February 15, 2011 — Michael Gordon, Bang on a Can All-Stars founding composer, will present a colloquium Friday at 3:30 p.m. in Old Cabell Hall Auditorium.

It is sponsored by the U.Va. Arts Board and the McIntire Department of Music in the College of Arts & Sciences. The colloquium has been added to the Bang On a Can All-Stars' three-day residency at the University, which begins Thursday.

Over the past 25 years, Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles to major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio.

On Friday, he will discuss "Decasia," a large-scale, single-movement, relentlessly monumental musical work about decay – the decay of melody, tuning and classical music itself. Decasia retunes a giant amplified orchestra, with gripping strings, four detuned pianos, massive winds and brass.

The piece was premiered by the Basel Sinfonietta in 2001, in a live, multimedia performance, The sounds and images have gained a second life as a film, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. This film will be shown at the U.Va. Music Arts Board opening reception on Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Ruffin Hall.