Composers Concordance 4th Annual Festival ‘Anniversaries’
November 29th – December 7th, 2014
November 29 @ 7pm – Wingjammer
Spectrum NYC
121 Ludlow Street, 2nd floor, NYC, $15
Tickets
- December 3 @ 8pm – Happy Birthday Mr. Webern
Klavierhaus
119 West 56th Street, NYC, $15
Tickets
- December 4 @ 8pm – Saxtravaganza
Goddard Riverside – Bernie Wohl Center
647 Columbus Avenue, NYC, $15
Tickets
- December 6 @ 8pm – Sweet Concordant Strings
West Park Presbyterian Church
165 West 86th Street, NYC, $20
Tickets
- December 7@ 8pm – Equal Temperament
Gallery MC
549 West 52nd Street, 8th floor, NYC, $15
Tickets
Staying in rotation for thirty years in NYC is a rare feat. In the case of a new music presenting organization, it requires not only diligence and cognizance of achievements of the past, but also an ethic of keeping one’s ear to the ground for emerging stylistic and technological developments, as well as talented new composers on the scene. 2014 marks the 30th season of Composers Concordance. At such a juncture, it is perhaps important not only to reflect upon what the series has represented in the past, but also to celebrate with an array of concerts featuring a variety of musics, aesthetic approaches, venues, and disciplines.
On November 29th at 7pm at Spectrum NYC, Composers Concordance launches its 4th Annual Festival, entitled ‘Anniversaries.’ The celebrations begin with a program entitled ‘Wingjammer,’ commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Buffalo Wing! Original compositions featuring improvisation will be performed by no fewer than twenty-six of NYC’s cutting-edge composers, including Doug Balliett, Lynn Bechtold, Ken Butler, Glenn Cornett, Franz Hackl, Arthur Kampela, Jessica Meyer, Daniel Palkowski, Milica Paranosic, and Zach Seely. Buffalo Wings from different NYC restaurants will be served.
The festival continues at Klavierhaus on December 3rd with ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. Webern,’ a pianistic send-up to Anton Webern on the composer’s birthday, featuring Julia Den Boer, Vicky Chow, and Derin Oge, and compositions by Andy Akiho, Necil Kazim Akses, Henri Dutilleux, Aaron Helgeson, Egemen Kesikli, and Anton Webern. The program will culminate with a triple-piano suite newly composed by Charles Coleman, Dan Cooper, Lukas Ligeti, Gene Pritsker, and Alon Nechushtan.
On December 4th, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Adolphe Sax will be celebrated with a ‘Saxtravaganza,’ to be held at Goddard-Riverside Community Center, featuring saxophonist-composers Nick Biello and Snap Saxophone Quartet, Paul Carlon, Erin Rogers, and Daniel Schnyder.
On December 6th, the CompCord String Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Carlo Bo and guest conductor Arkady Leytush, will take the stage of West Park Presbyterian Church for the program ‘Sweet Concordant Strings,’ commemorating the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, and featuring music by David Gotay, Karen Hakobyan, Otto Luening, Joseph Pehrson, and Dave Soldier. Featured soloists will include flutist Margaret Lancaster, soprano Eleanor Taylor, pianist Karen Hakobyan and trumpeter Franz Hackl.
On December 7th at Gallery MC, Composers Concordance will salute the 430th anniversary of Equal Temperament with a concert featuring a live, interactive, electro-acoustic interpretation of the process of piano tuning. Co-directors Cooper, Paranosic, and Pritsker will transform in real time the sounds emanating from the piano. Instead of the usual p.a. system, dedicated headsets will deliver to each audience member an adjustable live feed of the audio. Each of the five ‘Anniversaries’ concerts will be followed by a brief reception.
