'EXCLUSIVE: MATA Festival Q&A Spotlight with Ann Cleare

Founded by Philip Glass, Lisa Bielawa and Eleonor Sandresky in 1996, the MATA Young Composers Now! Festival strives to present emerging compositional talent sourced from across the globe. The 2015 edition at The Kitchen continues in that very tradition, featuring quite the varied array of exemplary young voices. So, with a nod to the spirit of MATA, itself, Classicalite has chosen three composers to speak with about that career-defining opportunity: a MATA commission. Our final entry is Ireland's own Ann Cleare, whose MATA-commissioned piece Eöl closed out the festival Saturday night, as part of the "Incomparable Contrivances" program performed by the Talea Ensemble. Cleare's percussion-heavy mini-concerto expertly explored the resonant qualities of handmade sculpture and proved to be one of this year's highlights.