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"...smooth-running, well-organized, sonically and musically superior event, put on by some truly lovely people."

Download the 2011 Festival Program Booklet

NEW: EMM 2011 Announced

Kansas City Kansas Community College and Lewis University are pleased to announce the dates for the 2011 Electronic Music Midwest Festival. EMM will be held September 29-October 1, 2011 at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Acclaimed saxophonist, Elizabeth Bunt has been chosen as guest artist for the 2011 EMM Festival.

Over 65 composers and artists have been invited to participate at EMM 2011. Check out the Concert Schedule for more information.

2011 EMM Guest Artist: Elizabeth Bunt

Elizabeth Bunt’s performances have been described as “captivating” and “blazing”. As a performer of new music, she has collaborated with composers such as Chris Biggs and Carl Schimmel and appeared at numerous festivals around the U.S., including Electronic Music Midwest (EMM), Kansas City; Spark Festival for Electronic Music and Art, Minneapolis, MN; Imagine II, Memphis, TN; Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS); and North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) regional and national conferences. Elizabeth has performed in Mexico, Germany, and across the United States.

Elizabeth Bunt produced and performed in the North American premiere of Linker Augentanz (Left-Eye Dance) for saxophones, percussion, and synthesizer by the twentieth-century pioneering composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Her interest in Stockhausen’s music inspired her doctoral thesis The Saxophone Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen. The summer of 2010 she attended the Stockhausen Courses and Concerts in his hometown of Kürten, Germany, where she studied with his longtime collaborators; flutist Kathinka Pasveer, clarinetist Suzanne Stephens, and sound projectionist Bryan Wolf; and became an informal student of eminent American Stockhausen scholar Jerome Kohl.

Elizabeth Bunt earned her doctorate in saxophone performance with a minor in music theory from the University of Arizona, Tucson, where she studied with Drs. Kelland Thomas, Brian Sacawa, Timothy McAllister, Craig Walsh, and Pamela Decker. She holds a master’s degree in saxophone performance from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree in saxophone performance and music education from the University of Northern Iowa. Elizabeth resides in Tucson, AZ, where she teaches saxophone and music theory. She is active as a visiting performer and lecturer. Visit her at her website elizabethbunt.com.

About EMM

Electronic Music Midwest is dedicated to programming of a wide variety of electroacoustic music and providing the highest quality performance of electronic media. This annual festival consists of approximately nine short concerts (about 1 hour in length) over the course of a weekend in Autumn. Our goal is to bring together vibrant and interesting artists of all forms, give them a vehicle for their expressions, and a place for them to share ideas with others.

EMM is the result of a consortium formed in 2002 between Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC), Lewis University, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Officially formed in 2002, this festival was founded by Mike McFerron, Connie Mayfield, and Paul Rudy in 2000 when it was presented at KCKCC under the name "Kansas City Electronic Music Festival." In 2001, the festival continued at Lewis University under the title, "Electronic Music at Lewis - 2001."

EMM has always featured an 8-speaker surround diffusion system under the guidance of Ian Corbett. The core of the system are eight Mackie 1521 bi-amped speakers, an EAW/QSC subwoofer system, and a Soundcraft MH3, 32+4 Channel mixer (named "Emily"). Due to Ian's expertise, many visiting composers comment that EMM is one of smoothest run festivals they have ever attended.

Since its beginning, EMM has programmed over 500 new electroacoustic compositions. Composers have traveled from around the world to graciously share their music with audiences in the Midwest. However, EMM is about more than just playing new music. We strive to create an environment conducive to building community interaction. Most concerts are approximately one hour long, and composers have plenty of time to "talk shop" with each other as well as interact socially with students and audience members.