The festival was founded in 2009 by Glenn Hackbarth, emeritus faculty member of the School of Music, and Simone Mancuso, faculty associate of percussion.

The goal of the festival is to promote the view that music is a living tradition - an exciting and vibrant part of modern life - and to pass on that belief by combining performances with informative lectures and discussions for ASU’s students, the local art and music communities and the general public. Offering the highest-quality performances of experimental music in the Phoenix metropolitan area, the annual Prisms Festival is comprised of themed concerts and showcases great music that is rarely performed, along with pre-concert talks, round tables, film screenings and workshops. Renowned composer and conductor Pierre Boulez is one of the most important living musical avant-gardists. He is the founder of IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique), housed at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which is the most-cutting edge, non-profit research center in the field of music technology and media arts. In honor of his 90th birthday, the School of Music celebrates Pierre Boulez’s life and innovations in the music world with “Boulez Legacies,” this year’s ASU School of Music Prisms Contemporary Music Festival.Ī renowned composer and conductor, Boulez is one of the most important living musical avant-gardists.

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