May 16-17: Emerald City Music Presents: Evolution of Flute – Featuring Five Exceptional Flutists in Seattle and Olympia
May 16-17: Emerald City Music Presents: Evolution of Flute – Featuring Five Exceptional Flutists in Seattle and Olympia
Emerald City Music Season 09
Evolution of Flute
Friday, May 16, 2025 at 8:00pm
415 Westlake | 415 Westlake Avenue N | Seattle, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldEvolutionFluteSeattleMay2025
Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 7:30pm
Capital High School Performing Arts Center | 2707 Conger Ave NW | Olympia, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldEvolutionFluteOlympiaMay2025
“Emerald City Music [is] known for its innovative approaches to presenting classical music” – Cascade PBS
Seattle & Olympia WA – On Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17, 2025, Emerald City Music (ECM), along with founding Artistic Director Kristin Lee and newly appointed Executive Director Sean Campbell, prepare for the finale of ECM’s Season 09 with the return of Emerald’s beloved Evolution series, this time delving into the fascinating world of the flute.
Did you know that the flute is among the earliest known identifiable musical instruments, with origins dating back more than 53,000 years? Over millennia, this remarkable instrument has evolved through numerous stages to become the flute of today and is one of the most celebrated woodwind instruments. This extraordinary concert will feature five exceptional flutists –– Emi Ferguson, Anthony Trionfo, Christina Hughes, Joshua Romatowski, and program co-curator Sungwoo Steven Kim –– each showcasing the instrument's remarkable evolution from its ancient origins to its contemporary brilliance. Join Emerald City Music for a one-of-a-kind exploration of the flute’s lineage and the chance to witness a variety of flutes and their diverse repertoires.
Flutist and program-co-curator Sungwoo Kim shares these thoughts ahead of May's season finale:
“Experiencing this program is like walking through a museum, but with a hands-on journey through the flute’s evolution. Each soloist will paint a vivid soundscape: C.P.E. Bach’s Solo Flute in A highlights the sweet timbre and effortless agility of the traverso, while Varèse’s Density 21.5 and Berio’s Sequenza push the flute to its limits, expanding its sonic palette through resistance and advanced performance techniques. Turning to Debussy, the flute merges with literature and transforms into the mythological character Syrinx. And let’s not overlook the piccolo—far from just a staple of Sousa marches, it is a truly charming instrument in its own right.
I am especially looking forward to performing the ensemble pieces. It is rare to hear five solo flute works in a single concert, but even more extraordinary to share the stage with four fellow professional flutists. This concert will bring together both longtime friends and new collaborators, creating an extraordinary musical exchange and the unique opportunity to hear a truly remarkable flute ensemble in action.”
The program will include performances of:
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Sonata In A Minor For Solo Flute (1747)
performed by Joshua Romatowski on traverso flute
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach’s Duet No. 1 In E Minor (1740-1745)
performed by Christina Hughes and Sungwoo Kim on piccolo
Luciano Berio’s Sequenza (1958)
performed by Anthony Trionfo on flute
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Duo For Two Flutes In G Major (1792)
performed by Joshua Romatowski on Classical 8-Hole flute and Emi Ferguson on Classical 8-Hole flute
Georg Philipp Telemann’s Fantasie No. 5 in C Major (1732-33)
performed by Christina Hughes on piccolo
Friedrich Kuhlau’s Flute Trio in G minor (1814)
performed by Anthony Trionfo, Christina Hughes and Sungwoo Kim on flute
Claude Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute (1913)
performed by Emi Ferguson on flute
Edgard Varèse’s Density 21.5 for solo flute (1936, rev. 1946)
performed by Sungwoo Kim on flute
Eugene Bozza’s Jour d'été à la Montagne for flute quartet (1955)
performed by Emi Ferguson, Anthony Trionfo, Christina Hughes, and Sungwoo Kim on flute.
Audiences can look forward to the final concerts of Season 09’s Global Resonance on Friday, May 16, 2025 at 8pm in Seattle at 415 Westlake (415 Westlake Avenue N), and Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 7:30pm in Olympia at Capital High School Performing Arts Center (2707 Conger Ave NW). During the concert at 415 Westlake, listeners can enjoy ECM’s flagship “casual experience,” which combines vibrant classical performance with an open bar, and a “wander-around” concert setting with no stage dividing the audience from the musicians.
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours seven productions annually, with each tour visiting venues including Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), Capital High School Performing Arts Center (2707 Conger Ave NW), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival, and an annual concert in New York City.
About the Artists: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season-artists
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/team/kristin-lee
About ECM: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/about
Follow ECM on Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emeraldcitymusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emeraldcitymusic
Announcing the 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival - 29 Concerts from July 4-22 at 11 Iconic Venues
Announcing the 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival - 29 Concerts from July 4-22 at 11 Iconic Venues
Press photos available here.
Announcing the 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival
29 Concerts from July 4-22, 2025
Performances by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Stefan Jackiw, Jessica Vosk, Leila Josefowicz, Karen Slack, Inon Barnaton, Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, Sara Davis Buechner, Third Coast Percussion, The Westerlies, and Many More
World Premiere of Cris Derksen’s First Light for the Galvin Cello Quartet
Commissioned by Newport Classical
Soprano Karen Slack’s African Queens Project
Co-Commissioned by Newport Classical
US Premiere of David Lang’s daisy by Attacca Quartet
Co-Commissioned by Newport Classical
Opera Night at The Breakers: An American Tapestry featuring
Music by Gershwin, Previn, Copland, Barber, and More
Historic Venues include The Breakers, The Elms, Blithewold Mansion,
Castle Hill Inn, Rosecliff Terrace, Colony House, and More
Tickets on Sale April 9: www.newportclassical.org/music-festival
Newport, RI – From July 4-22, 2025, the Newport Classical Music Festival offers an unparalleled experience, combining 29 intimate concerts featuring over 100 artists with the grandeur and opulence of 11 iconic venues – including the stunning interiors of The Breakers, The Elms, Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport Art Museum, and Colony House, as well as picturesque outdoor settings at Rosecliff Terrace, Norman Bird Sanctuary, Blithewold Mansion, and Castle Hill Inn – making the City by the Sea an ultimate summer destination for live music. For 56 years, Newport Classical has united artists and audiences to experience the joy of music and the connections it inspires, offering concertgoers the opportunity to discover new composers or experience timeless works offered from a fresh perspective. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on April 9.
Highlights of the 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival include Opening Night featuring Two Pianos with Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung; two evenings with Broadway star Jessica Vosk, best known for her lead role in Wicked; performances by extraordinary pianists Inon Barnatan, Sara Davis Buechner, and Wynona Wang; celebrated soprano Karen Slack's African Queens project co-commissioned by Newport Classical with a national consortium; the US premiere of a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang co-commissioned by Newport Classical with an international consortium; performances by world-class artists including violinist Leila Josefowicz, The Westerlies, Third Coast Percussion, harpist Emily Levin, guitarists Ziggy and Miles, Palaver Strings, Attacca Quartet, Twelfth Night, The Gesualdo Six, Tallā Rouge, Empire Wild, and more; Opera Night: An American Tapestry; and Closing Night with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and violinist Stefan Jackiw.
For the fifth year in a row, Newport Classical has commissioned a brand new work to be premiered at the Festival. This year's Composer-in-Residence is Cris Derksen, a Juno-nominated Indigenous cellist and composer, who is writing a new work for the Galvin Cello Quartet. Derksen researched the history of Aquidneck Island, and her new piece First Light focuses on The Wampanoag, a Native American People known as the “People of the First Light,” as well as the story of John Anthony, an enslaved boy, as reimagined by the composer. Cris Derksen is internationally renowned for her genre-defying music that bridges the traditional and contemporary. Her work intricately weaves together her classical training and Indigenous heritage with modern electronic elements.
Other highlights of the 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival include the beloved Sunrise Concerts at 5:15am; a concert inspired by nature at Norman Bird Sanctuary; a free Fourth of July concert at King Park; and this year’s young professional Newport Classical Festival Artists in seven performances and several free community events throughout the Festival.
Executive Director Gillian Fox says, “We can all agree that this festival is so much more than three weeks of concerts. It’s an unforgettable celebration of artistry, community, and the thrill of live performance, set against the one-of-a-kind backdrop of Newport’s iconic venues. This summer’s array of programs captures the expansive range of artistic expression within classical music. We can’t wait to welcome you to the 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival.”
Now in its fourth year, Newport Classical’s Festival Artists Residency Program brings together five professional musicians at the early stages of their careers for an intense period of rehearsal and music-making during the Festival. This diverse group of emerging talents live, work, and play together, becoming engaged members of the community during their extended time in Newport. Each of these exceptionally gifted musicians are selected for their experience working in fast-paced chamber music settings and comfort tackling a wide range of repertoire. This summer, Newport Classical welcomes Risa Hokamura (violin); Nathan Meltzer (violin); Mira Williams (viola), Alexander Hersh (cello), and Wynona Wang (piano).
2025 Newport Classical Music Festival Concerts:
The 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival kicks off on Friday, July 4 at 8pm with a free, outdoor Fourth of July Patriotic Pops concert preceding the fireworks at King Park featuring Fenway Brass & Percussion, one of Boston’s most esteemed professional brass ensembles, in a joyous program celebrating America's birthday. This family-friendly concert, with views of the Pell Bridge, is part of the 2025 BankNewport Community Concerts Series.
Newport Classical Music Festival’s Opening Night concert on Saturday, July 5 at 8pm at The Breakers features Two Pianos with Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung. Partners on and off the stage, Bax and Chung are one of the most appealing and impressive piano duos of our time. Together they present a program of abundant artistic chemistry, passion, and stunning virtuosity in music by Busoni, Poulenc, Schubert, Debussy, and Piazzolla, showcasing the duo’s seamless synchronicity and musical artistry in the stunning setting of The Breakers.
On Sunday, July 6 at 8pm, one of the most beloved evenings of the Festival returns. This year, Opera Night: An American Tapestry will showcase a captivating selection of arias, duets, and ensemble numbers from American English operas including Porgy and Bess, Susannah, Moby Dick, A Streetcar Named Desire, and more. Narrated by acclaimed pianist Charlie Kim, this journey through operatic classics features performances by Sarah Tucker, soprano; Melissa Joseph, soprano; Renée Rapier, mezzo-soprano; Dane Suarez, tenor; and Michael Colman, bass. Complete with a red-carpet photo experience, Opera Night promises a dazzling evening of timeless music and storytelling in a setting as beautiful as the performances.
On Monday, July 7 at 4pm, the Festival Artists present an evocative concert exploring the love triangle between Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Clara Schumann – one of classical music's most complex relationships – in Musical Love Triangle: Brahms and the Schumanns. Though their love could not be revealed during Robert's life, Johannes and Clara’s bond remained steadfast even after his passing. The music of Brahms and the Schumanns offers a window into their emotional world, brought to life in an intimate concert at the Newport Art Museum. Audience members can arrive early to explore the Museum’s inspiring exhibits for a truly enriching experience.
New York-based brass quartet The Westerlies, hailed by The New York Times as “an arty quartet…mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk” will present a memorable morning concert at Blithewold Mansion on Tuesday, July 8 at 11am. Drawing from American shape-note music – a tradition designed to make singing more accessible – the ensemble presents kaleidoscopic arrangements of traditional hymns alongside new compositions. With concert hall precision and folklike approachability, The Westerlies reimagines the American musical landscape, inviting audiences on a trailblazing journey through past and present in music by Caroline Shaw, Westerlies members Chloe Rowlands and Andy Clausen, arrangements by Sam Amidon and Nico Muhly, and more.
On Tuesday, July 8 at 7:30pm, audiences can enjoy an elevated concert experience at the picturesque Castle Hill Inn. Acclaimed for her musical command, cosmopolitan artistry, and visionary independence, Sara Davis Buechner is a beloved Festival favorite and one of the most distinctive concert pianists of our time. Lauded for her “intelligence, integrity, and all-encompassing technical prowess” (New York Times), Japan’s InTune magazine sums it up perfectly: “Buechner has no superior.” At Castle Hill Inn, she performs a jazz-inspired program with music by John Alden Carpenter, Vernon Duke, Dana Suesse, Ravel, and Poulenc. The concert includes complimentary desserts and coffee during intermission, set against the stunning backdrop of a Newport summer sunset on the water.
The Festival Artists offer a captivating morning of Piano Quartets on Wednesday, July 9 at 11am, set within the elegant French design of The Elms Ballroom. This program celebrates three monumental composers of the Classical and Romantic eras, tracing the evolution of the piano quartet through their works. With intricate musical architecture and dialogue between piano and strings, the concert showcases the genius of Mozart, Friedrich Kiel, and Brahms.
On Wednesday, July 9 at 8pm, the dynamic ensemble Twelfth Night brings its signature blend of historical performance and dynamic energy to The Breakers. Led by virtuoso violinist Rachell Ellen Wong and harpsichordist David Belkovski, Twelfth Night believes that art thrives as a meeting place of the past, present, and future. Their program of Handel, Vivaldi, Teleman, and more will transport audiences through time, fusing the old with the new in a way only this ensemble can do. Inspired by Shakespeare’s play of the same name, the ensemble strives to invoke a spirit of boundless revelry, celebration, and community in their programming.
The extraordinary pianist Wynona Yinuo Wang presents a morning recital at The Elms on Thursday, July 10 at 11am. Winner of the First Prize at the 2018 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Wynona Wang is one of Newport Classical’s 2025 Festival Artists and has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House, as well as with renowned orchestras around the world. Her performance at The Elms combines music by Scarlatti, Schubert, and Rachmaninoff with new works by composer Zhang Zhao, offering the perfect blend of Wang’s artistry.
On Thursday, July 10 at 8pm at The Breakers, Third Coast Percussion marks 20 years of genre-defying, award-winning music. Third Coast’s program features selections from five albums with four GRAMMY® nominations and one GRAMMY® Award, along with exciting new works commissioned for the ensemble’s 20th anniversary, including music by Clarice Assad, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jlin, Jessie Montgomery, and Tigran Hamasyan. Join Third Coast for a night that pushes the boundaries of percussion and showcases the innovative spirit of one of contemporary music’s most celebrated ensembles. Set against the stunning backdrop of The Breakers mansion, this performance offers a unique fusion of genres, history, and sound.
On Friday, July 11 at 5:15am audiences can start their day with a stunning, panoramic sunrise over Newport’s iconic Cliff Walk and the Atlantic Ocean as the Festival Artists present a meditative and uplifting journey in this Sunrise Meditations concert. Set on the terrace of Rosecliff, with its breathtaking views and serene atmosphere, this year’s Sunrise Meditations concert offers a unique opportunity to enjoy music in a peaceful, outdoor setting. The program features a beautiful selection of works, including Telemann’s Fantasia No. 7 for solo viola, Mozart’s Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik, Beethoven’s String Trio in G Major, and more.
The Gesualdo Six, an award-winning British vocal ensemble celebrated for its impeccable blend and imaginative programming, brings its sublime choral artistry to The Breakers on Friday, July 11 at 8pm. This ensemble of the UK’s finest consort singers has captivated audiences worldwide for the past decade, and will bring to Newport a program inspired by the ancient service of Compline, ushering in the darkness of the night and evoking a contemplative atmosphere. Works include Renaissance polyphony by Palestrina, Tallis, and Gesualdo that contain startling harmonic shifts and expressive word painting. Then the light returns, birds sing, and flowers bloom once more, with music by Veljo Tormis, Schubert, and Gerda Blok-Wilson.
On Saturday, July 12 at 9am, surrounded by the serene beauty of the Norman Bird Sanctuary, the Festival Artists will present a delightful outdoor morning program of chamber music in Strings in Nature. Set amidst the sanctuary’s stunning natural surroundings, this year’s concert features Haydn’s playful The Joke Quartet, Spohr’s Grand Duo for Violin and Viola, Schubert’s lyrical String Trio in B-flat Major, and Strauss’s whimsical Variations on a Bavarian Folk Song.
On Saturday, July 12 at 8pm at The Breakers, GRAMMY® Award-winning singer Karen Slack – “one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos” (Trilloquy) – presents African Queens, an extraordinary evening of music and storytelling, featuring a powerful selection of new works by some of today’s most acclaimed composers including Jessie Montgomery, Fred Onovwerosuoke, previous Newport Classical Composer-in-Residence Shawn Okpebholo, Jasmine Arielle Barnes, Will Liverman, Joel Thompson, and Damien Geter. This collaborative song cycle shines a spotlight on seven fierce African Queens, whose legacies as rulers and warriors have often been overlooked in the West, with each piece reflecting their beauty, passion, humility, and power. Slack brings her operatic virtuosity to this project, joined by pianist Kevin J. Miller, to celebrate living composers and elevate voices long underrepresented in classical music. African Queens is commissioned for Karen Slack by a national consortium of prominent presenters – the Ravinia Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, Boston Symphony Orchestra for the Tanglewood Learning Institute, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Washington Performing Arts, The 92nd Street Y, New York, and Newport Classical Music Festival.
On Sunday, July 13 at 3pm, Ziggy and Miles – “Australian guitarist brothers making history” (The Age) – perform in the intimate and historic surroundings of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Ziggy and Miles’ performances are known for their “deeply considered musicianship, immaculate care and superlative technique” (5MBS). Winners of the 2023 YCA (Young Concert Artists) Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, the brothers have become the first guitar duo and second guitarists to receive this prestigious award in the organization’s 63-year history. Featuring works by French composers Franck and Debussy, this concert promises an afternoon of vibrant and innovative guitar repertoire that will captivate and inspire.
Following a sold-out performance at the Newport Classical Recital Hall in 2024, Newport Classical is thrilled to welcome the Galvin Cello Quartet back to Newport for an exceptional concert at The Breakers on Sunday, July 13 at 8pm. Fresh off their Silver Medal at the 2021 Fischoff Competition and their win at the 2022 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, the Quartet has quickly become a force in the classical music world. Known for their innovative approach to new music, in this concert the Galvin Cello Quartet features the world premiere of a piece commissioned by Newport Classical from Canadian Indigenous cellist and composer Cris Derksen, alongside works by Beethoven, Mozart, Mussorgsky, and Tchaikovsky, blending beloved classics with exciting new compositions.
On Tuesday, July 15 at 4pm, set amongst stunning works at the Newport Art Museum, the one-of-a-kind Cajun-Persian viola duo Tallā Rouge celebrates the virtuosity of the viola. Lauded as the "little viola duo that could" by Chamber Music America, Tallā Rouge has performed at Carnegie Hall and Dumbarton Oaks, and has won multiple competitions. This concert features works by celebrated living composers and reimagined classical favorites, showcasing the duo’s ability to take audiences on a “musical journey that travels far and wide across ‘genre-defying compositions’.” (Gramophone Magazine).
On Tuesday, July 15 and Wednesday, July 16 at 8pm at The Breakers, Newport Classical presents two Evenings with Broadway Star Jessica Vosk. Vosk is a celebrated singer and actress known for electrifying roles in musical theater and on concert stages, including a sold-out Carnegie Hall debut in 2021. Best known for her star turn as Elphaba in Wicked – first on tour and then for the show’s 15th anniversary on Broadway – Vosk played the iconic green witch for two years. Additional Broadway credits include The Narrator in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jersey in Hell’s Kitchen. Vosk brings her powerhouse vocals and magnetic stage presence to The Breakers for two unforgettable evenings, with pianist Mary-Mitchell Campbell.
Celebrating what would be the 150th birthday of Maurice Ravel, one of France’s most influential composers, Newport Classical’s resident Festival Artists perform on Wednesday, July 16 at 11am at The Elms. This intimate performance will explore Ravel’s unparalleled mastery of orchestration, from his elegant Sonatine for Piano to his String Quartet in F Major, dedicated to his teacher Gabriel Fauré. The program will highlight his emotional depth and distinct style, inviting listeners to experience Ravel’s enduring legacy in a personal and immersive setting within the historic atmosphere of The Elms, honoring a composer whose works continue to resonate across generations.
On Thursday, July 17 at 11am at The Elms, harpist Emily Levin returns to Newport for a mesmerizing concert titled Harp and Harmony, joined by violinist Julia Choi (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) and cellist Christine Lamprea (Sphinx Medal of Excellence winner). This newly formed trio, Ember, will share works from their debut album Birds of Paradise, blending the rich sounds of violin, cello, and harp. The program will feature pieces by Reena Esmail, Angélica Negrón, Henriette Renié, and more, showcasing the ensemble's dynamic interplay of textures and emotions all set against the historic setting of The Elms.
Palaver Strings, a dynamic musician-led ensemble, brings an evening of stirring performances to The Breakers on Thursday, July 17 at 8pm, showcasing their commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices. Praised for their ability to “command a stage on their own terms” (The Boston Globe), the ensemble explores folk music from around the world, addressing themes of heritage, belonging, and resilience. The program features Kareem Roustom’s new work ḥawwāsh inspired by a traditional Arab line dance, alongside Palaver’s arrangement of Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances, Kinan Azmeh’s Syrian Dances, and more, celebrating folk music as a powerful vehicle for both strength and joy.
On Friday, July 18 at 5:15am, audiences can experience a serene start to the day with The Harp at Sunrise, a tranquil concert set amongst the peaceful beauty of Rosecliff. Harpist Emily Levin brings Hans Otte’s The Book of Sounds to life, a meditative and evocative work that pairs the delicate tones of the harp with the quiet of the early morning. The intimate performance takes place on the terrace of Rosecliff, with its sweeping, panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, providing an enchanting backdrop to this reflective musical experience.
The Newport Classical Festival Artists offer a Free Open Rehearsal on Friday, July 18 at 2pm at Newport Classical Recital Hall, as they finalize preparations for their performance French Quintets: Revivals taking place the following day. The program highlights the rich musical tradition of French composers, featuring works by Louis Gouvy, Reynaldo Hahn, and Jean Cras.
Acclaimed pianist Inon Barnatan presents an evening of exceptional music at The Breakers on Friday, July 18 at 8pm. Described as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” (New York Times), Barnatan brings his profound depth and expressive power to one of Newport’s most iconic venues. Performing works by Bach, Franck, and Schubert, this evening promises to be an unforgettable musical journey, showcasing Barnatan's ability to forge intimate connections with his audience through his "refined, searching, unfailingly communicative" style (The Evening Standard).
The Festival Artists present French Quintets: Revivals at the historic Emmanuel Church on Saturday, July 19 at 3pm, featuring quintets from the 19th and 20th centuries. Paired with Emmanuel Church’s stunning English Gothic Revival architecture, the ensemble brings a fresh perspective to these classic pieces in a program highlighting the rich musical tradition of French composers, featuring works by Louis Gouvy, Reynaldo Hahn, and Jean Cras.
On Saturday, July 19 at 8pm at The Breakers, Attacca Quartet brings its exceptional artistry to an evening that pairs celebrated classical works with engaging contemporary compositions. Praised by The Washington Post, which reported that “mastery like this is scarce enough in quartets that have played together for decades,” the Attacca Quartet is known for their innovative approach to chamber music, has collaborated with artists such as Caroline Shaw and Billie Eilish, and has contributed to soundtracks for films like Ken Burns’ new documentary, Leonardo da Vinci. The Attacca Quartet’s Newport debut includes the US premiere of daisy by Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY® Award-winning composer David Lang, alongside Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4 and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 4. daisy was co-commissioned by an international group of presenters – Newport Classical, La Biennale di Venezia, Kings Place, String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, Park Avenue Armory, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
After an energetic and memorable Newport debut last season, Empire Wild returns for a performance on Sunday, July 20 at 11am that pushes musical boundaries with its inventive fusion of genres. Set in the historic Newport Colony House, built in 1739 and rarely open to the public, the ensemble blends pop, folk, jazz, and more. The program includes original songs, dynamic covers, and fresh takes on classical pieces, making for a truly delightful afternoon in one of Newport’s oldest landmark venues.
Hailed for her "technical prowess and expressive depth” (San Francisco Chronicle), violinist Leila Josefowicz brings her extraordinary artistry to The Breakers for an evening of exceptional music on Sunday, July 20 at 8pm. Known for her dynamic performances and commitment to expanding the boundaries of the violin, Josefowicz is joined by acclaimed pianist Alexei Tartakovsky. Together they offer a program featuring works by Beethoven, Debussy, and Stravinsky. This is a rare opportunity to experience Josefowicz’s artistry in one of Newport’s most standout venues.
The 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival ends on a high note on Tuesday, July 22 at 8pm as the incomparable self-conducted Orpheus Chamber Orchestra returns to The Breakers for the Festival’s Closing Night performance, joined by acclaimed violin soloist Stefan Jackiw. Known for its radical approach to musical democracy, Orpheus has proven for over 50 years what happens when exceptional artists collaborate with total trust in one another. Blending the discipline of an orchestra with the spirit of a chamber group, this evening promises to be a celebration of musical excellence and creative collaboration, providing a thrilling conclusion to the Festival. Orpheus performs Arensky’s Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Jackiw, and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.
For the full schedule, visit: www.newportclassical.org/music-festival
About Newport Classical
Newport Classical is a premier performing arts organization that welcomes people of every age, culture, and background to intimate, immersive musical experiences. The organization presents world-renowned and up-and-coming artistic talents at stunning, storied venues across Newport – an internationally sought-after cultural and recreational destination.
Originally founded in 1969 as Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport, Inc., Newport Classical has a rich legacy of musical curiosity having presented the American debuts of hundreds of international artists and is most well-known for hosting three weeks of concerts in the summer in the historic mansions throughout Newport and Aquidneck Island. In the 56 years since, Newport Classical has become the most active year-round presenter of live performing arts on Aquidneck Island, and an essential pillar of Rhode Island’s cultural landscape, welcoming thousands of patrons all year long.
Newport Classical invests in the future of classical music as a diverse, relevant, and ever-evolving art form through its four core programs – the one-of-a-kind Music Festival; the Chamber Series in the Newport Classical Recital Hall; the free, family-friendly Community Concerts Series; and the Music Education and Engagement Initiative that inspires students in local schools to become the arts advocates and music lovers of tomorrow. These programs illustrate the organization’s ongoing commitment to presenting “timeless music for today.”
In 2021, the organization launched a new commissioning initiative – each year, Newport Classical will commission a new work by a Black, Indigenous, person of color, or woman composer as a commitment to the future of classical music. To date, Newport Classical has commissioned and presented the world premiere of works by Stacy Garrop, Shawn Okpebholo, Curtis Stewart, and Clarice Assad.
March-June: GatherNYC Presents Seven Mindful Musical Mornings at the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle - Sundays at 11AM
March-June: GatherNYC Presents Sevend Mindful Musical Mornings at the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle
Press photos available here.
GatherNYC Continues 2024-2025 Season in NYC
at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle
Every Other Sunday Morning at 11AM
Mindful Musical Mornings Include Spoken Word and Brief Celebration of Silence
Coming Up This Spring
3/16 Daedalus Quartet
3/30 MATA
4/13 Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
4/27 ETHEL + Layale Chaker
5/11 Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
5/25 Rupert Boyd, guitar
6/8 Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee”
– The New Yorker
“A sweet chamber music series”
– The New York Times
“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine
Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC
Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org
New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its 2024-2025 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle) with seven upcoming concerts -- Daedalus Quartet on March 16, MATA on March 30, Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham on April 13, ETHEL + Layale Chaker on April 27, Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine on May 11, guitarist Rupert Boyd on May 25, and Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl on June 8. Concerts are held every other Sunday at 11am in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free.
Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.
Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series last year. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”
Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Museum of Arts and Design, offering 17 concerts throughout our 2024-25 season, our largest lineup yet. We look forward to inviting audiences to join us for these mindful, musical mornings with world-class artists in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment.”
Up Next, Sundays at 11AM:
Mar. 16: Daedalus Quartet
Winners of the highest honor in string quartet playing, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Daedalus Quartet will perform the visceral, folk-inspired sixth string quartet by Béla Bartók, alongside the atmospheric, pop-influenced Space Between by acclaimed composer and Guggenheim fellow Anna Weesner.
Mar. 30: MATA
Music at the Anthology (MATA), an incubator for adventurous emerging artists in the early stages of their careers, presents, supports, and commissions composers, regardless of their stylistic views or aesthetic inclinations. Founded by Philip Glass, Eleonor Sandresky, and Lisa Bielawa in 1996 as a way to address the lack of presentation opportunities for unaffiliated composers, MATA composers have since emanated to include future Rome, Alpert, Takemitsu, Siemens, and Pulitzer Prize-winners, Guggenheim Fellows, and MacArthur “Geniuses.” In 2010 MATA was awarded ASCAP’s prestigious Aaron Copland award in recognition of its work. For its first collaboration with GatherNYC, MATA will showcase highlights from previous festivals as well as selected works from its global Call for Submissions. The New Yorker has hailed MATA as, “the most exciting showcase for outstanding young composers from around the world.” The New York Times has called it “nondogmatic, even antidogmatic;” and The Wall Street Journal said that it “tells us a lot about how composers are thinking now.”
Apr. 13: Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
Violinist Deborah Buck, praised by The Strad as having a “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” and Orli Shaham, described as a “brilliant pianist” by The New York Times, present a program to celebrate Clara Schumann's legacy. In addition to works by Robert and Clara Schumann, the program features the couple's circle of friends, including the music of Amanda Maier.
Apr. 27: ETHEL + Layale Chaker
From their beginnings in 1998, the members of ETHEL have prized collaboration. In recent years, the quartet has struck up a particularly fruitful collaboration with the Lebanese-born, Brooklyn-based violinist and composer Layale Chaker. Their album Vigil offers a chance to document some of that collective work, with each member of ETHEL contributing a piece and Chaker contributing two works, one of which is the remarkable work that gives the project its name.
May 11: Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
Acclaimed violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv is known for channeling her award-winning virtuosity as a means of championing worthy music by lesser or unknown composers from her native Ukraine. For her first appearance at GatherNYC, Solomiya is joined by violist William Frampton and cellist Laura Metcalf to present a forgotten masterwork by Fedir Yakymenko, a colorful and rhapsodic piece written around the turn of the 20th century. Ukrainian by birth and spending his life in Russia and France, Yakymenko deftly blends French and Ukrainian sounds and styles into this delightful piece, which deserves to be heard and remembered.
May 25: Rupert Boyd, guitar
GatherNYC artistic director and classical guitar virtuoso Rupert Boyd takes listeners on a journey across centuries and continents on the six strings of his guitar. From Malian kora music to atmospheric sounds from Japan to contemporary music from his home country of Australia to classic works for the Spanish guitar, Boyd’s riveting program has something for everyone.
June 8: Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
Building on a highly successful collaboration during the 2023-24 season, GatherNYC artistic directors Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd in their duo formation of Boyd Meets Girl once again team up with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for an expanded collaborative program featuring classical favorites and creative, virtuosic takes on popular tunes.
For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.
Press photos available here.
April 11-12: Emerald City Music Presents Canellakis-Brown Duo in Humor & Harmony: An Evening of Music, Film, and Comedy
April 11-12: Emerald City Music Presents Canellakis-Brown Duo in Humor & Harmony: An Evening of Music, Film, and Comedy
Emerald City Music Season 09
Canellakis-Brown Duo
Humor and Harmony: An Evening of Music, Film, and Comedy
Friday, April 11, 2025 at 8:00pm
415 Westlake | 415 Westlake Avenue N | Seattle, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldCanellakisBrown2025Seattle
Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 7:30pm
The Minnaert Center for the Arts | 2011 Mottman Rd SW | Olympia, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldCanellakisBrown2025Olympia
“Emerald City Music [is] known for its innovative approaches to presenting classical music”– Cascade PBS
Seattle & Olympia WA – On Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12, 2025, Emerald City Music (ECM) and founding Artistic Director Kristin Lee continue ECM’s Season 09, welcoming cellist Nicholas Canellakis and pianist Michael Stephen Brown back to the Pacific Northwest for an evening of music, film, and comedy as the Canellakis-Brown Duo.
"A superb young soloist" (The New Yorker), Nicholas Canellakis is one of the most versatile cellists of his generation. From Carnegie Hall to internationally renowned festivals, his performances are hailed for their rich, alluring tone.
An award-winning composer and pianist, Michael Stephen Brown has been praised by The New York Times as “one of the leading figures in the current renaissance of performer-composers.” His performances and compositions consistently push the boundaries of classical music.
The Canellakis-Brown Duo invites ECM audiences to an unforgettable evening that seamlessly blends chamber music, comedy, and film. World-renowned musicians Nicholas Canellakis and Michael Stephen Brown bring their unmatched synergy to the stage, combining technical brilliance with humor and emotional depth. Hailed as “relaxed and unselfconscious” (New York Classical Review), their performances feel like a captivating conversation with friends.
The esteemed pair of musicians bring a unique program with a twist to ECM’s stages, featuring a film – Canellakis’s short comedy My New Cello (2023), a mesmerizing new multimedia work for film and live score – directed by Canellakis and composed by Brown. Alongside this screening will be more evocative and thrilling music by Brown, in addition to composers with strong ties to the world of film.
The truly unique, multi-medium event will include: Frédéric Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante (1829-30); Lied (Romance) In F Minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1890); Romance, Op 36 by Camille Saint-Saëns (1874); Lukas Foss’s Capriccio (1948); Breakup Etude for the Right Hand Alone by Michael Stephen Brown (2020); Spinning Song by Michael Stephen Brown (2024); “Moses” Variations on one string by Niccolò Paganini (1818-19); and Bulgarian Bulge by Don Ellis, (arranged by Nick Canellakis) (1971).
Audiences can join the Canellakis-Brown Duo on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 8pm in Seattle at 415 Westlake (415 Westlake Avenue N), and Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 7:30pm in Olympia at The Minnaert Center for the Arts (2011 Mottman Rd. SW). During the concert at 415 Westlake, listeners can enjoy ECM’s flagship “date-night experience,” which combines vibrant classical performance with an open bar, and a “wander-around” concert setting with no stage dividing the audience from the musicians.
“It’s an absolute delight to welcome back Nick Canellakis and Michael Stephen Brown to the Emerald City Music stage—this time as a duo that’s equally musical and hilarious!,” says ECM Artistic Director Kristin Lee. “Nick and Michael have been dear friends of mine for years, and it has been inspiring to witness their creativity and extraordinary talents flourish into such a unique and brilliant careers. This is a rare opportunity to experience the perfect fusion of humor and musical artistry in one unforgettable evening—truly, a night not to be missed!”
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours seven productions annually, with each tour visiting venues including Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival, and an annual concert in New York City.
About the Artists: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season-artists
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/team/kristin-lee
About ECM: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/about
Follow ECM on Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emeraldcitymusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emeraldcitymusic
March 14: ECM New Series Releases Patrick Demenga's Recording of Alexander Knaifel's Chapter Eight
ECM New Series Releases Patrick Demenga's Recording of Alexander Knaifel's Chapter Eight
ECM New Series Releases
Alexander Knaifel: Chapter Eight
Patrick Demenga, violoncello
The State Choir Latvija, Youth Choir Kamēr and Riga Cathedral Boys Choir
Andres Mustonen, conductor
Release Date: March 14, 2025
ECM 2637
CD: 0028948598533
Press downloads and CDs available upon request.
Chapter Eight: Canticum Canticorum is among the most remarkable compositions of Alexander Knaifel. Written in 1992 and 1993 and based upon the eighth chapter of the Old Testament Song of Songs, the Song of Solomon, it is conceived as a “community prayer”. In his imagination, while writing it, Knaifel said he “heard it in the most reverberant church acoustics.” A slowly moving piece that acquires a cumulative power with enveloping and radiant atmosphere, it proposes what Knaifel referred to as a “non-concerto situation.” As the work progresses, the cellist is called upon to renounce the soloist’s role of leadership and to surrender to the total sound at the nexus of the choirs, arranged in cross formation inside the church.
Here the cellist is Patrick Demenga who, together with his brother Thomas, made the first of ECM’s recordings of Knaifel’s music in 1998 with Lux Aeterna. Many of Knaifel’s works implied a spiritual or contemplative dimension and in its obituary of the Russian composer, who died last year, Gramophone wrote that “his style proved ideal for the ECM aesthetic, allowing the luminous, meditative qualities of the music to shine through.” Those qualities are evident as Estonian conductor Andres Mustonen subtly directs three Latvian choirs: the State Choir Latvija, the Youth Choir Kamēr and the Riga Cathedral Boys Choir. “Andres Mustonen managed to make the choral voices float,” wrote Michael Dervan, a witness to the performance here, in the Irish Times. “The sounds sometimes seemed to emerge as imperceptibly as a cloud slowly forming in a clear sky. In the welcoming rococo interior of Lucerne’s Jesuit Church, the effect was of prolonged, quiet ravishment.”
*
Alexander Knaifel was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1943, and grew up in St Petersburg. Setting out, initially, to be a cellist, he studied with teachers including Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory in the early 1960s. As a composer he was soon allied with an emerging Soviet avant-garde, a network of friends such as Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, Sofia Gubaidulina and Valentin Silvestrov. Like them, he subsequently found his way to a more personal idiom. His own compositions, from the mid-1970s onwards, include a number of slowly evolving pieces: “quiet giants” was his own term for these works, whose quest for beauty often has a metaphysical dimension or a sacred subtext. Knaifel sought to convey something of the heart of faith by, as he put it, "speaking in a low voice, hoping to hear a voice within oneself.”
The premiere performance of Chapter Eight took place in Washington’s National Cathedral in 1995, with Mstislav Rostropovich in the cellist’s role.
Further recordings of the music of Alexander Knaifel on ECM are Svete Tikhiy (2002) with Oleg Malov, the Keller Quartett, Tatiana Melentieva, and Andrei Siegle, Amicta Sole (2005), with Rostropovich and Melentieva plus the Glinka College Boys Choir and the Hermitage Orchestra, Blazhenstva (2008) with Melentieva, Ivan Monighetti, Piotr Migunov, the Hermitage Orchestra and the Lege Artis Choir, and Lukumoriye (2018), with Malov, Migunov, Melentieva, and Lege Artis.
Swiss cellist Patrick Demenga was born in 1962. He studied at the Bern Conservatory, in Cologne with Boris Pergamenschikow, and in New York with Harvey Shapiro. He has premiered works by Isang Yun, Gerhard Schedl, Heinz Holliger and many others. Patrick Demenga first appeared on ECM New Series in 1995 with 12 Hommages à Paul Sacher, with music of Berio, Boulez, Britten, Dutilleux, Ginastera, Henze, Holliger, Lutosławski and more.
Andres Mustonen was born in Tallinn in 1953. Renowned as both conductor and violinist, he was a founder of the early music consort Hortus Musicus, and has long juxtaposed investigations into old music with ardent championing of the new.
The State Choir Latvija is the largest professional choir in the Baltic States. Founded in 1942 its repertoire extends from the renaissance to the present day. The Latvija choir has given world premieres of Pärt’s The Deer’s Cry and Lera Auerbach’s Russian Requiem.
Youth Choir Kamēr was founded in 1990, and established a reputation for its expressive performance style. The choir has commissioned pieces from composers including John Tavener, Giya Kancheli, Dobrinka Tabakova and John Luther Adams, and participated in collaborations with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica, Yuri Bashmet, Maxim Rysanov, and others.
The Riga Cathedral Boys Choir was first established in Latvia in 1950, and has since toured the world on many occasions.
*
Chapter Eight with Patrick Demenga and the three Latvian choirs under the direction of Andres Mustonen, was recorded at Jesuitenkirche Luzerne in March 2009, in the context of the Lucerne Festival. The Jesuitenkirche - whose acoustic properties are an essential component of this interpretation of Knaifel’s piece - was built in the 17th century, as the first large Baroque church in Switzerland north of the Alps.
March 21: Sony Classical Releases Songs With Words New Album from Vocalist & Composer Malakoff Kowalski – Debut Single When I Died, Love feat. Igor Levit Out Now
March 21: Sony Classical Releases Songs With Words New Album from Vocalist & Composer Malakoff Kowalski – Debut Single When I Died, Love feat. Igor Levit Out Now
Album Artwork (Download)
Sony Classical Releases Songs with Words
New Album from Vocalist and Composer Malakoff Kowalski
with Pianists Igor Levit, Johanna Summer, and Chilly Gonzales
Out Now: Debut Single When I Died, Love
Featuring Igor Levit
Listen Here | Watch Here
Album Release Date: March 21, 2025
Pre-Order Available Now
Songs With Words is the new album by vocalist and composer Malakoff Kowalski, together with pianists Igor Levit, Johanna Summer, and Chilly Gonzales. Set for release on March 21, 2025 and available for pre-order now, the new Sony Classical album features miniatures by classical composers coupled with sung poems by American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Reflecting on Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, this extraordinary quartet presents a new kind of music, and possibly a whole new genre that has never before appeared in this form either in classical music, jazz, or pop. Accompanying the album news is the first track release, When I Died, Love featuring pianist Igor Levit - watch the official video.
In his liner notes, Kowalski, the Berlin-based German-American composer and singer of Persian origin, succinctly describes the album thus: “It took about five years to birth these twelve songs. They were assembled from both famous and lesser-known miniatures by Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Aram Khachaturian, Maurice Ravel, Edvard Grieg, Amy Beach, Germaine Tailleferre, Claude Debussy, and Gabriel Fauré. I kept unearthing timeless, intimate, vulnerable poems from Ginsberg’s oeuvre, and for some reason, again and again, these poems, with little or no reworking, functioned very naturally as song lyrics. The quiet, inner-directed vocals strictly followed the piano’s motifs and themes, while the piano parts, in turn, stuck to their original versions, with only the most imperceptible of alterations here and there.”
The result is a song cycle reminiscent of Tom Waits, Jim Morrison, and David Bowie, infused with the musicality of Bill Evans, Kurt Weill, and Michel Legrand. Malakoff Kowalski describes it as a great stroke of luck that three of his closest musician friends played the piano on this album in order to transform a mere concept into actual music: “Three personalities with contrasting pianistic spirits, as distinct as the material we engaged with here: Igor Levit, whom I love above all for his three great Bs: Busoni, Bach, Brahms. Johanna Summer, who improvises between jazz and classical so freely and so thoroughly that it makes me dizzy with joy. And Chilly Gonzales, who with SOLO PIANO and its successors, has done more for contemporary miniatures than any other living composer.”
With the album Songs With Words, this remarkable group has created a fascinating interplay between the pristine European piano tradition and the American poetry of the Beat Generation.
“All I know: my parents were born in Tehran, I was born in Boston, I grew up in Hamburg and I now live in Berlin. I love nothing more than music. Everything else equals question marks, exclamation marks and dashes.” This is how musician and composer Malakoff Kowalski describes himself. VOGUE magazine named him “The Piano Poet,” fellow musician Chilly Gonzales regards him as one of his “favorite living composers.”
Kowalski refers to Debussy, Scriabin and Frederic Mompou as his influences—while Jazz and Psychedelic music from the fifties and sixties is just as important to him. “One is being forced to listen closely. Kowalski’s compositions may appear to be rather simple, but the world hidden inside them is most complex. From unresolved harmonic turns to frequent musical quotations—it remains unclear on how many different levels his music takes place. Its calm is only a facade.” (Concerti Magazine)
In addition to his solo music, recorded on seven albums to date, Malakoff Kowalski composes for film and theater as well. As a writer he publishes passionate and controversial music critiques. In his concerts the auditorium is entirely dark, with a small reading lamp above the grand piano and a white spotlight being the only sources of light.
Igor Levit, who recently premiered a work specially written for him by Kowalski at the Salzburg Festival, raves about his compositions: “Ferruccio Busoni once said, ‘Music is sonorous air.’ That’s what this music is. Most wonderful sonorous air.”
Malakoff Kowalski, Vocals
Igor Levit / Johanna Summer / Chilly Gonzales, Piano
Songs With Words
Tracklist:
1. Dry Old Rose (Ft. Johanna Summer)
2. Shadow Changes into Bone (Ft. Igor Levit)
3. When I Died, Love (Ft. Igor Levit)
4. See the World Go Wild (Ft. Chilly Gonzales)
5. Interlude #A
6. A Strange Wild Leaf (Ft. Johanna Summer)
7. The Weight of the World Is Love (Ft. Igor Levit)
8. Until They Try (Ft. Johanna Summer)
9. An Empty Hungry Ghost (Ft. Johanna Summer)
10. Interlude #B
11. One Day (Ft. Igor Levit)
12. The Nightingale at Night (Ft. Chilly Gonzales)
13. Dawn (Ft. Johanna Summer)
14. Awake (Ft. Chilly Gonzales)
Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records, and Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.sonymusicmasterworks.com.
April 11: Leif Ove Andsnes Releases New Album on Sony Classical – Franz Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
April 11: Leif Ove Andsnes Releases New Album on Sony Classical – Franz Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
Album Artwork (Download)
Leif Ove Andsnes Unveils the Hidden Side of Liszt
New Album to be Released on Sony Classical
Franz Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
Out Today: Consolations No. 3 – Listen Here
Album Release Date: April 11, 2025
Pre-Order Available Now
The pianist explores the introspective beauty of Liszt’s consolations and the spiritual depth of Via Crucis with the Norwegian Soloist Choir, led by Grete Pedersen
“a pianist of magisterial elegance, power, and insight.” – The New York Times
“as usual with the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, blend is exquisite, intonation perfect and articulation superlative.” – Gramophone
On his latest album Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works for Sony Classical, Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes unveils the often-forgotten side of the famed virtuoso Franz Liszt - the sacred music that offers a more intimate picture of the man and his deeply held faith. The new album, Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works, is set for release on April 11, 2025 and available for pre-order now. The first single, Consolations No. 3 is out today – listen here.
With acclaimed vocal ensemble the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, Andsnes has recorded Liszt’s remarkable late work Via Crucis (The Way of the Cross’) for choir and piano. The pianist completes his all-Liszt album with the solo piano work Consolations and two movements from the composer’s Harmonies poétiques et religieuses.
Franz Liszt is often described as the ‘first virtuoso’ - a superstar pianist and composer who invented the piano recital and whose fame and following in the nineteenth century were unprecedented. Much of Liszt’s reputation hangs on sweeping virtuosic showpieces so technically challenging that only Liszt could play them.
But that is only half the story. In 1847, at the age of just 35, Liszt retired from public performance to focus on writing and teaching. Thirteen years later he took another step back, taking Holy Orders and embarking upon a new life of religious devotion and creative introspection.
In this later period, a new aesthetic took root in Liszt, one characterized by austere, spare and sometimes inscrutable musical utterances that tended to question more than they assert. ‘I find Liszt’s religious music fascinating,’ says Andsnes, who has lived with Liszt’s music since childhood. ‘This is very different music, with so few notes but with a tension and beauty.’
One of the major statements of Liszt’s late period was Via Crucis, a journey through the Roman Catholic tradition’s Stations of the Cross for choir and piano, written in Rome in 1866 but considered too unusual by Liszt’s publisher and never performed in the composer’s lifetime. It wasn’t until 1929 that the work was given its first airing, on Good Friday, in the capital of the composer’s native Hungary, Budapest.
Via Crucis is unlike any other work in the repertoire: a concentrated ritual drama, ranging from liturgical chant to Lisztian chromaticism at its most searching and expressive. It sets a pianist and choir in dialogue with one another, each performing alone as well as together.
“This is something very different,” says Andnsnes. “It is incredible, the journey Liszt made as a composer, from this very flamboyant virtuosic style to [Via Crucis], which is very bare, with so few notes, but still an incredible tension and beauty. It points forward to the twentieth century while also building on the tradition of scared music.”
The work’s unusual scoring gave Andsnes the opportunity to extend his long-standing collaboration with the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir - one of the finest vocal ensembles in the world and a seasoned recording group, consisting of 26 handpicked professional singers.
“Via Crucis tells a story about a man who gave his life for others, and at the same time is so much about humanity,” says Grete Pedersen, artistic director of the choir; “it is a piece with a lot of question marks, and I hope listeners will feel that.”
“We live in a world of pain and conflict and Via Crucis offers room for empathy, for philosophical thought, and for the taking-in of different emotions,” says Andsnes. “Audiences seem to be mesmerized by it. It really is a special work in which you can discover so much beauty.” He likens the work to ‘14 miniature tone poems’.
The musicians examined the piece extensively before recording it together in Oslo, performing it in concert and attempting to fathom is unusual scoring in which piano and choir are sometimes partners yet sometimes sound diametrically opposed.
“It was inspiring to be in the middle of the sound of a choir of this quality,” says Andsnes; “I was inspired by the exacting way Grete and the Soloists’ Choir do these things. Their attention to detail is so great, which is important in music that is so fragile.” Grete Pedersen comments: “If any pianist can make the piano sing, it’s Leif Ove.”
Completing the program is music from two earlier cycles by Liszt that prove there was always more to his musical outlook than showmanship and virtuosity. A mood of thoughtful reflection dominates the composer’s Consolations, written on the eve of the composer’s retirement from public performance and in a paired-back idiom that alternates the lyrical, the winsome and the forthright before dissolving into silence.
Two of the six movements are cast in the key of E major, the tonality Liszt reserved for music addressing the divine. “ find the Consolations so tender, so intimate, speaking from heart to heart,” says Andsnes. “But still, they have different styles, from the spiritual to the dramatic. They are so wonderfully written for the piano; it always sings.”
Andsnes’s album also includes two movements from Liszt’s Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, a magnificent 10-movement cycle written in 1853, inspired by poetry by Alphonse de Lamartine. Andsnes describes the ‘Andante Lagrimoso’ as “full of sorrow.”
The other movement from the set, which ends the album, is something else entirely. Liszt’s ‘Miserere, d’après Palestrina’ is a startling creation written in homage to Italy’s great Renaissance polyphonic composer, which treats a chant-like theme with an almost improvisatory spontaneity. “It ends with an enormous flourish,” says Andsnes, “it’s a relief after all the intimate music we have been through. But it also brings us back to the very beginning of the album, as the Via Crucis begins with a Gregorian chant.”
Franz Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
TRACKLIST
Via Crucis, S. 53
1 Vexilla regis
2 Station I: Jesus wird zum Tode verdammt
3 Station II: Jesus trägt sein Kreuz
4 Station III: Jesus fällt zum ersten Mal
5 Station IV: Jesus begegnet seiner heiligen Mutter
6 Station V: Simon von Kyrene hilft Jesus das Kreuz tragen
7 Station VI: Sancta Veronica
8 Station VII: Jesus fällt zum zweiten Mal
9 Station VIII: Die Frauen von Jerusalem
10 Station IX: Jesus fällt zum dritten Mal
11 Station X: Jesus wird entkleidet
12 Station XI: Jesus wird ans Kreuz geschlagen
13 Station XII: Jesus stirbt am Kreuze
14 Station XIII: Jesus wird vom Kreuz genommen
15 Station XIV: Jesus wird ins Grab gelegt
Consolations, S. 172
16 No. 1 in E Major. Andante con moto
17 No. 2 in E Major. Un poco più mosso
18 No. 3 in D-Flat Major. Lento placido
19 No. 4 in D-Flat Major. Quasi adagio
20 No. 5 in E Major. Andantino
21 No. 6 in E Major. Allegretto sempre cantabile
Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173
22 No. 9. Andante lagrimoso
23 No. 8. Miserere, d'après Palestrina. Largo
Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records, and Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.sonymusicmasterworks.com.
FOLLOW LEIF OVE ANDSNES
Website: http://www.andsnes.com/
Facebook: @LeifOveAndsnes
Instagram: @leifoveandsnes
YouTube: @LeifOveAndsnesTV
Feb-March: GatherNYC Presents Five Mindful Musical Mornings at the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle - Sundays at 11AM
Feb-March: GatherNYC Presents Five Mindful Musical Mornings at the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle
Press photos available here.
GatherNYC Continues 2024-2025 Season in NYC
at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle
Every Other Sunday Morning at 11AM
Mindful Musical Mornings Include Spoken Word and Brief Celebration of Silence
Coming Up in February and March
2/2 ensemble 132
2/16 Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
3/2 Toomai Quintet + Maria Brea
3/16 Daedalus Quartet
3/30 MATA
Spring 2025 GatherNYC Concerts:
4/13 Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
4/27 ETHEL + Layale Chaker
5/11 Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
5/25 Rupert Boyd, guitar
6/8 Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee”
– The New Yorker
“A sweet chamber music series”
– The New York Times
“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine
Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC
Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org
New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its 2024-2025 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle) with five upcoming concerts in February and March - ensemble 132 on February 2, Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner on February 16, Toomai Quintet + Maria Brea on March 2, Daedalus Quartet on March 16, and a MATA showcase on March 30. The season runs through June 2025, with concerts held every other Sunday at 11am in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free.
Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.
Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series last year. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”
Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Museum of Arts and Design, offering 17 concerts throughout our 2024-25 season, our largest lineup yet. We look forward to inviting audiences to join us for these mindful, musical mornings with world-class artists in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment.”
Up Next, Sundays at 11AM:
Feb. 2: ensemble132
ensemble132 presents a genre-bending program honoring the expansive legacy of two musical icons for their joint 150th birthday: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Maurice Ravel. This group of all-star chamber musicians drawn from the rosters of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Marlboro Music Festival, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and more, explores these composers’ influence on other visionaries through the 20th and 21st centuries. ensemble132 traces these connections in a program featuring movements from Ravel’s and Coleridge-Taylor’s string quartets along with special e132 arrangements and a rollicking finale by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.
Feb. 16: Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
Vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles, hailed as “soulfully articulate” by The New York Times, and acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Jarrett Cherner will present music from their debut album as a duo. The album, called Tone, centers its concept on the magical, fleeting and delicate nature of life as well as the need to take care of ourselves and the world around us as best as we possibly can.
Mar. 2: Toomai Quintet + Maria Brea
Toomai String Quintet, an ensemble dedicated to expanding the Latin American chamber music repertoire, presents this family-friendly concert of music from Cuba, Brazil, and Mexico. The program features Cuban composer Keyla Orozco’s The Song of the Cicada (2024) for narrator and quintet, inspired by Onelio Jorge Cardoso’s vivid children’s story of the same title. Also on the program are Toomai’s original arrangements of works by Hermeto Pascoal, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Léa Freire, and Manuel Ponce.
Mar. 16: Daedalus Quartet
Winners of the highest honor in string quartet playing, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Daedalus Quartet will perform the visceral, folk-inspired sixth string quartet by Béla Bartók, alongside the atmospheric, pop-influenced Space Between by acclaimed composer and Guggenheim fellow Anna Weesner.
Mar. 30: MATA
Music at the Anthology (MATA), an incubator for adventurous emerging artists in the early stages of their careers, presents, supports, and commissions composers, regardless of their stylistic views or aesthetic inclinations. Founded by Philip Glass, Eleonor Sandresky, and Lisa Bielawa in 1996 as a way to address the lack of presentation opportunities for unaffiliated composers, MATA composers have since emanated to include future Rome, Alpert, Takemitsu, Siemens, and Pulitzer Prize-winners, Guggenheim Fellows, and MacArthur “Geniuses.” In 2010 MATA was awarded ASCAP’s prestigious Aaron Copland award in recognition of its work. For its first collaboration with GatherNYC, MATA will showcase highlights from previous festivals as well as selected works from its global Call for Submissions. The New Yorker has hailed MATA as, “the most exciting showcase for outstanding young composers from around the world.” The New York Times has called it “nondogmatic, even antidogmatic;” and The Wall Street Journal said that it “tells us a lot about how composers are thinking now.”
GatherNYC's Remaining Spring 2025 Schedule – All Concerts Take Place at 11AM:
Apr. 13: Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
Violinist Deborah Buck, praised by The Strad as having a “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” and Orli Shaham, described as a “brilliant pianist” by The New York Times, present a program to celebrate Clara Schumann's legacy. In addition to works by Robert and Clara Schumann, the program features the couple's circle of friends, including the music of Amanda Maier.
Apr. 27: ETHEL + Layale Chaker
From their beginnings in 1998, the members of ETHEL have prized collaboration. In recent years, the quartet has struck up a particularly fruitful collaboration with the Lebanese-born, Brooklyn-based violinist and composer Layale Chaker. Their album Vigil offers a chance to document some of that collective work, with each member of ETHEL contributing a piece and Chaker contributing two works, one of which is the remarkable work that gives the project its name.
May 11: Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
Acclaimed violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv is known for channeling her award-winning virtuosity as a means of championing worthy music by lesser or unknown composers from her native Ukraine. For her first appearance at GatherNYC, Solomiya is joined by violist William Frampton and cellist Laura Metcalf to present a forgotten masterwork by Fedir Yakymenko, a colorful and rhapsodic piece written around the turn of the 20th century. Ukrainian by birth and spending his life in Russia and France, Yakymenko deftly blends French and Ukrainian sounds and styles into this delightful piece, which deserves to be heard and remembered.
May 25: Rupert Boyd, guitar
GatherNYC artistic director and classical guitar virtuoso Rupert Boyd takes listeners on a journey across centuries and continents on the six strings of his guitar. From Malian kora music to atmospheric sounds from Japan to contemporary music from his home country of Australia to classic works for the Spanish guitar, Boyd’s riveting program has something for everyone.
June 8: Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
Building on a highly successful collaboration during the 2023-24 season, GatherNYC artistic directors Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd in their duo formation of Boyd Meets Girl once again team up with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for an expanded collaborative program featuring classical favorites and creative, virtuosic takes on popular tunes.
For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.
Press photos available here.
OUT NOW: Violinist Esther Abrami Presents Wiegala – First Single from New Album on Sony Classical to be Released April 25
Violinist Esther Abrami Presents Wiegala on Sony Classical
Violinist Esther Abrami Presents Wiegala
First Single from New Album on Sony Classical
Listen Here | Watch Music Video
Album Release Date: April 25, 2025
Esther Abrami presents moving lullaby by Jewish composer Ilse Weber in honour of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Violinist Esther Abrami releases a poignant new interpretation of Wiegala a lullaby by Jewish poet and composer Ilse Weber. Arranged for violin and string quintet by Abrami herself, the song is available now, alongside a music video - watch here in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Ilse Weber (1903–1944) was a Czech-born Jewish poet, writer, and composer known for her children’s books and heartfelt songs, many of which she wrote during her imprisonment in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. “Wiegala, a lullaby which she composed during this time, stands as a testament to Weber’s courage and compassion. While working as a nurse for children in the camp, Weber offered music as a source of comfort and hope when medicine was unavailable. She composed songs, led performances, and even formed a choir, bringing light into one of history’s darkest chapters. When the children were deported to Auschwitz in 1944, she chose to accompany them, singing “Wiegala” with them for the last time before she was murdered, alongside the children she had cared for.
Esther Abrami’s delicate arrangement captures the profound emotional depth of the piece, honoring Weber’s legacy and highlighting the enduring power of music in the face of unimaginable adversity. Wiegala is the first single from Abrami’s forthcoming album, which will exclusively feature works by female composers. The Sony Classical album will be released on April 25, 2025. Wiegala is available in both Stereo and Dolby Atmos.
About Esther Abrami
Esther Abrami is much more than a musician: she's an inspiration to a new generation of music enthusiasts. Through her large social media platform, Esther shares her passion for music, performance, and practice sessions and shares behind-the-scenes glimpses into her life as a musician with an ever-growing community worldwide. With her dazzling talent, infectious personality, and boundless enthusiasm for music-making, Esther Abrami is a rising star.
Born in 1996 in Aix-en-Provence, the violinist studied at the Royal College of Music and completed her master's degree at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, for which she received a full scholarship. In 2019, she became the first classical musician ever to win the ‘Social Media Superstar’ category at the Global Awards and in 2021 she was featured in Classic FM's ‘30 under 30 Classical Artists to Watch’ series, curated by Julian Lloyd Webber and was listed as a ‘Rising Star’ by BBC Music Magazine. In the UK, Esther Abrami is considered one of the most promising young classical artists of her generation and has been appointed Creative Partner and Artist in Residence by the English Symphony Orchestra. With her debut album ‘Esther Abrami’ (2022), the follow up “Cinema” (2023) and an EP “Spotlight” dedicated to women composers recorded with ‘Her Ensemble’, a free-form group that seeks to address the gender gap and gender stereotypes in the music industry, Esther has become an artist who achieves wide attention outside the classical sphere and on social media. In her podcast ‘Woman in Classical’, Esther Abrami regularly interviews outstanding women musicians and composers from the world of classical music with the hope of inspiring young people to pursue a career in music. Esther Abrami plays a violin by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, kindly provided by Beare's International Violin Society.
Follow Esther Abrami
Website: https://www.estherabrami.com/
Instagram: @estherabrami
TikTok: @estherabrami
Facebook: @estherabramiviolin
X: @estherabrami
YouTube: @estherabrami
The New School’s College of Performing Arts Welcomes Bassoonist Adrian Morejon to Wind Faculty
The New School’s College of Performing Arts Welcomes Acclaimed Bassoonist Adrian Morejon to Wind Faculty
The New School’s College of Performing Arts Welcomes Acclaimed Bassoonist Adrian Morejon to Wind Faculty
New York, NY (Jan. 22, 2025) – The New School’s College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama, today announces the appointment of acclaimed bassoonist and prolific performer Adrian Morejon to the faculty of the esteemed performing arts school. As a faculty member in the Mannes School of Music, Morejon will lead classes and ensembles, teach private lessons, develop and create new projects, and share with students his depth of experience as an accomplished soloist, chamber and orchestral musician.
"I truly look forward to joining my esteemed colleagues on the Mannes wind faculty and working with the talented young musicians of tomorrow. The school's dedication to preparing today's students for a myriad of varied musical paths both excites and inspires me to share my musical experience and guidance," said Adrian Morejon.
“We are quite proud of our wind faculty at Mannes and thrilled about Adrian Morejon coming on board. His career is in so many ways a model of what is possible and what so many of our students need to embrace, including of course, his bassoon playing and teaching, his harpsichord playing, and his work in arts management and entrepreneurship. I so look forward to Adrian and what he brings to Mannes students, faculty, and staff,” said Richard Kessler, Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes School of Music.
Morejon has been praised for his "teeming energy" and "precise control" by The New York Times and having "every note varnished to a high gloss" by The Boston Globe. As a soloist, Morejon has appeared throughout the US, Mexico, and Europe with the Talea Ensemble, IRIS Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), and the Miami Symphony. Most recently, Morejon is featured on the recording of Joan Tower's Bassoon Concerto, Red Maple, released by BMOP/Sound. An active chamber musician and advocate of contemporary music, Morejon is a member of the Dorian Wind Quintet and Executive Director/Bassoonist of Talea Ensemble. He has appeared with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, Imani Winds, Alarm Will Sound, the Argento Chamber Ensemble, and as a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Boston Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Essex Winter Series, among others. An experienced orchestral musician, Morejon is a member of Orchestra Lumos and the IRIS Collective, and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Novus, The Knights, and others.
Morejon was a recipient of Theodore Presser Foundation Grant, 2nd prize of the Fox-Gillet International Competition, and shared top prize at the Moscow Conservatory International Competition. During the past summers, he has participated in many festivals, including the Composer's Conference at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Sebago-Long Lake Music Festival, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music Summer Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts, the Portland Chamber Music Festival, and the Monadnock Music Festival.
In joining the wind faculty at Mannes, Morejon will provide mentorship to a new generation of musicians, guiding them in technical mastery, creative expression and the practical realities of a professional music career. For more information on Adrian Morejon: www.adrianmorejon.com
The College of Performing Arts at The New School was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for vigorous training, cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances.
The 1,000 students at the College of Performing Arts are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.
The curriculum at the College of Performing Arts is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.
Founded in 1916 by America’s first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, and pianist and educator Clara Damrosch Mannes, the Mannes School of Music is a standard-bearer for foundational excellence and radically progressive music education, dedicated to supporting the development of creative and socially engaged artists. Through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs, Mannes offers a curriculum as imaginative as it is rigorous, taught by a world-class faculty and visiting artists. Distinguished Mannes alumni include the 20th-century songwriting legend Burt Bacharach, the great pianists Michel Camilo, Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and Bill Evans, acclaimed conductors Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, JoAnn Falletta, and Julius Rudel, beloved mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, as well as the great opera stars of today, Yonghoon Lee, Danielle de Niese, and Nadine Sierra. As part of The New School’s College of Performing Arts, together with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the School of Drama, Mannes makes its home on The New School’s Greenwich Village campus in a state-of-the-art facility at the newly renovated Arnhold Hall.
Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.
Feb. 28-Mar. 1: Dreamers’ Circus Returns to Emerald City Music
Feb. 28-Mar. 1: Dreamers’ Circus Returns to Emerald City Music
Emerald City Music Season 09
The Return of Dreamers’ Circus
Friday, February 28, 2025 at 8:00pm
415 Westlake | 415 Westlake Avenue N | Seattle, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldDreamers2025Seattle
Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 7:30pm
The Minnaert Center for the Arts | 2011 Mottman Rd SW | Olympia, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldDreamers2025Olympia
“[Emerald City Music and] artistic director Kristin Lee, a renowned violinist and member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, shows a flair for attracting younger audiences.” – Strings Magazine
Seattle & Olympia WA – Emerald City Music (ECM) and founding Artistic Director Kristin Lee embrace an even bolder appreciation of Season 09’s Global Resonance theme with the next season program, set for Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1, 2025: the long-awaited and highly anticipated return of acclaimed trio, Dreamers Circus.
The Danish folk ensemble made both its U.S. West Coast and Emerald City Music debuts in 2019. Known for their innovative and fantastical approaches to folk music inspired by several different Nordic cultures and traditions, the members of Dreamers Circus – Niokolaj Busk (piano, keyboards, accordion), Ale Carr (cittern, guitar, keyboards), and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, also of Danish String Quartet (violin, fiddle, kannel) will bring their rich musical artistry and lively spirit back to the Pacific Northwest, enchanting audiences with a thrilling program of works that will be announced directly from the stage.
These two special performances will take place on Friday, February 28, 2025 at 8pm in Seattle at 415 Westlake (415 Westlake Avenue N), and Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 7:30pm in Olympia at The Minnaert Center for the Arts (2011 Mottman Rd. SW). During the concert at 415 Westlake, audiences can enjoy ECM’s flagship “date-night experience,” which combines vibrant classical performance with an open bar, and a “wander-around” concert setting with no stage dividing the audience from the musicians.
Contemporary and endlessly innovative in their approach, Dreamers Circus draws inspiration from the deep traditions of folk music in the Nordic region and reshapes them into something bright, shiny, and new. Dreamers’ Circus display inventiveness and talent in their approach to performances that include music from Denmark and Sweden as well as Finland, Norway, and the far reaches of the windswept Faroe Islands. The ensemble has won five prestigious Danish Music Awards and were named 2023 Artist of the Year by the Danish national classical radio channel P2, becoming the first non-classical group to earn that honor.
“Emerald City Music is so thrilled to be welcoming back Dreamers' Circus.” says ECM Artistic Director Kristin Lee.
”Since their smashing West Coast debut in 2019 on the ECM stage, Dreamers' Circus has gone to build fans all over the US and beyond. We are eager to welcome them back this spring and experience their new works they have built over the past 5 years. Knowing their immaculate technique, ability to intimately draw the audience with their unique sound, and tell a story through their music, this is definitely going to be the highlight of our 9th season!”
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours seven productions annually, with each tour visiting venues including Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival, and an annual concert in New York City.
About the Artists: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season-artists
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/team/kristin-lee
About ECM: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/about
Follow ECM on Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emeraldcitymusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emeraldcitymusic
Emerald City Music Appoints Sean Campbell as Executive Director
Emerald City Music Appoints Sean Campbell as Executive Director
Emerald City Music Appoints Sean Campbell as Executive Director
“Emerald City Music [is] known for its innovative approaches to presenting classical music.”
– Cascade PBS
Seattle & Olympia, WA – Today, January 9, 2025, Emerald City Music (ECM) announces the appointment of Sean Campbell as its new Executive Director. Campbell comes to ECM from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where he worked as its Artistic Planning Manager. Campbell will join ECM’s founding Artistic Director, Kristin Lee, in bringing ECM’s inventive programming to audiences in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
As Executive Director, Campbell will provide administrative leadership and support to ECM’s Board of Directors, assist Artistic Director Kristin Lee in developing and executing engagement events and educational programs, work with the ECM Board and staff to develop partnerships and collaborations with community organizations and local businesses, serve as a community ambassador, and develop a forward-thinking, strategic plan for the organization, among other key duties and responsibilities. Campbell will begin his tenure with ECM on February 3, 2025.
“I am absolutely thrilled to join the Emerald City Music team as its next Executive Director,” Campbell says. “ECM’s ability to combine exceptional performances with inviting, social concert experiences is an extraordinary benefit to the Puget Sound Region. Having grown up in Portland, Oregon, I’m so excited to return to the Pacific Northwest and support this wonderful organization’s growth as it continues to serve its thriving arts communities.”
Artistic Director Kristin Lee says, “I am thrilled to begin this exciting new chapter of Emerald City Music alongside Sean Campbell as our new Executive Director! Sean's extensive experience with various arts organizations and his deep passion for chamber music gives me confidence in the future of ECM. Together, I’m eager to bring this unique organization to even greater heights, continuing to bring meaningful musical experiences to our community.
On behalf of everyone at Emerald City Music, I want to extend our gratitude to the dedicated members of the Search Committee—Lynn Grant, Hsing-Hui Hsu, Sam Paris, Van Pham, John C. Robinson, and Shiva Shafii—whose collective efforts led to the selection of our new Executive Director. We also express our sincere thanks to Interim Executive Director Thom Mayes for his guidance throughout this process.”
“We are delighted to welcome Sean Campbell to Emerald City Music as our new Executive Director. His passion and experience as an arts administrator at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center set him apart from a field of candidates for the position,” says Hsing-Hui Hsu, President of Emerald City Music’s Board of Directors. “I am looking forward to working with him – and our fabulous Artistic Director, Kristin Lee – to bring intimate, eclectic chamber music experiences for the coming seasons."
Sean Campbell is an innovative and results-driven arts administrator and producer, with experience in managing programming, operations, and production for some of the nation's most respected performing arts organizations. With a deep passion for many styles of music, Campbell is skilled at building dynamic, inclusive environments that elevate artistic expression and enhance audience engagement.
Through his work at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Campbell planned and produced hundreds of events, digital partnerships, and film productions. Campbell led the programming and delivery of a premier partnership between CMS and Apple Music Classical, which launched in November 2024. This first-of-its-kind initiative accumulated more than 50,000 listeners in the first month. Other notable projects include producing the Emerson String Quartet’s final concerts, a two-part film for PBS, and a documentary on composer George Crumb.
Before moving to New York City in 2019, Campbell lived in Baltimore, Maryland, where he performed as a saxophonist, taught saxophone at the Baltimore School for the Arts, and taught woodwinds for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program. Campbell also founded a contemporary music series that connected artists and audiences from disparate corners of Baltimore’s music communities.
Campbell holds a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where he held a teaching assistantship in Ethnomusicology, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Denver. Campbell will be relocating to Seattle with his wife Swetha, and their dog Inji.
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest’s home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces seven programs annually, with each program visiting venues including Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), and a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival.
About ECM: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/about
Follow ECM on Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emeraldcitymusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emeraldcitymusic
Feb. 6-8: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Returns to Emerald City Music
Feb. 6-8: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Returns to Emerald City Music
Emerald City Music Season 09
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in:
Spanish Journey
Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 7:00pm
Lairmont Manor | 405 Fieldston Rd | Bellingham, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldFeb2025Bellingham
Friday, February 7, 2025 at 8:00pm
415 Westlake | 415 Westlake Avenue N | Seattle, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldFeb2025Seattle
Saturday, February 8, 2024 at 7:30pm
The Minnaert Center for the Arts | 2011 Mottman Rd SW | Olympia, WA
Tickets: bit.ly/EmeraldFeb2025Olympia
“[Emerald City Music and] artistic director Kristin Lee, a renowned violinist and member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, shows a flair for attracting younger audiences.” – Strings Magazine
Seattle, Olympia, & Bellingham WA – Beginning the second half of its 2024-2025 season of Global Resonance, Emerald City Music (ECM) and founding Artistic Director Kristin Lee present a culturally immersive and musically colorful program titled Spanish Journey, featuring the esteemed talents of several artists from New York’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMSLC), which returns to the Emerald City Music, bringing a vibrant celebration of Spanish music to Bellingham, Seattle, and Olympia. This month’s exciting program features Emerald City Music Artistic Director and CMSLC member, Kristin Lee, alongside GRAMMY® Award–winning guitarist Jason Vieaux, who returns to the ECM stage. Additional featured CMSLC artists include soprano Vanessa Becerra, cellist Clive Greensmith, and pianist Soyeon Kate Lee.
The three performances of Spanish Journey will take place on Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 7pm as part of the Bellingham Festival of Music at Lairmont Manor (405 Fieldston Rd.), Friday, February 7, 2025 at 8pm in Seattle at 415 Westlake (415 Westlake Avenue N), and Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 7:30pm in Olympia at The Minnaert Center for the Arts (2011 Mottman Rd. SW). During the concert at 415 Westlake, audiences can enjoy ECM’s flagship “date-night experience,” which combines vibrant classical performance with an open bar, and a “wander-around” concert setting with no stage dividing the audience from the musicians.
Spend a musical evening in Spain, a country of enchanting colors, rhythms, and textures, in a program imaginatively created by violinist Kristin Lee. The distinctive Spanish style is beautifully expressed in piano trios of Falla and Turina, while guitar – an instrument deeply associated with Spain – is also featured, played by Jason Vieaux. Song complements the balance of the program with vocal works by Sarasate, Rodrigo, and Obradors, the texts of which beautifully express the flair and passion of the Spanish language. The combination of the guitar’s intoxicating sounds, the language’s seductive tones, and the trios’ vivid style illustrates the richness of this culture.
Audiences can look forward to hearing music that includes: Canciones Clásicas Españolas by Fernando Obradors (1921); Mallorca, Op. 202 by Isaac Albéniz (1891); Tres Piezas Originales en Estilo Español, Op. 1 by Enrique Arbós (1886); Siete Canciones Populares Españolas by Manuel De Falla (1914); “Romanza Andaluza” from Spanish Dances by Pablo De Sarasate Op. 22 (1878); Tres Canciones Españolas by Joaquín Rodrigo (1951); and Trio No. 2 In B Minor by Joaquín Turina (1933).
“Spring Season at ECM is going to kick off on a high note with a night of Spanish Music!” says Artistic Director Kristin Lee.
”We are thrilled to welcome back The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and this time, you will notice new faces like soprano Vanessa Becerra, cellist Clive Greensmith, and pianist Soyeon Kate Lee who have not joined the ECM stage before. On the other hand, I'm excited to be bringing back to our stage, guitarist Jason Vieaux, and myself on the violin, representing The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Spanish music is less familiar in the "classical" realm, but incredibly festive and powerful to experience- it's a night not to be missed, and you will have 3 chances to hear it in Bellingham, Seattle, and Olympia!
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours seven productions annually, with each tour visiting venues including Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival, and an annual concert in New York City.
About the Artists: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season-artists
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/team/kristin-lee
About ECM: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/about
Follow ECM on Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emeraldcitymusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emeraldcitymusic
Jan-Feb: GatherNYC Presents Four Mindful Musical Mornings - Emi Ferguson + Dan Tepfer, Gabriel Cabezas, ensemble 132, Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
Jan-Feb: GatherNYC Presents Four Mindful Musical Mornings - Emi Ferguson + Dan Tepfer, Gabriel Cabezas, ensemble 132, Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
Press photos available here.
GatherNYC Continues 2024-2025 Season in NYC
at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle
Every Other Sunday Morning at 11AM
Mindful Musical Mornings Include Spoken Word and Brief Celebration of Silence
Coming Up in January and February
1/5 Emi Ferguson + Dan Tepfer
1/19 Gabriel Cabezas
2/2 ensemble 132
2/16 Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
Spring 2025 GatherNYC Concerts:
3/2 Toomai Quintet
3/16 Daedalus Quartet
3/30 MATA
4/13 Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
4/27 ETHEL + Layale Chaker
5/11 Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
5/25 Rupert Boyd, guitar
6/8 Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee”
– The New Yorker
“A sweet chamber music series”
– The New York Times
“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine
Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC
Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org
New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its 2024-2025 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle) with four upcoming concerts in January and February - Emi Ferguson (flute) + Dan Tepfer (clavichord) on January 5, cellist Gabriel Cabezas on January 19, ensemble 132 on February 2, and Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner on February 16. The season runs through June 2025, with concerts held every other Sunday at 11am in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free.
Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.
Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series last year. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”
Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Museum of Arts and Design, offering 17 concerts throughout our 2024-25 season, our largest lineup yet. We look forward to inviting audiences to join us for these mindful, musical mornings with world-class artists in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment.”
Up Next, Sundays at 11AM:
Dec. 22: Excelsis Percussion Quartet
Hailed as, "one of the most innovative and exciting percussion ensembles to emerge in the golden age of chamber music" (Jonathan Haas, New York University) for their immersive sound world, this international group of women with a multilingual combination of five languages join together to speak the universal language of rhythm, rooted in their belief that music possesses an ability to unite us all. Excelsis brings vibrancy to its audiences through eclectic programming, innovative storytelling, and embracing their intersectional identities.
Jan. 5: Emi Ferguson (flute) + Dan Tepfer (clavichord)
Two of NYC’s most acclaimed and versatile artists come together for a program of baroque delights by Bach, Bonporti and more. Tepfer is a #1 Billboard-charting keyboard player who is equally at home in classical and jazz realms, while Ferguson is a 2023 recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, known for her performances alongside the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and Paul Simon. The pair brings the spirit of their far-reaching musical practices to breathe new life into ancient music.
Jan. 19: Gabriel Cabezas
Acclaimed cello soloist and chamber musician Gabriel Cabezas shares a creatively constructed solo cello program that explores a wide range of timbral possibilities on the instrument. Bringing his thoughtful virtuosity to music by some of the most important compositional voices of his generation including Jessie Montgomery, Allison Loggins-Hull, Paul Wiancko, Alyssa Weinberg and more, Cabezas masterfully takes listeners on a journey through the world of the cello alone.
Feb. 2: ensemble132
ensemble132 presents a genre-bending program honoring the expansive legacy of two musical icons for their joint 150th birthday: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Maurice Ravel. This group of all-star chamber musicians drawn from the rosters of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Marlboro Music Festival, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and more, explores these composers’ influence on other visionaries through the 20th and 21st centuries. ensemble132 traces these connections in a program featuring movements from Ravel’s and Coleridge-Taylor’s string quartets along with special e132 arrangements and a rollicking finale by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.
Feb. 16: Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
Vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles, hailed as “soulfully articulate” by The New York Times, and acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Jarrett Cherner will present music from their debut album as a duo. The album, called Tone, centers its concept on the magical, fleeting and delicate nature of life as well as the need to take care of ourselves and the world around us as best as we possibly can.
GatherNYC's Spring 2025 Schedule – All Concerts Take Place at 11AM:
Mar. 2: Toomai Quintet + Maria Brea
Toomai String Quintet, an ensemble dedicated to expanding the Latin American chamber music repertoire, presents this family-friendly concert of music from Cuba, Brazil, and Mexico. The program features Cuban composer Keyla Orozco’s The Song of the Cicada (2024) for narrator and quintet, inspired by Onelio Jorge Cardoso’s vivid children’s story of the same title. Also on the program are Toomai’s original arrangements of works by Hermeto Pascoal, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Léa Freire, and Manuel Ponce.
Mar. 16: Daedalus Quartet
Winners of the highest honor in string quartet playing, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Daedalus Quartet will perform the visceral, folk-inspired sixth string quartet by Béla Bartók, alongside the atmospheric, pop-influenced Space Between by acclaimed composer and Guggenheim fellow Anna Weesner.
Mar. 30: MATA
Music at the Anthology (MATA), an incubator for adventurous emerging artists in the early stages of their careers, presents, supports, and commissions composers, regardless of their stylistic views or aesthetic inclinations. Founded by Philip Glass, Eleonor Sandresky, and Lisa Bielawa in 1996 as a way to address the lack of presentation opportunities for unaffiliated composers, MATA composers have since emanated to include future Rome, Alpert, Takemitsu, Siemens, and Pulitzer Prize-winners, Guggenheim Fellows, and MacArthur “Geniuses.” In 2010 MATA was awarded ASCAP’s prestigious Aaron Copland award in recognition of its work. For its first collaboration with GatherNYC, MATA will showcase highlights from previous festivals as well as selected works from its global Call for Submissions. The New Yorker has hailed MATA as, “the most exciting showcase for outstanding young composers from around the world.” The New York Times has called it “nondogmatic, even antidogmatic;” and The Wall Street Journal said that it “tells us a lot about how composers are thinking now.”
Apr. 13: Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
Violinist Deborah Buck, praised by The Strad as having a “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” and Orli Shaham, described as a “brilliant pianist” by The New York Times, present a program to celebrate Clara Schumann's legacy. In addition to works by Robert and Clara Schumann, the program features the couple's circle of friends, including the music of Amanda Maier.
Apr. 27: ETHEL + Layale Chaker
From their beginnings in 1998, the members of ETHEL have prized collaboration. In recent years, the quartet has struck up a particularly fruitful collaboration with the Lebanese-born, Brooklyn-based violinist and composer Layale Chaker. Their album Vigil offers a chance to document some of that collective work, with each member of ETHEL contributing a piece and Chaker contributing two works, one of which is the remarkable work that gives the project its name.
May 11: Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
Acclaimed violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv is known for channeling her award-winning virtuosity as a means of championing worthy music by lesser or unknown composers from her native Ukraine. For her first appearance at GatherNYC, Solomiya is joined by violist William Frampton and cellist Laura Metcalf to present a forgotten masterwork by Fedir Yakymenko, a colorful and rhapsodic piece written around the turn of the 20th century. Ukrainian by birth and spending his life in Russia and France, Yakymenko deftly blends French and Ukrainian sounds and styles into this delightful piece, which deserves to be heard and remembered.
May 25: Rupert Boyd, guitar
GatherNYC artistic director and classical guitar virtuoso Rupert Boyd takes listeners on a journey across centuries and continents on the six strings of his guitar. From Malian kora music to atmospheric sounds from Japan to contemporary music from his home country of Australia to classic works for the Spanish guitar, Boyd’s riveting program has something for everyone.
June 8: Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
Building on a highly successful collaboration during the 2023-24 season, GatherNYC artistic directors Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd in their duo formation of Boyd Meets Girl once again team up with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for an expanded collaborative program featuring classical favorites and creative, virtuosic takes on popular tunes.
For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.
Press photos available here.
The New School’s College of Performing Arts Welcomes Andy Akiho, Alison Deane, Jack Schatz and Jeffrey Zeigler to Faculty
The New School’s College of Performing Arts Welcomes Andy Akiho, Alison Deane, Jack Schatz and Jeffrey Zeigler to Faculty
(Left to right) Andy Akiho, Alison Deane, Jack Schatz, Jeffrey Zeigler
The New School’s College of Performing Arts Welcomes Andy Akiho,
Alison Deane, Jack Schatz and Jeffrey Zeigler to Faculty
New York, NY (November 25, 2024) – The New School’s College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama, today announced the appointment of Andy Akiho, Alison Deane, Jack Schatz, and Jeffrey Zeigler to the distinguished faculty of the celebrated performing arts school. As faculty members in the Mannes School of Music, the acclaimed musicians will lead classes and ensembles, teach private lessons, develop and create new projects, and more.
“In 1916, David and Clara Mannes hired a full roster of brand new faculty including the likes of Ernest Bloch, Angela Diller, Elizabeth Quaile, and their dear friend, Pablo Casals as a regular guest artist. In that spirit, we announce a wonderful slate of new faculty, including the brilliant composer and percussionist Andy Akiho, the wonderful pianist and pedagogue Alison Deane, the mainstay of bass trombone in the New York area, Jack Schatz, and returning to Mannes after a few years in Miami, the creative powerhouse cellist Jeffrey Zeigler. I am sure David and Clara Mannes would be impressed by this remarkable group of new faculty members,” said Richard Kessler, Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes School of Music.
Composer Andy Akiho, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and multi-GRAMMY® nominee, brings a visionary approach to contemporary classical music to Mannes. Hailed as a “trailblazing” artist by the Los Angeles Times, Akiho has gained worldwide acclaim for his genre-defying compositions. His works have been featured by leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestra, and he has been called “increasingly in demand” by The New York Times for his ability to craft music that emphasizes the natural theatricality of live performance. Akiho collaborates closely with College of Performing Arts Ensemble-in-Residence, Sandbox Percussion for whom he wrote Seven Pillars, a boldly genre-defying audio and video collaboration for percussion quartet, commissioned by Sandbox Percussion. “Seven Pillars is pretty much as pure as music gets — it’s only ‘about’ its own structure and self-imposed constrictions” (The New York Times). Akiho’s most recent release, BeLonging, is nominated for GRAMMYs in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Classical Compendium categories.
Read the full announcement about Andy Akiho’s appointment here.
Pianist Alison Deane brings a wealth of experience and talent, and her passion for music, along with her commitment to excellence, will greatly contribute to the vibrant musical community at Mannes. She has graced stages across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and her extensive career as both a soloist and chamber musician is marked by numerous accolades, prizes, and awards. A native New Yorker, Deane holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, where she was honored with the school’s highest award, the Harold Bauer Award. The New York Times described her playing as “a dazzling affair…has the fingers of a really first-class technician…her performances are exhilarating…the virtuoso demands suited her superbly.”
Read the full announcement about Alison Deane’s appointment here.
Trombonist Jack Schatz’s bold work spans orchestral, operatic, Broadway, and jazz, alongside an equally accomplished career as an educator. He has performed with premiere ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera–where he recorded Wagner’s Ring Cycle, as well as the National Grand Opera, the Houston Opera, and the New Jersey Symphony. On Broadway, Schatz’s credits include Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line, The Music Man, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Damn Yankees, Hello, Dolly!, and Side Show, among others. Schatz played and toured with the Big Bands of Bob Mintzer, Tom Pierson, Louie Bellson, and Bobby Watson. He has recorded with The Ed Palermo Big Band, James Moody, Alan Pasqua, and Ted Nash.
Read the full announcement about Jack Schatz’s appointment here.
A celebrated musician with a reputation for his innovative approach to both classical and contemporary repertoire, cellist Jeffrey Zeigler brings a wealth of experience and passion for teaching to the Mannes community. His career has spanned the globe, with performances in major concert halls, collaborations with celebrated composers, and advocacy for new music. As a member of the internationally acclaimed Kronos Quartet, he performed and recorded for nearly a decade. Throughout his career, Zeigler has been a powerful voice in the intersection of classical music and modern composition. Strings Magazine described his most recent solo album, Houses of Zodiac, as “one of the greatest and most ambitious solo cello albums of all time.” This year, he gave the world premiere of Andy Akiho’s new cello concerto, Nisei. In his teaching, Zeigler brings a student-centered philosophy that emphasizes creativity, technical mastery, and an exploration of the cello’s rich potential in both solo and ensemble settings.
Read the full announcement about Jeffrey Zeigler’s appointment here.
The College of Performing Arts at The New School was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for vigorous training, cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances.
The 1,000 students at the College of Performing Arts are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.
The curriculum at the College of Performing Arts is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.
Founded in 1916 by America’s first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, and pianist and educator Clara Damrosch Mannes, the Mannes School of Music is a standard-bearer for foundational excellence and radically progressive music education, dedicated to supporting the development of creative and socially engaged artists. Through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs, Mannes offers a curriculum as imaginative as it is rigorous, taught by a world-class faculty and visiting artists. Distinguished Mannes alumni include the 20th-century songwriting legend Burt Bacharach, the great pianists Michel Camilo, Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and Bill Evans, acclaimed conductors Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, JoAnn Falletta, and Julius Rudel, beloved mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, as well as the great opera stars of today, Yonghoon Lee, Danielle de Niese, and Nadine Sierra. As part of The New School’s College of Performing Arts, together with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the School of Drama, Mannes makes its home on The New School’s Greenwich Village campus in a state-of-the-art facility at the newly renovated Arnhold Hall.
Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.
Dec-Jan: GatherNYC Presents Mindful Musical Mornings with W4RP, Excelsis Percussion Quartet, Emi Ferguson + Dan Tepfer, and Gabriel Cabezas
Dec-Jan: GatherNYC Presents Mindful Musical Mornings with W4RP, Excelsis Percussion Quartet, Emi Ferguson + Dan Tepfer, and Gabriel Cabezas
Press photos available here.
GatherNYC Launches 2024-2025 Season in NYC
at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle
Every Other Sunday Morning at 11AM
Coming Up Next in December and January
Season Schedule - Every Other Sunday Morning at 11AM:
12/8 W4RP
12/22 Excelsis Percussion Quartet
1/5 Emi Ferguson + Dan Tepfer
1/19 Gabriel Cabezas
Spring 2025 GatherNYC Concerts:
2/2 ensemble 132
2/16 Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
3/2 Toomai Quintet
3/16 Daedalus Quartet
3/30 MATA
4/13 Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
4/27 ETHEL + Layale Chaker
5/11 Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
5/25 Rupert Boyd, guitar
6/8 Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee”
– The New Yorker
“A sweet chamber music series”
– The New York Times
“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine
Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC
Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org
New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its 2024-2025 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle) with four upcoming concerts in December and January - W4RP on December 8, Excelsis Percussion Quartet on December 22, Emi Ferguson (flute) + Dan Tepfer (clavichord) on January 5, and cellist Gabriel Cabezas on January 19. The season runs through June 2025, with concerts held every other Sunday at 11am in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free.
Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.
Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series last year. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”
Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Museum of Arts and Design, offering 17 concerts throughout our 2024-25 season, our largest lineup yet. We look forward to inviting audiences to join us for these mindful, musical mornings with world-class artists in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment.”
Up Next, Sundays at 11AM:
Dec. 8: W4RP
Described as, “a talented group that exemplifies the genre-obliterating direction of contemporary classical music” (Columbia Free Times), W4RP (née Warp Trio) is an internationally touring cross-genre chamber music experience. Reflecting the combination of Juilliard-trained members juxtaposed with members steeped in rock and jazz styles, the one-of-a-kind trio ensemble can be seen performing classical works in prestigious halls on the same tour where they headline a standing-room-only show at a rock venue.
Dec. 22: Excelsis Percussion Quartet
Hailed as, "one of the most innovative and exciting percussion ensembles to emerge in the golden age of chamber music" (Jonathan Haas, New York University) for their immersive sound world, this international group of women with a multilingual combination of five languages join together to speak the universal language of rhythm, rooted in their belief that music possesses an ability to unite us all. Excelsis brings vibrancy to its audiences through eclectic programming, innovative storytelling, and embracing their intersectional identities.
Jan. 5: Emi Ferguson (flute) + Dan Tepfer (clavichord)
Two of NYC’s most acclaimed and versatile artists come together for a program of baroque delights by Bach, Bonporti and more. Tepfer is a #1 Billboard-charting keyboard player who is equally at home in classical and jazz realms, while Ferguson is a 2023 recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, known for her performances alongside the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and Paul Simon. The pair brings the spirit of their far-reaching musical practices to breathe new life into ancient music.
Jan. 19: Gabriel Cabezas
Acclaimed cello soloist and chamber musician Gabriel Cabezas shares a creatively constructed solo cello program that explores a wide range of timbral possibilities on the instrument. Bringing his thoughtful virtuosity to music by some of the most important compositional voices of his generation including Jessie Montgomery, Allison Loggins-Hull, Paul Wiancko, Alyssa Weinberg and more, Cabezas masterfully takes listeners on a journey through the world of the cello alone.
GatherNYC's Spring 2025 Schedule – All Concerts Take Place at 11AM:
Feb. 2: ensemble132
ensemble132 presents a genre-bending program honoring the expansive legacy of two musical icons for their joint 150th birthday: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Maurice Ravel. This group of all-star chamber musicians drawn from the rosters of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Marlboro Music Festival, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and more, explores these composers’ influence on other visionaries through the 20th and 21st centuries. ensemble132 traces these connections in a program featuring movements from Ravel’s and Coleridge-Taylor’s string quartets along with special e132 arrangements and a rollicking finale by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.
Feb. 16: Sarah Elizabeth Charles + Jarrett Cherner
Vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles, hailed as “soulfully articulate” by The New York Times, and acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Jarrett Cherner will present music from their debut album as a duo. The album, called Tone, centers its concept on the magical, fleeting and delicate nature of life as well as the need to take care of ourselves and the world around us as best as we possibly can.
Mar. 2: Toomai Quintet + Maria Brea
Toomai String Quintet, an ensemble dedicated to expanding the Latin American chamber music repertoire, presents this family-friendly concert of music from Cuba, Brazil, and Mexico. The program features Cuban composer Keyla Orozco’s The Song of the Cicada (2024) for narrator and quintet, inspired by Onelio Jorge Cardoso’s vivid children’s story of the same title. Also on the program are Toomai’s original arrangements of works by Hermeto Pascoal, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Léa Freire, and Manuel Ponce.
Mar. 16: Daedalus Quartet
Winners of the highest honor in string quartet playing, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Daedalus Quartet will perform the visceral, folk-inspired sixth string quartet by Béla Bartók, alongside the atmospheric, pop-influenced Space Between by acclaimed composer and Guggenheim fellow Anna Weesner.
Mar. 30: MATA
Music at the Anthology (MATA), an incubator for adventurous emerging artists in the early stages of their careers, presents, supports, and commissions composers, regardless of their stylistic views or aesthetic inclinations. Founded by Philip Glass, Eleonor Sandresky, and Lisa Bielawa in 1996 as a way to address the lack of presentation opportunities for unaffiliated composers, MATA composers have since emanated to include future Rome, Alpert, Takemitsu, Siemens, and Pulitzer Prize-winners, Guggenheim Fellows, and MacArthur “Geniuses.” In 2010 MATA was awarded ASCAP’s prestigious Aaron Copland award in recognition of its work. For its first collaboration with GatherNYC, MATA will showcase highlights from previous festivals as well as selected works from its global Call for Submissions. The New Yorker has hailed MATA as, “the most exciting showcase for outstanding young composers from around the world.” The New York Times has called it “nondogmatic, even antidogmatic;” and The Wall Street Journal said that it “tells us a lot about how composers are thinking now.”
Apr. 13: Deborah Buck + Orli Shaham
Violinist Deborah Buck, praised by The Strad as having a “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” and Orli Shaham, described as a “brilliant pianist” by The New York Times, present a program to celebrate Clara Schumann's legacy. In addition to works by Robert and Clara Schumann, the program features the couple's circle of friends, including the music of Amanda Maier.
Apr. 27: ETHEL + Layale Chaker
From their beginnings in 1998, the members of ETHEL have prized collaboration. In recent years, the quartet has struck up a particularly fruitful collaboration with the Lebanese-born, Brooklyn-based violinist and composer Layale Chaker. Their album Vigil offers a chance to document some of that collective work, with each member of ETHEL contributing a piece and Chaker contributing two works, one of which is the remarkable work that gives the project its name.
May 11: Solomiya Ivakhiv + Friends: Music from Ukraine
Acclaimed violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv is known for channeling her award-winning virtuosity as a means of championing worthy music by lesser or unknown composers from her native Ukraine. For her first appearance at GatherNYC, Solomiya is joined by violist William Frampton and cellist Laura Metcalf to present a forgotten masterwork by Fedir Yakymenko, a colorful and rhapsodic piece written around the turn of the 20th century. Ukrainian by birth and spending his life in Russia and France, Yakymenko deftly blends French and Ukrainian sounds and styles into this delightful piece, which deserves to be heard and remembered.
May 25: Rupert Boyd, guitar
GatherNYC artistic director and classical guitar virtuoso Rupert Boyd takes listeners on a journey across centuries and continents on the six strings of his guitar. From Malian kora music to atmospheric sounds from Japan to contemporary music from his home country of Australia to classic works for the Spanish guitar, Boyd’s riveting program has something for everyone.
June 8: Orpheus + Boyd Meets Girl
Building on a highly successful collaboration during the 2023-24 season, GatherNYC artistic directors Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd in their duo formation of Boyd Meets Girl once again team up with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for an expanded collaborative program featuring classical favorites and creative, virtuosic takes on popular tunes.
For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.
Press photos available here.
Dec. 11: GRAMMY®-nominated Sandbox Percussion Gives the World Premiere Performance of BLOOM by GRAMMY®-nominated Composer Michael Torke
GRAMMY®-nominated Sandbox Percussion Gives the World Premiere Performance of BLOOM by GRAMMY®-nominated Composer Michael Torke
The New School's College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama
Presents
GRAMMY®-nominated Ensemble-in-Residence Sandbox Percussion
In the World Premiere Performance of BLOOM
by GRAMMY®-nominated Composer Michael Torke
Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
John L. Tishman Auditorium | 63 Fifth Ave., N.Y.C.
Free with Registration
Information: www.newschool.edu/performing-arts
For press tickets, contact Christina Jensen: christina@jensenartists.com
New York, NY – On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 7:30 p.m., The New School's College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama, presents GRAMMY®-nominated Ensemble-in Residence Sandbox Percussion, in the world premiere performance of BLOOM by GRAMMY®-nominated composer Michael Torke. The concert is free and open to the public with registration. Space is limited. This is the live premiere of BLOOM. Sandbox Percussion’s recording of the work was released on Ecstatic Records on August 30, 2024.
Sandbox Percussion, a Brooklyn-based percussion ensemble of established leaders in contemporary art music, has teamed up with the acclaimed composer Michael Torke for BLOOM, a new piece composed for the ensemble. "I have been a big fan of Michael Torke's music since his wonderful 1997 album Overnight Mail. We are thrilled to present the world premiere performance of Torke's BLOOM, written for and performed by our Ensemble-in-Residence, Sandbox Percussion. The combination of Torke's brilliant music and the gifted abilities of Sandbox Percussion are wildly compelling. We hope many people see and hear this groundbreaking and beautiful music," says Richard Kessler, Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes School of Music.
“Michael uses rhythm in his music in an intrinsic way,” says Ian Rosenbaum, who previously recorded percussion parts for Torke’s albums PSALMS AND CANTICLES, TIME, and UNSEEN, which led to the collaboration with the full group. “Almost as soon as I started playing his music, I had the feeling that Michael and Sandbox would be a good match,” Rosenbaum adds. “Rhythms are the building blocks of the structure of many of his pieces, driving forward the emotion and the energy. It’s inspiring to find a composer who uses rhythm in a new and innovative way; we learned a lot from Michael and from this piece about how to ‘melodicize’ a rhythm. He also challenged us technically: In some of the more complicated parts, Michael asks us each to create a composite melody that is split between our keyboard percussion instruments and drums — that’s a particular challenge we had never encountered before.”
Although Torke usually includes a colorful array of percussion instruments in his orchestral and chamber works — tambourine, claves, cymbals, tubular bells, glockenspiel, xylophone, and vibraphone, among many others — and in 2001 composed a percussion concerto, Rapture, BLOOM is his first piece for percussion quartet alone. Sandbox Percussion first saw the work in progress in November 2023, and by May 2024 had learned and recorded the completed piece.
BLOOM uses a series of interlocking rhythms that create a groove when played together, using each player’s drums (non-pitched instruments), and vibraphone and marimbas (pitched). “Just as shoots of plants push through dirt erupting in blooms, the vibes and marimbas burst forth from the drums,” writes Torke in his program notes. “In other words, this music has an organic profile, unlike other recent pieces of mine.” BLOOM is structured in three sets — Bloom 1, Bloom 2, and Bloom 3 — each divided into three movements: “morning,” “noon,” and “night.” Two slower movements, Stem 1 and Stem 2, are interspersed between the Bloom sets. The drums represent the earth out of which the shoots grow, which in turn are represented by the mallet instruments. Much of Torke’s music has a rhythmic profile, a physical pulse through which he takes classic minimalism to new expressive spheres, also influenced by neoclassicism and a strong sense of color.
“No group I’ve worked with is as committed, both to their artistry in general and to the specific project at hand, as Sandbox Percussion,” says Torke. “It turns out that the kind of music I write is the kind of music they do very well, so it is an optimal match.” “My endeavor is to carve out a place in the musical real estate — to find an expression that is unique enough to take up space in the repertory,” Torke adds. “Whether I succeed, time will be the judge.”
Watch the music video for “Bloom 2, morning”
Performances by students and faculty at the College of Performing Arts break new ground, pushing the boundaries of convention and reinventing traditional forms. Additional highlights for the College this season include (Un)Silent Film series presenting Tod Browning’s classic film Dracula with Philip Glass’s score performed by Orange Road Quartet, the Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence, with pianist and guest conductor Michael Riesman on October 25; the Namekawa-Davies Duo (Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies) in Pianographique featuring music by Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and Steve Reich, with real-time visualizations by Cori O’Lan, on October 26; Mannes Opera’s double bill featuring one-act operas by David T. Little and Kamala Sankaram on November 8 and 9; performances by celebrated Mannes/School of Jazz Ensembles-in-Residence The Westerlies, Sandbox Percussion, and JACK Quartet throughout the season; the New School Studio Orchestra performing Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite on December 5; and multiple performances of the Mannes Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, including Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light to the silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc with The New York Choral Society on November 1, the U.S. premiere of Augustus Hailstork’s Ndemera on December 9, and Sandbox Percussion in Viet Cuong’s percussion concerto Re(new)al paired with John Zorn’s violin concerto Contes de Fées performed by Stefan Jackiw on April 11. The New School Studio Orchestra presents the U.S. premiere of jazz great Carla Bley’s rarely heard landmark album Escalator Over the Hill on May 2.
For a complete overview of performances at The College of Performing Arts at The New School, read the 2024-2025 season press release here.
Presenting approximately 900 performances each year by students, faculty and guest artists, nearly all of which are free and open to the public, the Mannes, Jazz, Drama season provides an incredible performing arts resource for the greater New York community and beyond. Performances at The New School’s College of Performing Arts are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Some events require advance registration. View the full calendar of performances at the College of Performing Arts – including Mannes School of Music, School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and School of Drama – for details on how to attend.
Additional Upcoming Events featuring Sandbox Percussion
April 11 at 7:30pm: Mannes Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall with Sandbox Percussion & Violinist Stefan Jackiw
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center | 1941 Broadway, N.Y.C.
Event Information
The Mannes Orchestra, led by conductor David Hayes, brings a program featuring Mannes Ensemble-in-Residence Sandbox Percussion performing Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al, to Alice Tully Hall. The piece, which is dedicated to Sandbox Percussion, is inspired by renewable energy initiatives. Cuong writes, “Re(new)al is a percussion quartet concerto that is similarly devoted to finding unexpected ways to breathe new life into traditional ideas, and the solo quartet therefore performs on several ‘found’ instruments, including crystal glasses and compressed air cans. And while the piece also features more traditional instruments, such as snare drum and vibraphone, I looked for ways to either alter their sounds or find new ways to play them. For instance, a single snare drum is played by all four members of the quartet, and certain notes of the vibraphone are prepared with aluminum foil to recreate sounds found in electronic music. The entire piece was conceived in this way.” The concert also features John Zorn’s violin concerto, Contes de Fées, performed by Stefan Jackiw. Composed in 1999 at the turn of the millennium, Contes de Fées is one of Zorn’s classical masterworks. Building on this season’s theme of exploring the radical orchestra – unusual orchestrations and non-standard symphonic structures – the program includes Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia, which includes eight amplified singers embedded within the orchestra.
About Sandbox Percussion
Described as “exhilarating” by The New York Times and “utterly mesmerizing” by The Guardian, the GRAMMY® -nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion champions living composers through its unwavering dedication to contemporary chamber music. In 2011, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney were brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together; they have since captivated audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning. In 2024, Sandbox Percussion became the first percussion ensemble to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.
The 2021 album Seven Pillars, featuring Andy Akiho’s title piece, was nominated for two GRAMMY® awards. Following performances throughout the United States and Europe, Sandbox Percussion performs Seven Pillars in October at the Beijing Music Festival. They will also perform the piece at select dates throughout the 2024-25 season.
This season, Sandbox Percussion and the Tyshawn Sorey Trio collaborate on a special Max Roach tribute with live performances that include the 92nd Street Y and the Library of Congress. Together, the two groups explore the extraordinary legacy of jazz pioneer Max Roach, who was born 100 years ago.
Sandbox Percussion recently teamed up with composer Michael Torke, who created the hourlong piece BLOOM for the group. The world premiere of BLOOM will take place in December at Tishman Auditorium, at The New School, New York City, following the album release in August, via Ecstatic Records.
In October, Sandbox Percussion performs at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, collaborating with the London-based Gandini Juggling. Over the season, Sandbox Percussion will also perform music by Viet Cuong, Julius Eastman, Gabriel Kahane, Gabriella Smith, Paola Prestini, and Doug Cuomo.
Sandbox Percussion recently recorded percussion music for its first feature film: The Wild Robot (DreamWorks, 2024), an animated science fiction survival film with music by Kris Bowers. The first recording of Lifeline, a vibrant percussion quartet composed by Ellis Ludwig-Leone for Sandbox Percussion, will be released on the album Past Life / Lifeline in December, on Better Company Records. A new album celebrating the group’s long-standing collaboration with Christopher Cerrone will be released in February on PENTATONE Records, including the piece Ode To Joy, co-commissioned by the group in 2023.
Sandbox Percussion holds the positions of ensemble-in-residence and percussion faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and The New School’s College of Performing Arts. Starting in 2024-25, Sandbox Percussion will also be on faculty at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
About Michael Torke
Composer Michael Torke’s work has been described as “some of the most optimistic, joyful and thoroughly uplifting music to appear in recent years” (Gramophone). He has been hailed as a “vitally inventive composer” (Financial Times), and “a master orchestrator whose shimmering timbral palette makes him the Ravel of his generation” (New York Times). He has created a substantial body of works in virtually every genre; his recent piece SKY, for violinist Tessa Lark, was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize and was nominated for a GRAMMY® award for “best classical instrument solo.” Torke has been commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey, National Ballet of Canada, Metropolitan Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, English National Opera, the London Sinfonietta, Lontano, De Volharding, and the Smith, Ying, and Amstel quartets, among other prestigious orchestras, ballet companies, and ensembles. He has worked with conductors Simon Rattle, Kurt Mazur, Edo de Waart, and David Zinman; choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, James Kudelka, and Juri Kilian; librettists A. R. Gurney, Michael Korie, and Mark Campbell; and directors Des McAnuff, Bart Sher, and Michael Greif, among others.
Torke has been commissioned by entities as diverse as the Walt Disney Company and Absolute Vodka; worked with soloists such as Tessa Lark, Christopher O'Reilly, and Joyce Castle; and written incidental music for The Public Theater, The Old Globe Theater, and Classic Stage Company, among others. He has also been composer-in-residence with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Beginning his career with exclusive contracts with Boosey and Hawkes, and Decca Records, Torke now controls his own copyrights and masters through his publishing company, Adjustable Music, and record company, Ecstatic Records. Find out more at michaeltorke.com
About The College of Performing Arts at The New School
The College of Performing Arts at The New School was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for vigorous training, cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances.
The 1,000 students at the College of Performing Arts are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.
The curriculum at the College of Performing Arts is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.
Founded in 1916 by America’s first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, and pianist and educator Clara Damrosch Mannes, the Mannes School of Music is a standard-bearer for foundational excellence and radically progressive music education, dedicated to supporting the development of creative and socially engaged artists. Through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs, Mannes offers a curriculum as imaginative as it is rigorous, taught by a world-class faculty and visiting artists. As part of The New School’s College of Performing Arts, together with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the School of Drama, Mannes makes its home on The New School’s Greenwich Village campus in a state-of-the-art facility at the newly renovated Arnhold Hall.
Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Announces Voices of Today - A Five-Season Commissioning, Recording, and Storytelling Initiative
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Announces Voices of Today - A Five-Season Commissioning, Recording, and Storytelling Initiative
L-R: Composer Derrick Skye and RPO Music Director Andreas Delfs. Photo by Joyce Tseng. Available in high resolution here.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Led by Music Director Andreas Delfs
Announces Voices of Today
A Five-Season Commissioning, Recording, and Storytelling Initiative
Preserving the Voices of Today for Future Generations
Online Hub Featuring Voices of Today Podcasts, Live Performance Video and More, Launches Today:
Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), led by Music Director Andreas Delfs, announces the launch of Voices of Today, a five-season commissioning, recording, and storytelling initiative which will document the rich legacy of RPO commissions and performances to preserve the voices of today for future generations. This initiative was made possible by a gift from patron of the arts Stephen Ashley, given in loving memory and honor of his late wife Janice Ashley. Voices of Today will celebrate and promote diverse creative voices in the American concert music landscape, by commissioning, performing, recording, filming, and disseminating new orchestral works.
With Voices of Today, Delfs responded to Ashley’s challenge to create “something transformative” for the RPO and establish Rochester as an incubator for new concert music that pushes traditional boundaries by embracing non-traditional instruments, technology, theater, movement, and the visual arts. The new initiative also recalls the RPO’s early days as a recording powerhouse in the 1930-50s, when the orchestra released a number of notable albums including a 1939 recording of William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony, which the RPO premiered in 1931.
“Voices of Today is about the RPO connecting with its storied legacy, and about returning to its roots by presenting, commissioning, and recording new music,” says Music Director Andreas Delfs. “I want to commission music from the most exciting living composers, collaborate with artists from all backgrounds. I want to initiate new works that are really needed in the repertory, and I want this new music to have a life after Rochester and to share our musical stories far and wide. I am privileged to lead our great American orchestra into the future with this new unparalleled initiative.”
Voices of Today supports the performance of works by living composers on almost every RPO mainstage Philharmonics series concert. During the 2024-2025 season, these composers include Kevin Puts (Contact, triple concerto featuring Time for Three; September 21 and 22), Missy Mazzoli (Sinfonia for Orbiting Spheres; October 10 and 12), Behzad Ranjbaran (Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with Nikki Chooi; October 24 and 26), James Lee III (Sensational Dynamism: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra performed by The Naughtons; November 9 and 10), Lowell Liebermann (Frankenstein Waltzes; November 23 and 24), Anna Clyne (This Midnight Hour; January 23 and 25), Clarice Assad (Nhanderú; February 6 and 8), Carlos Simon (Fate Now Conquers; March 1 and 2), Roberto Sierra (Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Bassoon, Violin, Cello, and Orchestra; March 20 and 22), John Adams (Short Ride in a Fast Machine; May 3 and 4), and John Mackey (Redline Tango; May 31 and June 1).
In addition, through Voices of Today, the RPO will commission new orchestral works each season. In recent and upcoming seasons, Voices of Today supports commissions by Derrick Skye (To Seek is Jubilance; May 30 and June 1, 2024), James Lee III (Sensational Dynamism: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra performed by The Naughtons; November 9 and 10, 2024), Roberto Sierra (Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Bassoon, Violin, Cello, and Orchestra; March 20 and 22, 2025), Avner Dorman (double violin concerto for Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony; 2025-2026 season), Aaron Jay Kernis (piano concerto for Jean-Yves Thibaudet; 2025-2026 season), and Jennifer Higdon (cello concerto for Julian Schwarz; 2025-2026 season).
“Through Voices of Today,” says James Barry, VP of Artistic Planning and Operations, “we are building relationships with a diverse group of living composers and creative partners in a meaningful way, by disseminating their work through recordings, video, and telling their stories in podcast interviews. This gift has opened the door for us to partner and collaborate with cultural organizations that make up the vibrant artistic community in Rochester in telling unique musical stories.”
The RPO is also partnering with Azica Records and producer Alan Bise to record five full-length albums as part of Voices of Today. The first album, planned for release in fall 2026, will be titled Four and will feature the RPO-commissioned works by Derrick Skye, James Lee III, and Roberto Sierra. (The album title Four reflects that Skye’s work features four singers, Lee’s piano concerto is for four hands, and Sierra’s concertante is written for four RPO soloists.)
Azica producer Alan Bise says, “I am thrilled to partner with the RPO and maestro Andreas Delfs on the recording and release of these important new commissions. Each work, written by a vitally important composer, deserves to be added to the recorded catalog and to be available in perpetuity for listeners worldwide. Azica is proud to be a part of that legacy."
The Voices of Today online hub, launched today, will house dedicated podcasts and filmed performances of selected new works supported by the initiative. It will be a destination to engage with the RPO’s creative partners, see the live video performance of their work, and listen to their stories via the Voices of Today podcast – the final product of several interviews conducted by Julia Figueras, former WXXI Classical music director and midday host for more than 26 years. Currently, the online hub houses new podcast interviews with Andy Akiho and Derrick Skye, and about the Garth Fagan Dance and RPO Rite of Spring collaboration, as well as performance video of three recent projects – the January 2024 performance of new choreography by Norwood “PJ” Pennewell, artistic director of Garth Fagan Dance for Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring; Andy Akiho’s Ricochet (“Ping Pong Concerto”) with professionals from the Rochester Genesee Valley Table Tennis Club performed in January 2024; and the May 2024 performance of Derrick Skye’s To Seek is Jubilance.
Watch Andreas Delfs & Derrick Skye Discuss Voices of Today:
About the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra: The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its origins in 1922. The RPO presents approximately 150 concerts and broadcasts a year, serving up to 170,000 through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Andreas Delfs was named music director in 2021, following notable RPO music directors Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, Mark Elder, and Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman and Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik. The RPO reaches more than 30,000 through its specific education programs.
Dec. 9: Mannes Orchestra Premieres Ndemara by Adolphus Hailstork and Long-Awaited Symphony by Marion Bauer at Lincoln Center
Mannes Orchestra Premieres Ndemara by Adolphus Hailstork and Long-Awaited Symphony by Marion Bauer at Lincoln Center
The New School's College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama
Presents the Mannes Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall
Conducted by David Hayes
Featuring the U.S. Premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s Ndemara,
the N.Y.C. Premiere of Marion Bauer's Symphony No. 1,
and David Diamond's Symphony No. 2
Monday, December 9, 2024 at 7:30pm
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center | 1941 Broadway, N.Y.C.
Tickets and Information
Information: www.newschool.edu/performing-arts
For press tickets, contact Christina Jensen: christina@jensenartists.com
New York, NY – On Monday, December 9, 2024, 7:30pm, The New School's College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama, presents the Mannes Orchestra led by conductor David Hayes, at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Tickets for the performance are available now.
For its return to Alice Tully Hall, the Mannes Orchestra presents an evening of pioneering American composers, including the New York City premiere of Marion Bauer’s rarely performed Symphony No. 1, which was composed between 1947 and 1950 but was never performed during the composer’s lifetime; the U.S. premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s Ndemara; and David Diamond’s Symphony No. 2 – widely praised as a mid-twentieth century masterwork; it was composed in the midst of World War II and premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1944. Ndemara is the second work by Hailstork to be premiered by the Mannes Orchestra – the group presented the world premiere of his lauded work, Survive (Symphony No. 4) in March 2023 at Alice Tully Hall.
“A few years ago we made a commitment that the most high profile performances of the Mannes Orchestra would be curated by prioritizing works that we love, were either a world, U.S. or New York premiere, were written by under-recognized composers, and would benefit from a recorded performance. This Tully Hall program, a distinctly American one, animates this commitment in a beautiful and powerful manner, giving life to a work by Marion Bauer that had been waiting to be heard for almost 75 years, as well as the U.S. premiere of a favorite Mannes composer, Adolphus Hailstork. Rounding out this program is a work by David Diamond that rarely appears on programs anymore. As dean, I am proud of this work and hope lots of people will come to hear it,” said Richard Kessler, Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes School of Music.
Composed shortly before her death, Marion Bauer’s Symphony No. 1 was originally scheduled to premiere in 1950. However, due to significant issues on the part of the transcribers while working on Bauer’s score, the piece was not completed in time for its originally scheduled premiere date. The work was nearly forgotten until The Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy (WPA) meticulously prepared an edited score, which they presented to conductor Heather Buchman. Symphony No. 1, structured in three movements, finally received its long-awaited world premiere in 2022. “It caught my eye because it had a note attached, ‘has never been performed,’ even though it was composed in 1947-1950,” Buchman said. “Marion Bauer was a significant presence in American classical music in the first half of the 20th century…so the fact that her symphony was never performed seemed an egregious neglect of someone who should be celebrated.”
Adolphus Hailstork’s Ndemara is a single-movement nocturne inspired by the star for which it is named – a prominent star in the summer night sky. Scored for two oboes, two horns, and strings, Ndemara weaves a delicate tapestry of timbres, capturing the serenity of a starlit night and the bittersweet nature of parting. Hailstork says of Ndemara, “In 2016 I was commissioned to write a piece for 2 horns, and 2 oboes and strings to be premiered by a French chamber orchestra. The piece was premiered in Paris in 2017 and then, a few weeks later, in Milan. I was commissioned to write a piece that incorporated an idea related to Africa and the cosmos. All lands or nations have their own interpretation of the stars. That led to my choosing one of the stars interpreted by at least three African tribes as a warning to lovers of the need to end a romantic moment. The bright star Fomalhaut lies in a rather star-poor region and is prominent in the summer sky. It is called Ndemara, ‘The Sweetheart Star,’ by the Shona. The visibility of this star was supposed to indicate the time for lovers to part before their parents discovered them.”
David Diamond’s Symphony No. 2 was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Serge Koussevitzky on October 22, 1944. The symphony unfolds over four movements, each rich in emotional depth and musical innovation. The first movement juxtaposes a sense of tragedy with moments of refined elegance, establishing a compelling emotional landscape. The second movement, a brief scherzo, features what Diamond described as, “a rhythmic figure mockingly tossed back and forth between the cellos and a bassoon,” imbuing it with a playful, almost whimsical character. The third movement revisits the emotional tone of the opening, weaving themes of introspection and resonance. The finale surges forward with a triumphant and exhilarating energy, bringing the symphony to a stirring conclusion.
Each of the composers on this program are esteemed in their own rights, but they also share bonds across time. Marion Bauer is known as Nadia Boulanger’s first American student. Bauer taught Nadia Boulanger English, and Boulanger gave Bauer lessons in harmony until Bauer returned to the United States in 1907. Bauer composed and published orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental music. She was well-regarded as an educator and served on the faculties at New York University and the Juilliard School of Music.
Adolphus Hailstork received his Ph.D. in composition from Michigan State University, where he was a student of H. Owen Reed. He had previously studied at the Manhattan School of Music, under Vittorio Giannini and David Diamond, at the American Institute at Fontainebleau with Nadia Boulanger, and at Howard University with Mark Fax. Dr. Hailstork has written numerous works for chorus, solo voice, piano, organ, various chamber ensembles, band, orchestra, and opera.
Born in 1915 in Rochester, New York, David Diamond earned numerous accolades for his compositions, including three Guggenheim Fellowships, the William Schuman Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986, the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1991, and a GRAMMY® nomination for his String Quartet No. 4 from 1951. Diamond was a versatile, adventurous, and prolific composer, writing a total of 20 orchestral works, 29 chamber works, 14 piano works, five vocal works, two wind ensembles and nine concerto works. Beginning in 1973, Diamond was a professor of composition at The Juilliard School for 25 years.About the Composers:
Renowned composer Adolphus Hailstork has firmly established himself as one of America’s foremost composers, with his works celebrated in performances by prestigious orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His collaborations with distinguished conductors such as James DePreist, Paul Freeman, Daniel Barenboim, and Kurt Masur have further enriched his storied career. Most recently, in March, Thomas Wilkins conducted Hailstork’s An American Port of Call with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Hailstork’s prolific body of work spans a diverse range of ensembles, from choral and vocal solo to instrumental chamber, band, orchestral, and operatic compositions. Among his early works are Celebration (1976), Out of the Depths (1977), American
Guernica (1983), Consort Piece (1995), and Joshua’s Boots (1999). More recent compositions include Rise for Freedom (2017), Set Me on a Rock (2008), The Gift of the Magi (2009), Zora, We’re Calling You (2011), and Speak of Peace (2013). In addition to his compositional achievements, Dr. Hailstork is highly respected as an educator. His teaching career began with graduate assistantships at Michigan State University (1969-1971), followed by professorships at Youngstown State University in Ohio (1971-1977) and Norfolk State University in Virginia (1977-2000). He currently serves as an Eminent Scholar and Professor of Music at Old Dominion University in Virginia (2000-present), where his contributions continue to inspire the next generation of musicians.
Marion Eugénie Bauer was an influential American composer, educator, writer, and music critic whose work helped shape American music in the early 20th century. A contemporary of Aaron Copland, Bauer was deeply engaged in defining a distinct American musical identity through both her compositions and advocacy. Bauer composed in many different genres, including works for piano, chamber ensembles, symphonic orchestra, solo voice, and vocal ensembles. Her music reflects a rich harmonic language, characterized by dissonance and extended tertian, quartal, and quintal harmonies, though she generally remained within an extended tonal framework, apart from a brief period experimenting with serialism in the 1940s. Bauer’s works were widely performed during her lifetime, with highlights including the New York Philharmonic’s 1947 premiere of Sun Splendor conducted by Leopold Stokowski and a dedicated 1951 concert at New York’s Town Hall. In addition to her compositional achievements, she was a passionate teacher. Her academic career spanned 25 years on the faculty of New York University, where she taught music history and composition from 1926 to 1951. She was also a guest lecturer at Juilliard from 1940 until her passing in 1955. Bauer was a vigorous supporter of new music beyond her own compositions. She co-founded the American Music Guild, the American Music Center, and the American Composer’s Alliance, where she served as a board member. Additionally, she held leadership roles within the League of Composers and the Society for the Publication of American Music, often as the sole woman in these positions.
Awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1995 and the Juilliard Medal at the Juilliard School’s 100th commencement, David Diamond is celebrated as a leading 20th-century American composer. His prolific contributions began in the 1940s with notable works such as Concerto for Two Solo Pianos (1942), String Quartet No.2 (1943), Symphony No. 3 (1945), and Chaconne for Violin and Piano (1948). Diamond also composed the iconic theme for CBS Radio Network’s Hear It Now (1950-51) and See It Now (1951-58). From 1951 to 1965, Diamond taught in Europe as a Fulbright Professor. Soon after returning to the United States in 1965, the New York Philharmonic performed his Symphony No.5 under Leonard Bernstein and his Piano Concerto, which Diamond himself conducted. Diamond taught at the Manhattan School of Music (1965-67), earning the Rheta Sosland Chamber Music Prize for his String Quartet No. 8. In 1973, he joined The Juilliard School’s faculty, dedicating 25 years to teaching composition. His achievements were further recognized with awards such as the William Schuman Lifetime Achievement Award, the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Edward MacDowell Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. In celebration of its 150th anniversary, the New York Philharmonic performed his Symphony No.11, affirming Diamond’s enduring impact on American music.
Led by maestro David Hayes, the Mannes Orchestra is the premiere large ensemble at The New School College of Performing Arts. The orchestra strives to foster the highest level of musicianship by engaging with a wide range of repertoire in a focused, dynamic, and supportive environment that mirrors the culture and practices of professional orchestras. Known for its bold and adventurous programming, the Mannes Orchestra has been hailed by The New York Times as an orchestra whose quality is “a revelation,” and for its “intensity of focus.” The orchestra performs a multitude of concerts each season at venues including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, John L. Tishman Auditorium at The New School, and appearances with the Mannes Opera at the Bank Street Theater and the Martha Graham Dance Company at New York City Center.
Performances by students and faculty at the College of Performing Arts break new ground, pushing the boundaries of convention and reinventing traditional forms. Additional highlights for the College this season include (Un)Silent Film series presenting Tod Browning’s classic film Dracula with Philip Glass’s score performed by Orange Road Quartet, the Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence, with pianist and guest conductor Michael Riesman on October 25; the Namekawa-Davies Duo (Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies) in Pianographique featuring music by Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and Steve Reich, with real-time visualizations by Cori O’Lan, on October 26; Mannes Opera’s double bill featuring one-act operas by David T. Little and Kamala Sankaram on November 8 and 9; performances by celebrated Mannes/School of Jazz Ensembles-in-Residence The Westerlies, Sandbox Percussion, and JACK Quartet throughout the season, including Sandbox Percussion’s world premiere of Michael Torke’s BLOOM on December 11; the New School Studio Orchestra performing Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite on December 5; and multiple performances of the Mannes Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, including Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light to the silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc with The New York Choral Society on November 1 and Sandbox Percussion in Viet Cuong’s percussion concerto Re(new)al paired with John Zorn’s violin concerto Contes de Fées performed by Stefan Jackiw on April 11. The New School Studio Orchestra presents the U.S. premiere of jazz great Carla Bley’s rarely heard landmark album Escalator Over the Hill on May 2.
For a complete overview of performances at The College of Performing Arts at The New School, read the 2024-2025 season press release here.
Presenting approximately 900 performances each year by students, faculty and guest artists, nearly all of which are free and open to the public, the Mannes, Jazz, Drama season provides an incredible performing arts resource for the greater New York community and beyond. Performances at The New School’s College of Performing Arts are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Some events require advance registration. View the full calendar of performances at the College of Performing Arts – including Mannes School of Music, School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and School of Drama – for details on how to attend.
Additional Upcoming Events featuring The Mannes Orchestra
November 1 at 7:30pm: Mannes Orchestra & The New York Choral Society in Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light with Silent Film The Passion of Joan of Arc
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center | 1941 Broadway, N.Y.C.
Information
The New York Choral Society presents Voices of Light, a work by New York native Richard Einhorn, for orchestra, soloists, and chorus. This compelling piece will be paired with the legendary silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, which chronicles the trial and torment of Joan of Arc. Starring the famous Comédie Française actress Renée Falconetti, this recently restored 1928 film offers a unique opportunity for both film and music lovers to experience the movie on a large screen at Alice Tully Hall, in partnership with the Mannes Orchestra.
February 5 at 7:00pm: Final Round of The George and Elizabeth Gregory Concerto Competition
Ernst C. Stiefel Hall | Arnhold Hall | 55 W. 13th St., N.Y.C.
Free with registration
The Final Round of The George and Elizabeth Gregory Concerto Competition for the 2024-2025 academic year is open to the public. The finalists will perform their entire pieces, and the winners will be announced live by the panel of judges. In addition to a public performance with the Mannes Orchestra on Friday, February 28, the first-prize winner will receive a financial award of $4,000. The two runners-up alternates will also be announced, each receiving $500.
February 28 at 7:30pm: Mannes Orchestra Spring Season Opener
John L. Tishman Auditorium | 63 Fifth Ave., N.Y.C.
Free with registration
The Mannes Orchestra, conducted by Mannes alumnae Mina Kim and Laura Gentile, gives the world premiere performances of two recent Martinů Prize composers and Mannes alumni – JL Marlor’s Saltwater Lung (2023 winner) and Alex Glass’s The World Inside (2024 winner). The Martinů Prize is given annually in honor of the distinguished composer and former Mannes faculty member Bohuslav Martinů. Sibelius’s rarely performed tone poem The Wood Nymph, Op. 15 completes the program. Premiered in 1895, it subsequently fell into obscurity with few performances in the 20th century, before finally being published in 2006.
April 11 at 7:30pm: Mannes Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall with Sandbox Percussion & Violinist Stefan Jackiw
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center | 1941 Broadway, N.Y.C.
Event Information
The Mannes Orchestra, led by conductor David Hayes, brings a program featuring Mannes Ensemble-in-Residence Sandbox Percussion performing Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al, to Alice Tully Hall. The piece, which is dedicated to Sandbox Percussion, is inspired by renewable energy initiatives. Cuong writes, “Re(new)al is a percussion quartet concerto that is similarly devoted to finding unexpected ways to breathe new life into traditional ideas, and the solo quartet therefore performs on several ‘found’ instruments, including crystal glasses and compressed air cans. And while the piece also features more traditional instruments, such as snare drum and vibraphone, I looked for ways to either alter their sounds or find new ways to play them. For instance, a single snare drum is played by all four members of the quartet, and certain notes of the vibraphone are prepared with aluminum foil to recreate sounds found in electronic music. The entire piece was conceived in this way.” The concert also features John Zorn’s violin concerto, Contes de Fées, performed by Stefan Jackiw. Composed in 1999 at the turn of the millennium, Contes de Fées is one of Zorn’s classical masterworks. Building on this season’s theme of exploring the radical orchestra – unusual orchestrations and non-standard symphonic structures – the program includes Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia, which includes eight amplified singers embedded within the orchestra.
May 7 at 7:30pm: Mannes Orchestra Conductors’ Recital
John L. Tishman Auditorium | 63 Fifth Ave., N.Y.C.
Free with registration
The Mannes Orchestra showcases and celebrates graduating conductors William Cabison and Hae Lee, who curated this program featuring Kodály’s Hungarian folk dance-inspired Dances of Galánta, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34, based on Spanish folks melodies, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7, Op. 131.
About The College of Performing Arts at The New School
The College of Performing Arts at The New School was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for vigorous training, cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances.
The 1,000 students at the College of Performing Arts are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.
The curriculum at the College of Performing Arts is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.
Founded in 1916 by America’s first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, and pianist and educator Clara Damrosch Mannes, the Mannes School of Music is a standard-bearer for foundational excellence and radically progressive music education, dedicated to supporting the development of creative and socially engaged artists. Through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs, Mannes offers a curriculum as imaginative as it is rigorous, taught by a world-class faculty and visiting artists. As part of The New School’s College of Performing Arts, together with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the School of Drama, Mannes makes its home on The New School’s Greenwich Village campus in a state-of-the-art facility at the newly renovated Arnhold Hall.
Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.
Nov. 25 - MACE: Mannes American Composers Ensemble Fall 2024 Concert – Works by Several Living Composers and a World Premiere – Led by Ensemble Director David Fulmer
MACE: Mannes American Composers Ensemble Fall 2024 Concert – Works by Several Living Composers and a World Premiere – Led by Ensemble Director David Fulmer
(Clockwise) George Lewis, Augusta Read Thomas, Matthew Ricketts, Ryan Brideau, MACE logo, Pierre Boulez, Carola Bauckholt
The New School's College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama
Presents MACE: Mannes American Composers Ensemble Fall 2024 Concert
Featuring the World Premiere of Short Story No. 1
by Mannes Student Ryan Brideau plus works by Carola Bauckholt, Augusta Read Thomas, Matthew Ricketts, and George Lewis
Led by Ensemble Director David Fulmer
Monday, November 25, 2024, 7:30pm
The Auditorium at 12th Street at The New School
66 West 12th Street | New York 10011
Free with Registration
Information: www.newschool.edu/performing-arts
For press tickets, contact Christina Jensen: christina@jensenartists.com
New York, NY – On Monday, November 25, 2024, 7:30pm, the Mannes American Composers Ensemble (MACE) of the The New School's College of Performing Arts – Mannes, Jazz, Drama, begins its 2024-2025 season with its fall 2024 concert, led by MACE Ensemble director, composer, and curator David Fulmer. For its first performance of the season, MACE gives the world premiere of Short Story No. 1 – a new work by Mannes student Ryan Brideau, alongside Treibstoff by Carola Bauckholt, Of Being is a Bird by Augusta Read Thomas, Enclosed Position by Matthew Ricketts, Shadowgraph 5 (for sextet) by George Lewis, and Dérive by Pierre Boulez. This event is open to the public and free with registration.
Founded in 2012 by composer Lowell Liebermann, MACE presents works by iconic American composers, such as Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, John Zorn, George Lewis, Augusta Read Thomas, Philip Glass, John Adams, and Steve Reich, as well as works by young, and up-and-coming composers. Conductor and composer David Fulmer has been directing the Ensemble since 2016, presenting a kaleidoscopic lens of different aesthetics and styles, while exploring diverse musical programs of established 20th and 21st century masterpieces, together with presentations of newly commissioned works and premieres.
This season's artistic curation and programming includes four innovative initiatives for the Ensemble; a two-year composer-in-focus workshop, collaboration and integration with the Vocal Performance Department, student composer commissioning projects, and collaborations with some of the world's most renowned and trailblazing composers and performers. In MACE, students work closely with composers, developing an understanding of their style and aesthetic.Through the examination of a composer's catalog, they learn the microscopy of their notation, their musical symbols, and their sonic design. This special student-composer process creates the rare opportunity for students to engage in close collaboration and commissioning, which will be a hallmark of their professional careers.
Ryan Brideau's new work, Short Story No. 1, opens the concert. Scored for flute, clarinet, violin, and cello, this new quartet marks a new direction in Brideau's work. Pierre Boulez' iconic Derive, has been a recurring theme within Fulmer's curation. MACE dives into Boulez while exploring the intricate colors and timbres of this important work. Carola Bauckholt's Treibstoff marks the first work by this composer that will kickoff a two-year exploration of Bauckholt's work. This motoric, highly energized piece is sure to stun audiences in its brilliance and unique sound world. The music of George Lewis returns to MACE in this highly anticipated performance of Shadowgraph 5. Matthew Rickett's Enclosed Position is built on fine lines, gorgeously homogenous textures, and extraordinary detail of phrase structure. The program will end with Augusta Read Thomas' Of Being is a Bird (Emily Dickinson Settings), featuring soprano Brooke Jones. This exquisite score is as detailed as all other of Thomas' work, bringing the listener to a heightened sense of structural and formal awareness, while carving intensely dramatic phrases and polyphonic gestures.
Fulmer says of MACE and its programming, "I'm intrigued by diverse programs that represent a wide-ranging collection of musical ideas and stylistic innovation. As an ensemble, we embrace a broad view of the vital landscape of American contemporary music, and contemporary music of the world abroad. As artists, we are responsible for, and should take care of the musical trends of tomorrow – we need to share this unique work as if the ink on the page has been dried for several hundred years...to craft, assemble, and refine a performance so that the canon continues in exponential dimensions. Each performance is malleable, and should chart new territory of performance practice and artistic expression. This is what we do here in MACE."
Performances by students and faculty at the College of Performing Arts break new ground, pushing the boundaries of convention and reinventing traditional forms. Additional highlights for the College this season include (Un)Silent Film series presenting Tod Browning’s classic film Dracula with Philip Glass’s score performed by Orange Road Quartet, the Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence, with pianist and guest conductor Michael Riesman on October 25; the Namekawa-Davies Duo (Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies) in Pianographique featuring music by Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and Steve Reich, with real-time visualizations by Cori O’Lan, on October 26; Mannes Opera’s double bill featuring one-act operas by David T. Little and Kamala Sankaram on November 8 and 9; performances by celebrated Mannes/School of Jazz Ensembles-in-Residence The Westerlies, Sandbox Percussion, and JACK Quartet throughout the season, including Sandbox Percussion’s world premiere of Michael Torke’s BLOOM on December 11; the New School Studio Orchestra performing Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite on December 5; and multiple performances of the Mannes Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, including Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light to the silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc with The New York Choral Society on November 1, the U.S. premiere of Augustus Hailstork’s Ndemera on December 9, and Sandbox Percussion in Viet Cuong’s percussion concerto Re(new)al paired with John Zorn’s violin concerto Contes de Fées performed by Stefan Jackiw on April 11. The New School Studio Orchestra presents the U.S. premiere of jazz great Carla Bley’s rarely heard landmark album Escalator Over the Hill on May 2.
For a complete overview of performances at The College of Performing Arts at The New School, read the 2024-2025 season press release here.
Presenting approximately 900 performances each year by students, faculty and guest artists, nearly all of which are free and open to the public, the Mannes, Jazz, Drama season provides an incredible performing arts resource for the greater New York community and beyond. Performances at The New School’s College of Performing Arts are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Some events require advance registration. View the full calendar of performances at the College of Performing Arts – including Mannes School of Music, School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and School of Drama – for details on how to attend.
Additional Upcoming Events featuring The Mannes American Composers Ensemble (MACE)
April 2 at 7:30pm: MACE – Mannes American Composers Ensemble
John L. Tishman Auditorium | 63 Fifth Ave., N.Y.C.
Free with registration
Founded in 2012 by composer Lowell Liebermann, MACE represents works by iconic American composers such as Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, John Zorn, George Lewis, Augusta Read Thomas, Philip Glass, John Adams, and Steve Reich, as well as works by young, and up-and-coming composers. Composer and conductor David Fulmer has been directing the Ensemble since 2016, and has presented a kaleidoscopic lens of different aesthetics and styles, while exploring diverse musical programs of established 20th and 21st century masterpieces, together with presentations of newly commissioned works and premieres. On April 2, MACE gives the world premiere of a student work TBA, alongside music by Matthias Pintscher, Pierre Boulez, Augusta Read Thomas, and Gyorgy Ligeti.
About The College of Performing Arts at The New School
The College of Performing Arts at The New School was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for vigorous training, cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances.
The 1,000 students at the College of Performing Arts are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.
The curriculum at the College of Performing Arts is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.
Founded in 1916 by America’s first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, and pianist and educator Clara Damrosch Mannes, the Mannes School of Music is a standard-bearer for foundational excellence and radically progressive music education, dedicated to supporting the development of creative and socially engaged artists. Through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs, Mannes offers a curriculum as imaginative as it is rigorous, taught by a world-class faculty and visiting artists. As part of The New School’s College of Performing Arts, together with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the School of Drama, Mannes makes its home on The New School’s Greenwich Village campus in a state-of-the-art facility at the newly renovated Arnhold Hall.
Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.