Speaking of the often uncharitable popular response to avant-garde orchestral music, Edgar Varese defiantly said: “The modern day composer refuses to die.” Experimental rock musician, guitarist, and all-around oddball Frank Zappa lived those words like a sacred creed, bravely turning out scores of ear-opening modernist works despite general incomprehension by fans who only knew him through novelty hits like “Valley Girl.” The late bandleader would surely be pleased, then, by the presence of both “Igor’s Boogie” and “The Black Page” in “Rock OTil You Drop,” a concert by Performing Arts Chicago’s new music ensemble Fulcrum Point. Zappa’s works share the bill with pieces by Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter and others. The performance starts at 8 p.m. Friday at The School of The Art Institute Ballroom, 112 S. Michigan Ave. $20. Call 773-722-5463.
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