Vox n Plux*
Sunday, May 22, 2016, 3:00pm
Big Secret Theatre, Long Island City, Queens
Vox n Plux presents the world premiere of a piece written for them by David Claman. Also included on the program are recent works written for Vox n Plux, including pieces by noted composers William Anderson, Laurie San Martin, Robert Pollock, and Harold Meltzer.
Music to be heard on this afternoon:
New work*+ by David Claman
From a Book of Beautiful Monsters* by Harold Meltzer
Djuna Barnes Settings* by William Anderson
New work by Paul Lansky
Cossante* by Laurie San Martin
Vulture* by Robert Pollock
*Written for Vox n Plux
+World premiere
Vox n Plux
“(Ms. Farnum possesses) A honeyed tone that sailed gracefully”
– Allan Kozinn, New York Times
“Anderson and Fader are expert chamber musicians with a perfect sense of timing, virtuosity and a sensitivity to nuance.”
– Guitar Review
Vox n Plux combines guitarists William Anderson and Oren Fader with noted soprano Elizabeth Farnum. Though newly established, Anderson and Fader have been performing and recording with Ms. Farnum for 2 decades, as members of the two-guitar based Cygnus Ensemble. The Trio has been heard in concerts in New York, New Jersey, California, and other states. Vox n Plux specializes in contemporary music, especially the work of American composers, and also performs music by the early masters (Monteverdi, Dowland, Bach). Vox n Plux also offers voice paired with other instruments, including classical and electric guitars, mandolin, banjo and theorbo. A list of composers who have written works for the Duo and/or Ms. Farnum reads like a who’s who of contemporary composers: Babbitt, Brickle, Bond, Davidovsky, Naito, Rakowski, Wuorinen, and many others.
Ms. Farnum appears as a guest artist on three different recordings featuring the Anderson-Fader Duo: works of Wuorinen (Cygnus “Broken Consort”), Frank Brickle; (‘Ab Nou Cor”), and Sidney Corbett on the newly released Anderson-Fader disc, “Le Cirque”. Ms. Farnum is also a prolific studio artist, and has been featured on over 30 recordings, four of which were nominated for Grammy awards. She is one of today’s most highly sought-after vocalists in the field of modern music. Widely known for her high level of musicianship, versatility and range, she has presented modern works in venues such as Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, London’s Institute for Contemporary Art, the American Academy at Rome and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, collaborating with such composers as Samuel Adler, Anthony Braxton, Lucas Foss, Ricky Ian Gordon, John Harbison, Peter Schickele, Charles Wuorinen and John Zorn.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Fader met while in their teens in New York City, as students of the legendary guitarist David Starobin. Now based in New York City, the Duo has performed with many presenters and organizations, most notably with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Chamber Players at Zankel Hall, performing the guitar and mandolin parts in Elliott Carter’s Luimen. Anderson and Fader, with Cygnus, were in residence at the Library of Congress in the winter of 2012. Ongoing residencies at the CUNY Graduate Center and Sarah Lawrence College give the Duo an opportunity to work with young composers.
*QNMF 2016 call for proposals winner
