Ian Dicke & Matt McBane: Patterns and Drones

About

The UCR Department of Music presents:

Ian Dicke & Matt McBane: Patterns and Drones

Composers and performers Matt McBane and Ian Dicke present a new duo project exploring the intersection of ambient music, improvisation, and experimental electronics. Working with analog synthesizers, live electronics, and violin, the duo builds expansive sound worlds through improvisation shaped by preconceived forms, including passacaglias, drones, and other evolving structures.

DATE

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026

TIME

6 p.m.

LOCATION

UCR ARTS / ArtsWalk

3834 Main St.

Riverside, CA 92501

ADMISSION

Free and open to the public

PARKING

See these various city lots surrounding UCR ARTS.

PERFORMER BIOS

Ian Dicke is a composer, musician, and software designer whose work explores the intersection of technology and social-political culture. Praised for his “refreshingly well-structured” and “uncommonly memorable” music, his works have been commissioned and performed worldwide by ensembles and artists including the New World Symphony, Alarm Will Sound, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Paul Dresher Ensemble, pianist Vicky Chow, the MATA Festival, and ISCM World New Music Days. He has received grants and awards from the Fulbright Program, Hellman Foundation, Barlow Endowment, and New Music USA, among others. Dicke is Professor of Composition at the University of California, Riverside, and founder of Novel Music.

Matt McBane is a composer, electronic musician and violinist whose music draws on classical minimalism and studio production techniques; analog synthesizers and fiddle music; orchestras and found percussion; complex patterns and emotional nuance. His 2025 solo album, ‘Buoy’ (Gradient Music) was called a “a stunning blend of neoclassical instrumentation and minimalist modular synth music” by Bandcamp, and his 2022 album-length composition for Sandbox Percussion, ‘Bathymetry’ was called an album of the year by the band Wilco.