NOTUS, formerly the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, is the only university-based vocal group in the United States exclusively dedicated to the study and performance of vocal and choral repertoire written after 1900. It includes singers, composers, young scholars and instrumentalists chosen for their special interest in the music of our time. Depending on the repertoire, the ensemble adjusts its size to perform solo vocal, chamber choral and large oratorio-like compositions. Noted for innovative programming, NOTUS explores all significant styles of the last century as well as works at the forefront of today’s contemporary music scene. A special emphasis is placed on the works of living and emerging composers, especially notable works for voices composed by Indiana University faculty and students. The choir was renamed NOTUS after the Greek god of the south wind in 2013.

Dominick DiOrio Dominick DiOrio (born 1984) is an American composer and conductor. He is Professor of Music (Choral Conducting) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and serves as the conductor of NOTUS, the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, the fourth pe ...

serves as current director of the ensemble, only the fourth person to hold this position.

Performances

NOTUS offers an annual series of concerts at Indiana University and performs occasionally in outside concerts and festivals. Recent projects include the commission, performance and recording of

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

's ''Sun-Dogs'' (2006), for chorus a cappella; the ''Missa ad Consolationis Dominam Nostram'' (1994) by the Mexican composer Mario Lavista, and the premiere and recording of Juan Orrego-Salas's choral-orchestral cantata ''La ciudad celeste'' (2004). Other notable projects are the American, Midwest and/or university premieres of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

's oratorio ''El Niño'' (2001);

Ralph Shapey Ralph Shapey (12 March 1921 – 13 June 2002) was an American composer and conductor. Biography Shapey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for his work as a composition professor at the University of Chicago, where he taught ...

's oratorio ''Praise'';

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

's choral opera ''

Atmen gibt das Leben ''Atmen gibt das Leben'' (''Breathing Gives Life''), is a choral opera with orchestra by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1974 and expanded in 1976–77. It is Number 39 in the catalogue of the composer's works, and lasts about 50 minutes in pe ...

'' (1994),

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

's ''Tehillim'' and ''Desert Music''; ''Music/Theater Piece'' by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

;

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

's ''Passio'' and ''Miserere'', Gilles Swayne's ''Cry''; James MacMillan's ''Seven Last Words from the Cross''; and several world-premieres by Feliù Gasull, Aurelio de la Vega, and Jorge Liderman. The Contemporary Vocal Ensemble produced and performed the first university-based performance of

Osvaldo Golijov Osvaldo Noé Golijov (; born December 5, 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work. Biography Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family ...

's opera ''Ainadamar'' and the world-premiere of Gabriela Ortiz's video-opera ''¡Unicamente la verdad! (Only the Truth!).'' Since Dominick DiOrio arrived in 2012, NOTUS has performed an eclectic combination of works for voices by composers such as

Dominick Argento Dominick Argento (October 27, 1927 – February 20, 2019) was an American composer known for his lyric operatic and choral music. Among his best known pieces are the operas '' Postcard from Morocco'', '' Miss Havisham's Fire'', ''The Masque of An ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

, David Lang,

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

Melissa Dunphy Melissa Dunphy (born 1980) is an Australian-American composer of classical music. She is most notable for the ''Gonzales Cantata'', a 40-minute choral piece in Baroque style that sets the text of the parts of the dismissal of U.S. attorneys contr ...

Ēriks Ešenvalds Ēriks Ešenvalds (born January 26, 1977) is a Latvian composer. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Biography Ēriks Ešenvalds was born in Priekule, Latvia in 1977. He studie ...

Don Freund Don Freund (born 1947, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American composer, pianist, and Professor of Composition at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His over 100 performed works, include solo, chamber, and orchestral music, live pe ...

Ted Hearne Ted Hearne (born 1982) is an American composer, singer and conductor. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA. Biography Ted Hearne was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a member of the Chicago Children's Choir and graduate of W ...

Moses Hogan Moses George Hogan (March 13, 1957 – February 11, 2003) was an American composer and arranger of choral music. He was best known for his settings of spirituals. Hogan was a pianist, conductor, and arranger of international renown. His works ...

, Paul Mealor,

Per Nørgård Per Nørgård (; born 13 July 1932) is a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style has varied considerably throughout his career, his music has often included repeatedly evolving melodies—such as the infinity series—in the vein o ...

, Tawnie Olson,

Sven-David Sandström Sven-David Sandström (30 October 1942, in Motala – 10 June 2019) was a Swedish classical composer of operas, oratorios, ballets, and choral works, as well as orchestral works. Life and career Sandström studied art history and musicology at ...

Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer, violinist, and singer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices'' and the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporar ...

Veljo Tormis Veljo Tormis (7 August 1930 – 21 January 2017) was an Estonian composer, regarded as one of the great contemporary choral composers and one of the most important composers of the 20th century in Estonia.Daitz, Mimi. Ancient Song Recovered: The ...

, Dale Trumbore, Robert Vuichard, and Zachary Wadsworth.

Directors

Recordings

In September 2018, NOTUS released their first commercial album with

Innova Recordings Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minneso ...

, ''NOTUS: Of Radiance and Refraction'', which includes five world premiere recordings by Indiana University faculty composers. In December 2022, NOTUS released their second commercial album with Navona Records, ''What Is Ours: Music for an America in Progress'', which includes music by Carlos Cordero,

Reena Esmail Reena Esmail (born 11 February 1983) is an Indian-American music composer of Indian and Western classical music. Esmail has been commissioned to compose pieces for ensembles including Amherst College Choir and Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Consp ...

, Andrea Ramsey, Moira Smiley, Joel Thompson, Leigha Amick, John William Griffith II, and NOTUS director

Awards

In 2019, NOTUS was named the first-prize winner of The American Prize in Choral Performance in the college/university division under DiOrio's direction.

References

External links

NOTUS: IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble

Dominick DiOrio's Official Website
{{authority control Indiana University American choirs Musical groups established in 1980 University choirs 1980 establishments in Indiana