The Big Ears Festival has benefited Knoxville in countless ways, some obvious and glaringly important, but many more invisible or understated and, nonetheless, critical to the music scene and the city’s image. One of these benefits has been the exposure and publicity given to the contemporary music organization, nief-norf, and its notable performances at this year’s festival. While the organization, founded by the efforts of percussionists Andrew Bliss and Kerry O’Brien, has been around since 2005, its footprint outside of its own energetic world has been limited. Its involvement in this year’s Big Ears Festival changed that perception for the better.
On the horizon now is the nief-norf Summer Festival (nnSF), billed as “an interdisciplinary summer music festival, bringing together dozens of performers, composers, and scholars to collaborate on the performance, creation, and discussion of contemporary solo and chamber music.”
The nnSF offers an intensive think-tank environment in the state-of-the-art Natalie L. Haslam Music Center on the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee, and presents inspiring and devoted performances of modern music, aiming to encourage both appreciation and support for live music and contemporary art.
The nief-norf Summer Festival takes place June 7-20, 2016 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Performances take place in UT’s Powell Recital Hall, Ijams Nature Center, the Square Room, the Emporium Center, and the Jackson Terminal. Tickets and festival passes
Other information at http://www.niefnorf.org
