The Lafayette College Contemporary Music Ensemble is comprised of some of the most experienced and accomplished instrumental performers at Lafayette College. Membership in the ensemble is by invitation of the director. The core instrumentation of the ensemble is Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Violin, Violoncello, Double Bass, Piano, and Percussion. Other instruments and players are added as required by the repertoire.
LCCME performs music by 20th- and 21st-century composers: established masters, emerging artists, and students. Now in its ninth season, LCCME has premiered 24 new pieces, all of which were composed specifically for–or by–the ensemble. LCCME has also performed music by master composers Arvo Pärt, John Cage, George Crumb, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Terry Riley, and others .It performs one-two concerts each academic year.
LCCME regularly incorporates electronics, improvisation, video, lighting, and theatrical elements into its programs. Recent projects include a micro opera on a student libretto, a live performance of a sound track to the silent film Nosferatu, and many premieres of student compositions.
