Stephen Drury’s explorations of the music of the last 100 years, particularly that of Charles Ives and John Cage, are rewarding and inspiring for both novices and those with more experience listening to new music.  With a great deal of the music of these American masters (and much more) at his fingertips, he both traces the development of these composers in a clear and personal way and digs to find the human and profoundly musical spirit of their revolutionary musical creations.

Stephen Drury introduces the broader arc of new music of the last century to general audiences, demonstrating the wide range of special techniques needed by today’s pianists (prepared piano, playing inside the piano, reading unconventional notation), and leading in-depth discussions of music he has either premiered (John Zorn’s Carny and Fay Ce Que Vouldras, Lee Hyla’s Basic Training) or worked closely on with the composer (John Cage, Gyorgy Ligeti, Christian Wolff, Frederic Rzewski).  He also has extensive experience working with instrumental ensembles in contemporary music (he leads both the Callithumpian Consort and [nec]shivaree, the attack wings of New England Conservatory’s new music program), and welcomes the opportunity to work with student ensembles of any makeup.