Mysterium

The TEXAS STATE MYSTERIUM FOR NEW MUSIC is a music ensemble founded in 1990 by Russell Riepe, Professor Emeritus of Music Composition Texas State University. Currently under the direction of Richard D. Hall, the group pays homage not only to the performance of celebrated contemporary composers, but to the presentation and promotion of new and often improvisational works in the sound-arts. Public concerts embrace a wide variety of styles and media including dance improvisations and live electro-acoustic pieces utilizing real-time digital sound processing with laptop computers and video projection. The group has performed at festivals/conferences sponsored by the College Music Society, Association for Technology in Music Instruction, the International Society for Improvised Music, MuTe Fest, Austin Classic Game Fest and the International Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema. As guests at the Hindemith Foundation, Blonay, Switzerland the Texas Mysterium for New Music Ensemble caught the attention of the European press while touring the continent:

“The power of the music connected with the public. Da capo.” —Ruhpoldinger Gemeindeanzeiger, Ruhpolding, Germany.

“Not only does oil bubble up from Texas, but also an astonishing lively music- -indeed, a ‘Mysterium.’” –Tiroler Tageszeitung, Innsbruck, Austria.

Recent major performances include: the California Arts Institute during the International Society of Improvised Music Festival, the Blanton Museum of Art’s SoundSpace series in Austin, TX, featured guest at Loyola University in New Orleans, LA, the joint College Music Society/ Association for Technology in Music Instruction Annual National Conferences in Santa Fe, NM, and Rochester, NY, the CASA Superhero Fun Run at the Circuit of Americas in Austin and the Austin Classic Game Fest with an attendance of over 15,000.