First, a quick introduction and thank you are in order. My name is James Holt and I am a composer living in New York. I started a podcast where I interview musicians specializing in performing contemporary music, and I ask them about their experiences with composers. Simple. I want to thank Sequenza21 for inviting me to come on the site every couple weeks as a recurring feature to tell you about the new episodes. This week is my interview with Evan Ziporyn…I’m sure that he’s someone who needs no introduction to most of the s21 audience, but just in case:
Read moreAccording to the FB post of composer Lanie Fefferman, Patelson’s Music Store in NYC is closing as of 4/18. I’m assuming this is not a faux rumor, and if I’m creating a false run on Patelson’s inventory, I apologize. Anyway, many of us grew up in a time where including a trip to Patelson’s, even if just for browsing scores, was de rigeur anytime we were in Manhattan. I’d go there all the time from NJ, and back in the 70’s and early 80’s, it wasn’t too expensive to purchase a score or two, some violin music, some notation paper
Read moreKeys to the Future will present an evening of Minimalist solo and duo piano works on Sunday, April 5 7:30PM, at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, between Thompson and Sullivan). Pianists Stephen Gosling, Blair McMillen, Lisa Moore, Molly Morkoski and Joseph Rubenstein will present a wide range of Minimalist solo and duo works, including Steve Reich’s seminal Piano Phase (1967) and John Adams’ Hallelujah Junction (1996). As the date approached, I thought I’d write a few words about a couple of the pieces on this concert. I will open the concert with 6 selected works of Howard Skempton. Skempton has
Read moreAs Anthony Cornicello reported on Saturday, William Paterson University of New Jersey is letting Peter Jarvis go from their faculty. Sequenza 21 last reported about Jarvis just weeks ago, announcing a concert on which he was premiering pieces by several faculty composers at TCNJ, another small institution in the New Jersey state college system. This type of activity, supporting the work of area composers through dedicated, well-prepared performances, is just one of the many ways Pete has contributed to the musical vitality of a number of institutions of higher education in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. He’s also commissioned
Read more[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irPSvEkQl8Q[/youtube] Obituary
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Chamber Music, Classical Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Music Events, New York, Performers, Piano
Interpretations continues its twentieth season of provocative programming in New York City. Founded and curated by baritone Thomas Buckner in 1989, Interpretations focuses on the relationship between contemporary composers from both jazz and classical backgrounds and their interpreters, whether the composers themselves or performers who specialize in new music. To celebrate, Jerry Bowles has invited the artists involved in this season’s concerts to blog about their Interpretations experiences. On 9 April 2009, pianist Teresa McCollough presents a recital of music by Alvin Singleton, Sam Pluta, Gabriela Lena Frank, John Adams, and George Crumb. In Tribute I have been asked to
Read moreElizabeth Ferguson is a coordinator for this year’s Make Music New York event, and has a little offer for NYC-based composers/musicans. I’ll let her take it from there: Make Music New York is a unique, free outdoor celebration performed by anyone who wants to play, and enjoyed by everyone who wants to listen. Last year, some 875 performances took place on streets, sidewalks and parks in all 5 boroughs on the first day of summer, June 21st. MMNY is now accepting submissions for this year’s “musical handshake“: a single melody serving as the secret lingua franca for musicians on Sunday
Read morePoul Ruders and David Starobin Thursday, March 26, 2009, at 7:30 pm Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue at 38th Street Scandinavia House and Bridge Records are hosting a birthday concert for Poul Ruders tomorrow night. The program features the world premiere of Pages I-X (2008) performed by guitarist David Starobin, and the US premiere of Serenade on the Shores of the Cosmic Ocean, performed by avant-accordionist Mikko Luoma and the iO String Quartet. Also on the program are: Regime (1984), Juilliard Percussion Ensemble Star Prelude and Love Fugue (1990), Vassily Primakov, piano New Rochelle Suite (2005), David Starobin, guitar; Daniel
Read moreI went to several concerts in early March; I’ve been lazy about reviewing them but they deserve mention. So here are three quick reviews in one: March 1, 2009: Donald Berman at Le Poisson Rouge Berman (at left) is a terrific pianist, and this was overall a very solid program. There were several works by Mark Wingate, all of which were good–they sometimes got a bit generic, but much of the time were fresh and interesting. Wingate’s tape piece Welcome to Medicare is brilliant. He took recordings of Medicare’s already fairly byzantine automated telephone system, then re-cut and processed it to make a sort of bureaucratic
Read moreMost S21 regulars know about these already, but for all our newer visitors I thought I’d mention how most of us keep on top of what’s what, day-to-day, in the classical and “non-pop” world. The secret is to visit a few of the aggregation sites intrepid volunteers have set up, that comb the news sites and blogs for current tidbits of interest. It’s really pretty easy on your part, requiring just three quick clicks (besides our humble and happy abode, of course!) once a day (or twice or thrice, even better): NetNewMusic Reblog — Jeff Harrington’s site probably has the
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