The annual Spring Festival of New Music showcases a range of genres.
Mary Martin, left, and Betsy Marshall
Presented by the UT Department of Music, the festival will feature free, public concerts at 7 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall. Listed by date, they are:
• Wednesday, April 3 — Faculty Chamber Music Recital, where winners of the competition for best student and amateur compositions for brass quintet will be announced.
• Thursday, April 4 — Student Chamber Music Recital.
• Friday, April 5 — Graduate student Christina Eck will perform new electronic music and be followed by blues artists Martin and Marshall.
Friends and fellow blues musicians Mary Martin and Betsy Marshall frequently perform together when they are not playing their regular gigs.
While living in Austin, Texas, Marshall became the backup guitarist for Mance Lipscomb and also performed as a solo artist on Austin stages. In Cleveland, the acoustic guitarist and pianist played at the Smiling Dog Saloon, warming up for some of the finest jazz and blues players. She later lived in Boston, where she did solo and studio work along the East Coast.
Martin tours often with her band, The Ninth Street Tuna Band, spending much of her time between Chicago and Cleveland. The guitarist worked closely with many blues legends, including Koko Taylor and Hubert Sumlin.
Read more about the two at martinandmarshall.com.
