Outpost Concert Series is back at the Culver Center of the Arts for the 2021-22 season.

The virtuoso and dynamic musical performances will give audiences the chance to enjoy everything from piano to a chamber ensemble throughout the five-concert season, which is themed “Adventurous Music for Curious Ears”.

On Wednesday, November 3, the series begins with Grammy Award-winning pianist Nadia Shpachenko. All concerts are free and open to the public and will take place at the Culver Center of the Arts, 3824 Main Street in downtown Riverside. All concerts will begin at 7 p.m. Reservations are required.

“The past 18 months have been difficult for everyone. We’re ready to provide a space for the audience to hear – and feel – live music, while complying with COVID security protocols, ”said Ian Dicke, Outpost Concert Series Director and Associate Professor of Composition at UC Riverside.

Outpost Concert Series is a collaborative effort between UCR’s Music Department and the Culver Center of the Arts. The series’ mission is three-fold: to expose the Inland Empire community to new music, to make Riverside accessible for artists, and to cultivate diverse audiences, Dicke said.

In the era of COVID, the Culver Center of the Arts has reopened its doors to the public and implemented current security protocols, said Amy Metcalf, senior manager of public events at the Culver Center. For the concert series, the Culver Center adheres to the following protocols:

• Free masks and hand sanitizer are at the front door
• All high traffic areas are cleaned and disinfected before the event and immediately after
• Face masks are always required inside the building
• Guests will be asked to comply with a security and welfare check
• The guests will be seated as if at a distance from each other
• Guests can “pod” together as in households

Meet the artists:

November 3: Nadia Shpachenko (Los Angeles)

“Gifted and Versatile Pianist” (San Francisco Chronicle) and Grammy Winner Nadia Shpachenko enjoys bringing to life things that are outside the box – powerful pieces that often have unusual sonic qualities or instrumentation. Highlights of Nadia’s concerts include recitals at the Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, on the Piano Spheres and the Green Umbrella and Chamber Music series of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with numerous orchestras in Europe and the Americas. An enthusiastic promoter of contemporary music, Shpachenko has created more than 70 works by Elliott Carter, Paul Chihara, George Crumb and many more.

January 20, 2022: New Music HUB (Boston)

Called “pioneers of the contemporary chamber” by the Boston Globe, Hub New Music – composed of flute, clarinet, violin and cello. Highlights for the 2020-21 concert season include performances presented by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College, Texas Performing Arts, Celebrity Series of Boston, Sacramento State Festival of New American Music, and a European premiere at the Alba Music Festival in Italy.

February 16, 2022: Longleash (New York)

Longleash is an ensemble with traditional instrumentation and a progressive identity. The “Young Trio of Experts” (Strad Magazine) takes its name from Operation Long Leash, a Cold War-era CIA operation that promoted avant-garde American artists in Europe. Her recent and upcoming engagements include the Five Boroughs Music Festival in New York, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and the Trondheim International Chamber Music Festival in Norway.

April 6, 2022: Now Hear Ensemble (Los Angeles)

Now Hear Ensemble combines the intimacy of the classical concert experience with electronic music, video art, installation art and contemporary theater, embracing both contemporary music and pop culture. The ensemble has performed at venues such as the Roy and Edna Disney / CalArts Theater (REDCAT) and the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT) at UC Berkeley. Since its founding in 2012, the ensemble has commissioned and premiered over 25 new works by composers such as Florent Ghys, Dan VanHassel and Anthony Paul Garcia.

May 11, 2022: arx duo (Seattle)

arx duo is dedicated to the expansion of the percussion chamber music repertoire through the creation and presentation of new works, the education and inspiration of young artists and exciting performances. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the duo made their debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London with “Harmonic Canon” by Dominic Murcott, British composer of the year (2018). As educators, arx duo has held guest positions at the Peabody Conservatory, Michigan State University, and is currently a professor at the Curtis Institute of Music Young Artist Summer Program.

Outpost Concert Series Details: outpost.ucr.edu

Tickets: Concerts are free, but tickets are required. RSVP here.