. The ensemble features a flexible instrumentation composed of faculty, students and area professional musicians. To date, the neoPhonia New Music Ensemble has given 79 premieres and commissioned new pieces by such composers as Theodore Antoniou and Yiorgos Vassilandonakis. The group has been the featured guest ensemble at the 2014 National Conference of the National Association of Composers – USA, the 2008 National Conference of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI); the Third Biennial Contemporary Music Symposium in 2001 at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and the 1998 SCI Region IV Conference. The ensemble was cited in the April 2004 issue of Gramaphone Magazine and has been featured on broadcasts by NPR affiliate WABE-FM 90.1. The name neoPhonia is loosely derived from two Greek words meaning “new voices.”

Student Composer Series

Each academic year, student composers at the Georgia State School of Music have many opportunities to present their works on campus.  Concerts feature student performers and the very best in emerging compositional voices.

Bent Frequency

The Georgia State School of Music ensemble-in-residence Bent Frequency has become the most active and visible contemporary music ensemble in the Southeast. Hailed as “one of the brightest new music ensembles on the scene today” by Gramophone Magazine, Bent Frequency (BF) is a performance ensemble possessing a vision to redefine the traditional music experience – ushering it from the strict formality of the concert hall into the fresh air of contemporary artistic expression and experimentation. Founded in 2003, the group brings the avant-garde music tradition to life through adventurous programming, the promotion of new music and a creative synthesis of music and media. At the heart of the ensemble is the unparalleled musicianship of the Bent Frequency performers, an eclectic mix of the most adventurous and impassioned players from the greater Atlanta area. This includes musicians from the Atlanta Symphony, Opera and Ballet as well as Atlanta’s fertile independent music community. For more information about the group as well as a listing of upcoming performances, visit: bentfrequency.com.