Since 1995 Chicago’s Percussion Scholarship Program has been shaping all kinds of mallet-whackers from grades 3 through 12. The program, under the direction of CSO percussionist Patricia Dash and Douglas Waddell, percussionist with Lyric Opera of Chicago, with amazing direction and arrangements by Cliff Colnot, has been growing something phenomenal. The kids’ musicianship and commitment seems to me every bit as stunning as Dudamel’s Venezuelan El Sistema stuff everybody’s been going gaga over. Don’t believe me? Just take in our young crew’s monster ride through Colnot’s arrangement of Dimitri Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32W2IBkVqUk[/youtube] Incredible. The group’s big spring concert is
Read moreWorks & Process celebrates Donald Hall this weekend. The 14th U.S. Poet Laureate will read and discuss his work. New musical settings of Hall’s poetry by Drew Baker, George Lewis, David Del Tredici, Joshua Schmidt and Charles Wuorinen are performed for the first time. Performers include a host of New York’s finest: Mary Nessinger, Tom Meglioranza, Lauren Flanigan, Judith Bettina, James Goldsworthy, Moran Katze, Fred Sherry, Peter Kolkay, David Del Tredici, and Lois Martin. Musical Premieres – settings of Donald Hall (Works & Process Commission) DREW BAKER: THE SEA (mezzo-soprano & cello) DAVID DEL TREDICI: THE POEM &THE MASTER (soprano &
Read moreOr at least it sure seems that way, when you’re dealing with the Del Sol String Quartet. San Francisco’s longtime champions of new music have a drool-worthy concert on tap for this Friday, May 8th, entitled Mestizaje. Of the four contemporary quartets scheduled for the evening, three are new pieces written for Del Sol, and two are world premieres. Drool away: Tania León (b. 1943, Cuba): [String Quartet No. 1] (2009, world premiere) Paul Yeon Lee (b. 1970, Korea): “Ari, Ari… ari” (2009, world premiere) Philip Glass (b. 1937): String Quartet No. 5 (1991) Linda Catlin Smith (b. 1957, USA): “Gondola” (String Quartet
Read moreYou can only keep a secret society secret so long, and with our old S21 pal Darcy James Argue‘s new CD release that time has come. Infernal Machines is out now on New Amsterdam Records, and to celebrate the kick-off DJA’s Secret Society will be performing the music from the CD Friday at Galapagos Arts Space (16 Main St. @ Water St., Brooklyn / Door – 9pm, Show – 10pm, $10). Troy Collins advance-reviewed it at AllAboutJazz.com: Drawing inspiration from classic stalwarts like the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra as well as pioneering post-rock bands like Explosions In The Sky and
Read moreAs stated in Oberlin College’s ‘Oberwiki’: “…to enter you needed to take a sugar pill with a dot on it…and you rolled the dice, cause 1/3 of the dots were LSD…” Yep, that’s our (currently) eldest composition teacher speaking of Oberlin’s glory days when he was but a wee lad out of grad school. Randy Coleman is many things, best summed up as “a real post-modern feminist old-time patriarch from Virginia.” He is most feared for his red pen marks on freshperson’s melody assignments and for the fabled “piece-per-day” routine with private students. His music contains much variety, with each
Read moreTHE AUSTRIAN CULTURAL FORUM NEW YORK CONCERTS ENSEMBLE ON_LINE MONDAY MAY 4, 7:30 PM Austrian Cultural Forum NY, 11 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022 Also touring to Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago, this program is curated by Karlheinz Essl and Reinhard Fuchs, in cooperation with Soundfield and the Slought Foundation. PROGRAM Gene Coleman | Subaugusta (2009) for bassflute, bassclarinet, violin, cello and piano Karlheinz Essl | Sequitur II (2008/09) for bass clarinet and live-electronics Simeon Pironkoff | Spiel(t)räume (2006) for piano solo Gerard Grisey | Talea (1985/86) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano Leah Muir | i frammenti di desiderio,
Read moreAlmost everyone in and around the New Amsterdam Records scene has been written up by us. Many are good and long-time visitors, contributors and pals of S21. But screw that; the real reason we follow this crew is that they’re an awesome bunch of composers and performers, with a fresh, open and energetic approach to this whole art-music thingy-ma-jingy. They’re proving it again this May, with… Aww, just let the poster tell you: Makes a nice prelude to the BOAC “oldsters” Marathon, dontcha think?
Read moreChristopher O’Riley performs his final recital in the 2+2=5 Series tomorrow night at Miller Theatre. Each of the programs has featured a pairing of a classical composer and O’Riley’s transcriptions of songs by a pop musician. Thus far, the recitals have featured Shostakovich / Radiohead & Debussy / Nick Drake. Tomorrow’s program pairs Schumann and Elliott Smith. Yesterday, O’Riley released a digital single on iTunes of his interpretation of Kurt Cobain’s Heart Shaped Box. It’s featured on the iTunes’ “Rock” page! On May 5th the digital single will be widely released to other music download sites. A Heart Shaped Box ring tone can
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Chamber Music, Classical Music, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, File Under?, New York, Uncategorized
The Ditmas Park Concert Series is up and running for its second season. Curated by Jody Redhage, there will be five concerts in the series. Friday, May 1 / 9:00 pm Erica von Kleist Trio, 10:30 pm John Ellis Trio / Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop, 1118 Cortelyou Rd. at Westminster Rd., Brooklyn, NY (Q to Cortelyou Rd) $10 Sunday, May 10 / 4:00 pm Janus / Temple Beth Emeth, 83 Marlborough Rd. at Church Ave., Brooklyn, NY (B/Q to Church Ave) $10 Saturday, May 23 / 9:00 pm Dan Pratt Organ Quartet / Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop, 1118 Cortelyou
Read moreThe Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble, founded and directed by Petr Kotik, joins forces with the acclaimed FLUX Quartet and the international chamber orchestra Ostravská banda for an evening of adventurous music: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 8:00 PM, Alice Tully Hall, Starr Theater. Tickets are a steal, only $15 for a real wealth of music. Highlights include three new pieces by self-taught composers: the premiere of Christian Wolff’s Trio for Robert Ashley (2009), performed by members of the Flux Quartet; the American premiere of Sicilian-born composer Salvatore Sciarrino’s Vento D’ombra (2005), performed by The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble; and
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