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Ensemble 365
Eastern Currents: Contemporary Music of Asia

Sunday, May 17, 2015, 3:00pm
Big Secret Theatre, Long Island City, Queens

Ensemble 365 presents “Eastern Currents: Contemporary Music of Asia,” a program featuring chamber and solo works by composers from Azerbaijan (Franghiz Ali-Zadeh), China (Bun-Ching Lam and Bright Sheng), India (Ravi Shankar), Iran (Ramin Heydarbeygi), Japan (Toru Takemitsu), and Taiwan (Ming-Hsiu Yen).

Purchase tickets here.

Music to be heard on this afternoon:

Three Watercolors by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
Autumn Sounds by Bun-Ching Lam
From far beyond Chrysanthemums and November Fog by Toru Takemitsu
Sonata for cello and piano by Ravi Shankar
Music for Piano by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
Three Chinese Love Songs by Bright Sheng
Kuang Tsao by Ming-Hsiu Yen
Aramesh by Ramin Heydarbeygi

Ensemble 365

Ensemble 365 (Marta Bedkowska, cello/ Mary Hubbell, soprano/ Alice Jones, flute/ Mirna Lekić, piano/ Karen Rostron, violin) is a quintet founded in 2012 at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Its members, who met as doctoral students at their alma mater, perform regularly in concert halls and festivals in the US and abroad. Collectively they have, as individuals and as collaborators, commissioned, premiered, and recorded over 150 new works by living composers. The ensemble presents themed concerts, combining both new and standard chamber and solo repertoire.

Ensemble 365 is a 2015 QNMF call for proposals winner.

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ISSA Sonus Ensemble
DVIRAAG

Sunday, May 17, 2015, 5:00pm
Big Secret Theatre, Long Island City, Queens

A coined term from Sanskrit prefix “dvi” meaning “two” and the word “raag” loosely meaning “color”, DVIRAAG is an evocative program of works, mostly duets for flute with viola or cello, that bridges music traditions with underlying hues of Eastern and Middle Eastern soundscapes.

Purchase tickets here.

Music to be heard on this evening:

Bati L’Gani by Meira Warshauer
DVIRAAG by Asha Srinivasan
Three Colored Blossoms by Anna Veismane
Byzantine Chants by Margarita Zelenaia
Letters Home by Kareem Roustom
Espino Blanco by Susan Campos Fonseca
The Unattained by Shahab Paranj
Folk Songs Set No. 9 by Reza Vali

Laura Falzon, flute
Edmundo Ramirez , viola
Andrey Tchekmazov, cello

ISSA Sonus Ensemble

Dedicated to performing, promoting and presenting 20th and 21st century music, New York based ISSA Sonus Ensemble was established in 2008. “Issa” in ISSA Sonus means “now” in the Maltese language. ISSA Sonus is committed to promoting the music of today. By presenting contemporary works alongside works from earlier music periods and canonical works, ISSA Sonus aims to better connect to today’s audiences and foster an appreciation of the music of our time. Bringing together a vibrant group of performers and composers, ISSA Sonus is a flexible ensemble whose musicians hail from renowned conservatories and universities. Individually, members have performed worldwide as soloists and members of orchestras and ensembles. With a rich repertoire that includes numerous premieres, ISSA Sonus is passionate for the development and advocacy of new music. Many of their concerts expand classical chamber music to include music that crosses boundaries in terms of culture, style and, tradition. Concerts have included performances with non-western instrumentalists such as their New York Premiere of Memories of a Shoehorn with Turkish oud player Munir Nurettin Beken.

ISSA Sonus Ensemble is a 2015 QNMF call for proposals winner.

Continue reading »]]> Random Access Music & Iktus Percussion
Realms of Darkness and Light

Friday, May 15, 2015, 8:00pm
Big Secret Theatre
Long Island City, Queens

In this program of music for drums, metals, mallets, electronics and piano, the composers of RAM team up with Iktus Percussion and pianist Julia Den Boer to present new works which delve into the concepts, sounds, and energies of light and dark. In the festive light, Stephen Cabell describes his work “Han” for tom-toms, tuned pipes, non-pitched resonant metals, and tubular bells as a “celebratory ode to an exuberant and righteous spirit” that is an “ambiversive grooving of drums and metals.” In “Anti-gravitational Amplification (Homage to Goya and His Joy of Up Up Up!)” for vibraphone and piano, Wang Jie seeks to call out her inspiration’s name, “Francisco Goya – his timeless drawings that defy everything we know about gravity.” Reflecting opposing realms, Frances White‘s “The root of the wind” for shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), percussion, and electronic sound evokes the elemental power of a diverse group of natural and musical phenomena, in particular the drumming of woodpeckers in the spring, as they challenge each other for territory, and a tientos flamenco rhythm (tientos is also a kind of challenge). In “Not the light, but the fire that burns” for tamtam, gongs, tom-toms, mallets, and piano, Gilbert Galindo aims to give the listener a journey through varying intensities of energy, from an effervescent buoyant opening, to low piano and dark gong soundings evocative of deep longings, to a relentless closing of toms, gongs, and piano going full force. Also to be heard is “…dall’infinito del sogno” for percussion duo by this year’s RAM call for scores winner, Gaetano Lorandi, of Villaverla, Italy and then Julia Den Boer goes solo in a performance of Beat Furrer’s ethereal “Voicelessness (The Snow Has No Voice).”

Purchase tickets here

Music to be heard on this evening:

Han (world premiere) by Stephen Cabell
Not the light, but but the fire that burns (world premiere) by Gilbert Galindo
Anti-gravitational Amplification (Homage to Goya and His Joy of Up Up Up!) (world premiere) Wang Jie
The root of the wind (world premiere) Frances White
…dall’infinito del sogno by Gaetano Lorandi*
Voicelessness (The Snow Has No Voice) Beat Furrer**

* 2014-2015 RAM Call for Scores Winner
** Special solo performance by Julia Den Boer

RAM Composers

Having been praised as evocative, highly inventive, and of undeniable power, the composers of RAM represent a broad spectrum of American aesthetics, styles, and voices and revel in music of all types. The RAM composers believe in the music of their fellow musicians and are committed to supporting and presenting one another’s music, both in and outside of RAM. RAM’s eclectic combination of composers reflects the rich and varied landscape that is American music in the 21st century. The RAM composers are Guy Barash, Stephen Cabell, David Fetherolf, Gilbert Galindo, Jonathan Pieslak, B. Allen Schulz, Wang Jie, Stefan Weisman, and Frances White.

Iktus Percussion

Based in New York City, Iktus Percussion is an ambitious, dynamic young ensemble committed to expanding the boundaries of the percussion genre. Iktus is a collective-based operation, featuring an array of industrious and multi-talented percussionists with Chris Graham, Justin Wolf, Josh Perry, Sean Statser, and Piero Guimaraes at the core.
As a group with strong ties to the local artistic community, Iktus is dedicated to collaboration with emerging artists, having commissioned over fifty new works for percussion from such composers as Angélica Negrón, Aaron Siegel, Lisa R. Coons, Jenny Olivia Johnson, Stefan Weisman, and Billy Martin (of Medeski, Martin and Wood), among others. With an exciting and diverse range of repertoire, Iktus has performed at such venues and festivals as the Bang on A Can Marathon, Galapagos Arts Space, Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, Issue Project Room, Symphony Space, The Tank, and Trinity Church. Community outreach and public performance is an essential aspect of Iktus’ mission. Iktus was selected as a Time Out New York Critic’s Pick: Top Ten Concert of the Year in 2010, received critical acclaim from the New York Times for their performance with the St. Petersburg Chamber Symphony in the “Wall to Wall” series, and sold out the final evening of the 2012 Gaudeamus Muziek week at Issue Project Room. Iktus is endorsed by Vic Firth and Black Swamp Percussion.

Julia Den Boer

Pianist Julia Den Boer is a strong advocate of contemporary music. Based in New York, she performs internationally and has commissioned and premiered numerous works. Julia is a recipient of the Solti Foundation award and was awarded the Prix Mention Speciale Maurice Ohana at the 2012 International Orleans Competition, her duo with percussionist Piero Guimaraes, What Where, won the first prize at the 2014 Ackerman Chamber Music Competition. Recent performances include a program of commissions at Live@CIRMMT in Montreal, Columbia Composers Concert at IPR, Matrix 13 at the SWR in Freiburg, New Music Concerts in Toronto, MATA Festival with Talea Ensemble, a solo recital at the Bohemian National Hall, Ear Heart Music at Roulette with Iktus Percussion, the International Computer Music Conference, the Klangspuren Festival in Austria, Poets Out Loud at Lincoln Center, and Manifeste at IRCAM. Her performances have been broadcasted on Q2, CBC Radio 2, the SWR and France Musique. Julia is a native of Lyon, France and holds a doctorate from SUNY Stony Brook University where she studied with Gilbert Kalish and held the position of Head TA for five years. She is on faculty at the Bloomingdale School of Music and curates the East Bank Music Series at the Church of the Ascension in Brooklyn.

 Gaetano Lorandi, 2014-2015 RAM Call for Scores Winner

Gaetano Lorandi was born in Thiene (Vicenza, Italy) in 1960. He took a music degree in organ and organ composing under the teaching of Renzo Buja at “F. E. Dall’Abaco” State Conservatory in Verona. He attended master classes under Jean Langlais, Ton Koopman, and Emilia Fadini. He started studying harmony with Natalino Tacchetti and Antonio Zanon and then he took a composing degree with Wolfango Dalla Vecchia and Giovanni Bonato at “C. Pollini” State Conservatory in Padua. He has also attended the Electronic Music Course at the same Conservatory in Padua. His compositions range from orchestral music to chamber and choir music, which have been performed in Italy and abroad with good response by the public and critics. He is active as jury member at 3rd Florence International Choir Festival 2014, Italy. He was awarded many prizes at important international music contests, such at the Composer International Contest, XI Concorso Internazionale di Composizione, and the 1st International Competition of Choral Composition, among others.

Continue reading »]]> Lost Dog New Music Ensemble
John Luther Adams: The Light Within

Thursday, May 14, 2015, 8:00pm*
Big Secret Theatre, Long Island City, Queens

The Lost Dog New Music Ensemble headlines the Queens New Music Festival, in a program of works by 2014 Pulitzer‐prize winning composer John Luther Adams. Adams’ music draws its inspiration from the beauty and majesty of his Alaskan home. Lost Dog will present two of his recent ‘Aura’ compositions, ‘Four Thousand Holes’ and ‘The Light Within’, which surround live musicians with gorgeous halos of electronic sound, as well as a rare performance of the early work ‘Make Prayers to the Raven’.

Purchase tickets here

Music to be heard on this evening:

Four Thousand Holes by John Luther Adams
Make Prayers to the Raven by John Luther Adams
The Light Within by John Luther Adams

The Lost Dog New Music Ensemble

Lost Dog is dedicated to the advancement of contemporary music by providing performance opportunities both for emerging and under-represented mid-career composers, and by commissioning and premiering new works. Over the past 10 seasons, Lost Dog has presented over 35 World Premiere performances of music by American composers, as well as many US and East Coast premieres. Lost Dog is based in Astoria, Queens, and regularly reaches audiences that have no other exposure to contemporary music. Founded in 1995 by conductor Silas Huff, Lost Dog New Music Ensemble has performed in New York, California, Texas, Spain, and Germany. Previous collaborations include Sequenza21.com, the RAM composers’ collective, and choreographer Dora Arreola on a major revival of Peter Maxwell Davies’ Dance Theatre masterpiece Vesalii Icones. Recently, Lost Dog presented the NY Premiere, and only the second-ever complete performance, of Michael Hersch’s 3-hour epic The Vanishing Pavilions. Lost Dog is embarking upon a multi-disc series of composer portrait CDs intended to help raise the profile of composers it has championed – future projects include recordings of the music of Philippe Bodin (release May 2015), Jeremy Podgursky and Michael Hersch.

Photograph by Evan Hurd.

John Luther Adams

Called “one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker), John Luther Adams is a composer whose life and work are deeply rooted in the natural world. Adams composes for orchestra, chamber ensembles, percussion and electronic media, and his music is recorded on Cold Blue, New World, Mode, Cantaloupe, and New Albion. A recipient of the Heinz Award for his contributions to raising environmental awareness, Adams has also been honored with the Nemmers Prize from Northwestern University “for melding the physical and musical worlds into a unique artistic vision that transcends stylistic boundaries.” JLA’s music is heard regularly all over the world. The Chicago Symphony, the Radio Netherlands Philharmonic, and the Melbourne Symphony have performed his Dark Waves for large orchestra and electronic sounds. Inuksuit for up to ninety-nine percussionists has been performed in New York City’s Morningside Park and at the Park Avenue Armory, as well as many other outdoor venues throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Born in 1953, Adams grew up in the South and in the suburbs of New York City. He studied composition with James Tenney and Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts, where he was in the first graduating class (in 1973). In the mid-1970s he became active in the campaign for the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and subsequently served as executive director of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.

National Composer Night Out

This concert is part of the American Composers Forum’s National Composer Night Out that will be connected to a tapestry of events to foster a sense of community for the composers and others who create music in the area, along with fans of new music who support and attend concerts. A celebration will follow the concert at The Beast Next Door [4251 27th Street, Long Island City] at 10pm. Join us for music, community, and to celebrate the festival!

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Giacomo Baldelli with OOOPStudio
Nidra

Saturday, May 16, 2015, 5:00pm
Big Secret Theatre, Long Island City, Queens

Nidra, a 60-minute performance for electric guitar and video, is a multi-sensory meditation on the dichotomies of internal and external, the subconscious and conscious, dreams and reality.

Purchase tickets here

Music to be heard on this afternoon:

New Work (world premiere) by Ryan Pratt
Electric Counterpoint by Steve Reich
Vampyr! by Tristan Murail
Another Possibility by Christian Wolff
Dream by John Cage
Trash Tv Trance by Fausto Romitelli

Giacomo Baldelli

Critically noted as “one of the most complete performers of the new generation”, NYC-based guitarist Giacomo Baldelli is focused on exploring works of the 20th century, but also on developing a new 21st century repertoire for guitar. Most recently, he has been interested in expanding the contemporary repertoire for electric guitar. He is an accomplished soloist and chamber musician, and has performed throughout Europe, as well as the United States. He is a currently a member of the Key-String Duo (with pianist Laura Barger), Avantgarde Duo (with Gianni Biocotino), String_Lab (with violinist Marco Fusi), and has worked extensively with respected musicians Giovanni Mareggini, flute (Italy) and Elitza Demirova, violin (Bulgaria). From 2006 to 2013 he was a member of Icarus Ensemble, with whom he appeared frequently as a soloist. During that period they were featured in renowned festivals such as the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (Hudderfield, England), Biennale Musica (Venice, Italy), REC/APERTO (Reggio Emilia, Italy), Sincronie (Milan, Italy), and Gaida Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania). His critically-acclaimed debut CD “Chitarra Italiana del XXI° Secolo” (Bottega Discantica- 2010) includes the first Italian recording of the masterpiece for electric guitar “Trash TV Trance” by Fausto Romitelli.

OOOPStudio

OOOPStudio (Alessandro Grisendi and Marco Noviello- il_Bramante-) started its artistic activity in Reggio Emilia – Italy – in 2011. As video artists, the duo’s interests lie not in the documentation of reality, but in exploring the sensory and artistic possibilities inherent to digital technology. OOOPStudio often mixes traditional artistic media such as painting, photography, sculpture, and architecture with an unusual approach to cinematic techniques. The result is a sort of false realism that gives the audience the chance to experience a new perspective on the world. OOOPStudio has worked in theatrical production, music, exhibitions, art festivals. The duo started working with the Italian guitarist Giacomo Baldelli in 2012, producing “Bad TV Trash”, video- scenography for the performance of the electric guitar piece “Trash TV Trance” by Fausto Romitelli. Bad TV Trash has been performed at Spazio Icarus – Reggio Emilia (Italy), “University of Leeds International Concert Series”- Leeds (England), Marcovaldo Art Bookstore – Paris (France), Spectrum – New York City (USA).

Giacomo Baldelli and OOOPStudio are 2015 QNMF call for proposals winners.

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Eco-Music Big Band
Resistance/Tradition

Saturday, May 16, 2015, 3:00pm
Big Secret Theatre, Long Island City, Queens

The Eco-Music Big Band is proud to present Resistance/Tradition, a cross-section of its most dynamic repertoire. The Eco-Music Big Band is a fusion of the traditional and the antique, and will be performing works by Liberte-Anne Lymberiou, Cal Massey, Livio Almeida, Albert Marques, Zack O’Farrill, Marie Incontrera, and Fred Ho.

Purchase tickets here

Music to be heard on this afternoon:

Things Have Got To Change! by Cal Massey
Our Shining Black Prince by Marie Incontrera
The Glitzspring by Liberte-Anne Lymberiou
Foggy Conscience by Zack O’Farrill
Action and Reaction by Livio Almeida
Jazz Working Class by Albert Marques
Soul Science Stomp by Fred Ho

Eco-Music Big Band

The Eco-Music Big Band is a 15-piece professional big band that spans many generations and includes some of the nation’s most acclaimed jazz musicians. The roster includes bass trombonist David Taylor (Gil Evans, New York Philharmonic), saxophonist Jay Rodriguez (Ornette Coleman, Craig Harris), bass trombonist Earl McIntyre (Mel Lewis, Thad Jones), Zack O’Farrill and Adam O’Farrill (Arturo O’Farrill, Randy Weston). Founded by Fred Ho before his death in 2014, the Eco-Music Big Band is now led by Marie Incontrera, his final composition/bandleading protege. Hailed as “talented… inspiring” (The Vermont Standard), The Eco-Music Big Band is committed to presenting the music of the legendary jazz composers of the 20th century that were overlooked (such as Cal Massey), to continuing the legacy its prodigious composer & founder (the late Fred Ho), and to providing a platform for the next generation of big band composers (Albert Marques, Livio Almeida, Zack O’Farrill, Marie Incontrera). The Eco-Music Big Band has performed on respected stages throughout the New York area such as the Blue Note Jazz Club, Red Rooster’s Ginny’s Supper Club, National Black Theater, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, BAMcafe Theater, and Roulette, among others.

Eco-Music Big Band is a 2015 QNMF call for proposals winner.

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Percussia
Twang & Bang: Music for Harps and Lots of Percussion

Saturday, May 16, 2015, 8:00pm
Big Secret Theatre, Long Island City, Queens

Percussia is a Jackson Heights, Queens-based ensemble for percussion, flute, harp, and viola that presents contemporary music incorporating a variety of stylistic influences ranging from video games to pop and world music. This program will showcase duos for harp and percussion performed by Jackson Heights resident Ingrid Gordon and Forest Hills resident Susan Jolles.

Purchase tickets here

Music to be heard on this evening:

Suite for Harp & Marimba by David Noon
Moiré by Bill Clark
Sacred Spirits by Alexis Lamb
Was I the Same When I Woke Up This Morning? by Angelica Negron
Suite for Harp by Lou Harrison
Balinese Ceremonial Music by Colin McPhee
Jeu-Parti by Marta Ptaszynska
Defined by Darkness Mvt. II by Kimberly Osberg

Percussia

Perucssia is a Jackson Heights-based musical group that presents music that’s as eclectic as the neighborhood it calls home, performing a mash-up of classical, modern, popular, and world music styles. With percussion as its driving force, Percussia is known for delivering dynamic and engaging performances. Last season Percussia presented four world premieres exploring the fusion of the popular Latin rhythms of reggaeton with contemporary chamber music. This program at the Queens New Music Festival is a spin-off of their popular video games program.

Percussia is a 2015 QNMF call for proposals winner.

Continue reading »]]> The Queens New Music Festival in conjunction with Musica Reginae Present:

Face the Music with the Kronos Quartet
Road Trip

Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 7:30pm*
Church-in-the-Gardens, Forest Hills, Queens

The kick-off concert, produced in conjunction with Musica Reginae will feature Face the Music students along with the Kronos Quartet. Kronos Quartet has redefined string quartet music, if not the entire classical music genre, for hundreds of thousands of listeners over the course of four decades. Face the Music is redefining the pedagogy of music and creativity for a generation of young New Yorkers. In this groundbreaking concert, Kronos comes together with twelve young musicians to present a “guided tour” through some of Kronos’ most significant pieces. The concert will culminate with the world premiere of a new piece for triple quartet by Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, played by Kronos alongside two of Face the Music’s quartets.

Purchase advanced tickets; no door sales.

Music to be heard on this evening:

Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector by Terry Riley
Pannonia Boundless by Aleksandra Vrebalov
Quartet no. 5 by Philip Glass
Elvis Everywhere by Michael Daugherty
Quartet No. 8 by Peter Sculthorpe
All in One (world premiere) by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen
El Sinaloense by Severiano Briseño, arr. Osvaldo Golijov

Face the Music

Kaufman Music Center’s Face the Music is the only youth ensemble in the country solely devoted to the music of living composers. Under the direction of Dr. Jenny Undercofler, Face the Music has performed at venues such as Merkin Hall, Roulette, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and the Bang On A Can Marathon, and has been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Face the Music performs music for orchestra, jazz band, and improvisation ensemble; performs music of all genres, written by its own member-composers; and partners with the Kronos Quartet in a one-of-a-kind string quartet program. The student quartets in the Kronos at Kaufman program represent the best string students in the city, drawn together by a shared desire to explore modern quartet repertoire.

Kronos Quartet

For more than 40 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet—David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)—has combined a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually re-imagining the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the world’s most celebrated and influential ensembles, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 50 recordings, collaborating with many of the world’s most eclectic composers and performers, and commissioning more than 850 works and arrangements for string quartet. A Grammy winner, Kronos is also the only recipient of both the Polar Music Prize and the Avery Fisher Prize. With a staff of ten, the non-profit Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA) manages all aspects of Kronos’ work, including the commissioning of new works, concert tours and home-season performances, and education programs.

* The kick-off concert will be held at the Church-in-the-Gardens, Forest Hills, Queens. All other concerts will be held at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City, Queens.