2026 Guest Performer: Mary Hubbell

Described in the New York Times as "a soprano with a sweetly focused tone," Mary Hubbell has appeared with a variety of ensembles in both Europe and America. In the Netherlands, she was a soloist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of David Robertson in a performance of Louis Andriessen's Tao and with the Orkestvereniging Musica in Nielsen's Symphony No. 3, under the direction of Hans Leenders. She has appeared as a soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Dr. Hubbell maintains a strong commitment to new music and has appeared with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Composer's Voice Series, counter)induction, and the New Music Festival at UMass-Amherst. While studying in the Netherlands, she participated in the Gaudeamus Festival in Amsterdam and the Young Composer's Festival in Apeldoorn, where she worked with Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, and Anna Meredith. In 2014 she performed the role of Katherine Wright in Jocelyn Hagen's opera Test Pilot in Minnesota. She gave the New York premiere of Gregory W. Brown's cantata Caliban in After-Life at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2017.

An accomplished recitalist, Dr. Hubbell has performed art song and chamber music in a variety of venues, including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, and the Norwottuck Chamber Concerts in South Hadley, MA. Her album of modern art song featuring new music by Sarah Rimkus, Alice Jones, Ronald Perera, and Gregory W. Brown is scheduled to be released by PARMA recordings in 2026.

Dr. Hubbell earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, as well as a First Phase Degree in Classical Singing from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and a Masters Degree in Voice from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has served on the faculty of Smith College, Westfield State University, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Hubbell is based in western Massachusetts; and when not teaching or performing, she can be found practicing yoga or playing with her Cavachon, Fenrir.

About EMM

Electronic Music Midwest [EMM] 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 originally featured an 8-channel surround diffusion system, and now features a 12-channel immersive system, under the guidance of Ian Corbett. The core of the system are Yamaha powered speakers and subwoofers, and a Digico S21 mixer (named "EMMilia"). Many visiting composers comment that EMM is one of the best sounding and smoothest run festivals they have ever attended.

Since its beginning, EMM has programmed approximately 1500 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.