Category: Archive

XelmYa (Alexa Renger – violin, Sylvia Hinz – recorder, Guests – violoncello) was founded in 2008 in Berlin, Germany. One of their goals: to push, foster and develop the instrumentation of the baroque trio sonata into contemporary music and modern times. Since their formation, they performed numerous premieres composed especially for this instrumentation by e.g. Matthias Spahlinger (DE), Makiko Nishikaze (JP), Gunnar Karel Másson (IS), Luis Hilario Arévalo (MX), Arturo Corrales (SV), Tania Sikelianou (GR), Damian Barbeler (AU), and John Strieder (DE). The promotion of contemporary music and music by female composers are two of the main topics of XelmYa.

Sylvia holds contact with many international composers and develops concepts and programmes for concerts, realised at e.g. the festival “Klangwerkstatt Berlin“ or the concert series „unerhoerte Musik“ and FAT CAT CONCERTS. Exceptional: the project “CONTEMPORARY BACH!” Excerpts of „The art of Fugue“ by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed contrastive with contemporary pieces. They were invited to perform two concerts at the festival “Sonic 3.0” in Copenhagen. The plans for the near future include premieres by Petra Vermote (BE), Maxim Kolomiiets (RU), Roodabe Shamloo (IR), Louis Aguirre (CU), Massimiliano Viel (IT), Martin Gaughan (UK), Zeynep Gedizlioglu (TR), and others, especially the programme “au coeur du silence” featuring works by female composers.

More info: https://sylviahinz.wordpress.com/tag/xelmya/

Composer and UCR faculty member Ian Dicke premieres a large scale song cycle for piano/vocalist and live electronic processing entitled Cowboy Rounds. This work explores oral tradition in the digital age through a series of “remixes” of pre-existing source material culled from the John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip, an ethnographic field collection hosted online by the Library of Congress. The program also features Dicke’s Counterpundit commissioned and performed by Los Angeles pianist and new music champion Aron Kallay.

Ian Dicke (b. 1982) is a composer inspired by social-political culture and interactive technology. Praised for his “refreshingly well-structured” (Feast of Music) and “uncommonly memorable” (Sequenza 21) catalogue of works, Dicke currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Digital Composition at the University of California, Riverside. His music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles and festivals around the world, including the New World Symphony, Alarm Will Sound, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, ISCM World New Music Days, and the Atlantic Coast Center Band Director’s Association. He has received grants, awards, and recognition from the Barlow Endowment, Fulbright Program, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, New Music USA, New York Youth Symphony, ASCAP, and BMI, among others. In addition to his creative activities as a composer, Dicke is also the founder and curator of the Outpost Concert Series in Riverside, CA.

Grammy® nominated pianist Aron Kallay‘s playing has been called “exquisite…every sound sounded considered, alive, worthy of our wonder” (LA Times). “Perhaps Los Angeles’ most versatile keyboardist,” (LaOpus) Aron has been praised as possessing “that special blend of intellect, emotion, and overt physicality that makes even the thorniest scores simply leap from the page into the listeners laps.” (KPFK) Aron’s performances often integrate technology, video, and alternate tunings; Fanfare magazine described him as “a multiple threat: a great pianist, brainy tech wizard, and visionary promoter of a new musical practice.”

Aron has performed throughout the United States and abroad and is a fixture on the Los Angeles new-music scene. He is the co-founder and board president of People Inside Electronics (PIE), a concert series dedicated to classical electroacoustic music, the managing director of MicroFest, Los Angeles’ annual festival of microtonal music, and the co-directer of the underground new-music concert series Tuesdays@MONK Space. He is also the co-director of MicroFest Records, whose first release, John Cage: The Ten Thousand Things, was nominated for a Grammy® award for Best Chamber Music Performance. Aron has upcoming recordings on MicroFest, Cold Blue, and Populist records. In addition to his solo work, Aron is currently a member of the Pierrot + percussion ensemble Brightwork newmusic, the Varied Trio, an`d the Ray-Kallay Duo. He is on the faculty of the University of Southern California and Chapman University.

More info: www.iandicke.com and http://aronkallay.com

Hailed by the Boston Globe as “elegant and exacting,” Hub New Music is a mixed quartet specializing in music of the 21st century. With a unique instrumentation of two winds and two strings, Hub explores a richly diverse palate of contemporary repertoire. Often employing a roster of local guest artists, the ensemble celebrates a musical era fueled by the spirit of collaboration and desire to shatter artistic limitations. The quartet’s name is inspired by its hometown of Boston and the notion that a Hub is a center of creativity and innovation.

Founded while studying at New England Conservatory, Hub has had the privilege of working with the nation’s most innovative musical minds including Kati Agócs, Daniel Wohl, Missy Mazzoli, Robert Honstein, and Spencer Topel. Seeking to expand the audience reach for contemporary art music, Hub fosters several interdisciplinary collaborations and community building educational programs. Recent interdisciplinary collaborations include an exploration of composer Andrew Norman’s ties to the world of architecture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. On the educational front Hub launched Composium in 2014/15, a performance project that showcased the life cycle of a new piece through conversation between composer, performer, and listener.

Hub New Music owes thanks to its supporters including the New England Conservatory Office of Entrepreneurial Musicianship through which the ensemble was founded. Hub New Music is fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas.

More info: www.hubnewmusic.org

HOCKET is a cutting edge piano duo based in Los Angeles. Lauded as “brilliant” by Mark Swed in the Los Angeles Times, members Sarah Gibson and Thomas Kotcheff are both pianist-composers dedicated to commissioning and performing contemporary music. They have performed in some of the most exciting festivals and venues across the country including The Bang on Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, The Center for New Music in San Francisco, and the Carlsbad Music Festival. Together, they have premiered dozens of chamber and solo piano works and have collaborated with the premier, new music ensembles eighth blackbird and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. HOCKET is a recipient of a Presser Foundation Award to fund two upcoming commercial recordings and has been a selected artist in Firebird Ensemble’s Outstanding Young Artists Initiative. HOCKET is a performing artist on the Schoenhut Piano Company Artist Roster.

HOCKET started the current 2015/2016 season as fellows at The Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA followed immediately by a residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute where they collaborated with Kettle Corn New Music composers Alex Weiser, Emily Cooley, and Ryan Harper on three new commissions.

More info: www.hocket.org/

“…the formal elegance of chamber music with a pop-honed concision and rhythmic vitality” – Time Out New York

“NOW… imports a catchy inflection to classical forms… Striking a balance between the old and the new has rarely sounded this good.” -Newsweek

NOW Ensemble is a dynamic group of performers and composers dedicated to making new chamber music for the 21st century. With a unique instrumentation of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass, and piano, the ensemble brings a fresh sound and a new perspective to the classical tradition, infused with the musical influences that reflect the diverse backgrounds of its members. Their 2014 – 2015 season celebrates 10 years of bringing some of the most exciting composers of their generation to national and international recognition. This past fall and spring saw the group travel to the Apples and Olives Festival in Zurich, Switzerland, Town Hall Seattle, Da Camera Houston, the Lincoln Center Atrium, and the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert series. Upcoming projects include premieres of new works by composer Judd Greenstein, Dawn of MIDI’s Qasim Naqvi, vibrant and innovative Princeton composition fellow Gabriella Smith, UT Austin professor Yevgeniy Sharlat, and Rome Prize winner Sean Friar.

One of NOW Ensemble’s main goals has been to create a musical paradigm in which continuous collaboration between composers and the performers is taken as a given. This philosophy has been put into practice in residencies at numerous institutions including Yale, Princeton, University of Virginia, and the New College of Florida. NOW Ensemble’s performances have been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and on live on WNYC, and its sophomore album “Awake” charted at #1 in Amazon’s Classical Chamber Music Charts. NOW’s collaboration with film maker Joshua Frankel Plan of the City was praised in the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and New Yorker critic Alex Ross’s blog, where it was hailed as “gorgeous”. Since 2004, NOW has worked with over 60 of today’s most exciting composers, including Nico Muhly, Timothy Andres, Missy Mazzoli, Judd Greenstein, Kathryn Alexander, Jason Treuting, and Sean Friar. NOW has performed this new repertoire at such venues as Miller Theater, Merkin Hall, the Bang on a Can Marathon, The Kitchen NYC, The Stone, the Carlsbad Festival, the Festival International Chihuahua, the Look and Listen Festival, The Music Gallery Toronto, Sarasota’s New Music New College, the Southern Exposure Series, Pittsburgh’s Music on the Edge, Cal Arts, MIT, and Juilliard.

“The vibrant sound of NOW Ensemble… does something more than offer composers an alternative to the ubiquitous ‘Pierrot ensembles plus singer or percussion.’ It breathes the air of this planet: the musical air of indie rock, rap, jazz, pop, and minimalism variously synthesized by classically-trained composers and instrumentalists. Three of NOW’s founding members are composers, and a community of 35 like-minded others have responded to the opportunities NOW embodies: to defy specialization, reject alienation, and inspire deft musicians to convey a sense of private amusement that enlivens the music they perform.” – Jeffrey Edelstein, International Concert Review

More info: www.nowensemble.com

Florent Ghys is a composer and double bass player from Bordeaux, France, based in Brooklyn, NY.

His music has been described as ”thrilling breed of post-minimal chamber music” (Time Out NYC) and ”highly contrapuntal showcasing intelligent multi-tracking and inventive use of sampled speech” (WQXR). Journalist John Schaefer says: “Composer and bassist Florent Ghys writes pieces that blend elements of minimalism, pop music and a dose of extravagant wit”.

Florent holds a “Maîtrise” from the university of Bordeaux in Ethno-musicology with a focus on Egyptian music, a “Dîplome d’Études Musicales” from the conservatoire of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés and the conservatoire of Bordeaux majoring in Double Bass Performance, and a M.M. in Music Theory and Composition from New York University Steinhardt.

He has been commissioned by ensembles and musicians such as the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Jack quartet, Cadillac Moon ensemble, Wild Rumpus, Dither quartet, and Kathleen Supove. His music has been performed at the Lincoln Center, B.A.M., Barbican Center, M.I.T., Sydney Opera House, San Martin Theater in Buenos Aires, and Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam.

Florent received a fellowship from the MacDowell Colony where he was composer in residence in 2013. His collaboration with French filmmaker Isabelle Solas on the film “En un temps suspendu” won the Sacem price for short movies, and the movie “L’âme de la Forêt” with filmmaker Julien Paumelle was selected for the Short Film Corner at the Festival de Cannes. The label Cantaloupe released two albums of his solo music in 2010 and 2011, and a third one is on the work.

As a double bass player he played with the Paris Opera Orchestra, the Wordless Music Orchestra, and the ensemble Ear Heart Music. As an arranger Florent worked with French singer-songwriter François Cha, and American singer John Lloyd Young for his shows on Broadway in 2013. As a programmer he developed several applications including one for pianist Vicky Chow to be released on Boosey and Hawkes. As a producer Florent supervised (editing and mixing) the recording of the piece Piano Counterpoint by Steve Reich to be released in late 2014 on Nonesuch.

More info: http://www.florentghys.com

Grammy® nominated pianist Aron Kallay‘s playing has been called “exquisite…every sound sounded considered, alive, worthy of our wonder” (LA Times). “Perhaps Los Angeles’ most versatile keyboardist,” (LaOpus) Aron has been praised as possessing “that special blend of intellect, emotion, and overt physicality that makes even the thorniest scores simply leap from the page into the listeners laps.” (KPFK) Aron’s performances often integrate technology, video, and alternate tunings; Fanfare magazine described him as “a multiple threat: a great pianist, brainy tech wizard, and visionary promoter of a new musical practice.”

Aron has performed throughout the United States and abroad and is a fixture on the Los Angeles new-music scene. He is the co-founder and board president of People Inside Electronics (PIE), a concert series dedicated to classical electroacoustic music, the managing director of MicroFest, Los Angeles’ annual festival of microtonal music, and the co-directer of the underground new-music concert series Tuesdays@MONK Space. He is also the co-director of MicroFest Records, whose first release, John Cage: The Ten Thousand Things, was nominated for a Grammy® award for Best Chamber Music Performance. Aron has upcoming recordings on MicroFest, Cold Blue, and Populist records. In addition to his solo work, Aron is currently a member of the Pierrot + percussion ensemble Brightwork newmusic, the Varied Trio, an`d the Ray-Kallay Duo. He is on the faculty of the University of Southern California and Chapman University.

More info: http://aronkallay.com

Sound and image share the ability to transcend culture and express the highest truths about the conditions of the human experience. Edward Steichen’s 1955 exhibition, “The Family of Man,” collected images and text from around the world to highlight these global collections. Pause, a new ensemble featuring five musicians from Alarm Will Sound, Erin Lesser (flute), Michael Clayville (trombone), Chris Thompson (percussion), John Orfe (piano) and Courtney Orlando (violin), collaborate with composers Ian Dicke (California), Texu Kim (Korea), John Orfe (Illinois) and Charlie Piper (United Kingdom) and visual artists from the University of California, Riverside to revisit themes from the exhibit while exploring new expressions of the human condition.

The award-winning composers and visual artists will collaborate on creating new multimedia pieces inspired by quotations from the original Steichen text and the resulting works will be performed by a quintet of players known for their virtuosity and expressive performances. The first performance of this project will be on the Outpost Concert Series in collaboration with the Culver Center of the Arts.

Carl Sandburg asks in his introduction to “The Family of Man,” “What will the story be of the Family of Man across the near or far future?” This project will continue this discussion, sixty years later, providing a new forum for artists of various disciplines and communities to come together to share their insights.

Noa Even and Phil Pierick formed Ogni Suono in 2009 to expand and promote contemporary music for saxophone duo. They collaborate regularly with composers and other performers, presenting diverse programs to a wide range of audiences across the United States and abroad. Notable international performances include a residency at Western University in Ontario and appearances at the inaugural Singapore Saxophone Symposium and at the 16th World Saxophone Congress in Scotland. They have also performed in Houston, Boston, New York, Baltimore and throughout the Midwest.

Emphasizing the importance of education, Ogni Suono’s performances are often accompanied by master classes, clinics, and outreach programs that range from saxophone-specific topics to contemporary music and free improvisation. They have worked with young saxophonists in Chicago, Houston, Singapore, and Songkhla, Thailand. As winners of a 2012-2013 CMS Yamaha-in-Residence Fellowship, Ogni Suono presented outreach programs at The Iowa Children’s Museum, Iowa City public schools, and Oaknoll Retirement Community in May 2013.

Ogni Suono recently released Invisible Seams, a debut album featuring six original pieces commissioned by the duo.

More info: http://www.ognisuono.com

With the precision and flexibility of modern chamber musicians, Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble specializes in experimental repertoire that is changing the paradigm of contemporary vocal music. Described as “a new force of vocal excellence and innovation” by The Brooklyn Rail, Quince continually pushes the boundaries of traditional vocal ensemble literature.

As dedicated advocates of new music, Quince regularly commissions new works, providing a wider exposure for the music of living composers, and supports the efforts of concert series and universities who strive to incorporate contemporary repertoire into their programming. Quince has recently been seen on Vicky Chow’s Contagious Sounds Series, a.per.io.dic’s John Cage Festival in Chicago, on the Philip Glass: Music with Friends benefit concert at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, and at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE.

Comprised of vocalists Elizabeth Pearse, Kayleigh Butcher, Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, and Carrie Henneman Shaw Quince thrives on unique musical challenges and genre-bending contemporary repertoire.

More info: http://www.quince-ensemble.com