On Thursday, March 14th, 2019, at 8pm, the fifth concert of the 2018-2019 Interpretations series’ Thirtieth Anniversary Season presents striking music sets from both vocalist and composer Joan La Barbara, and mixed-instrumentation group Ensemble Metrix, led by violinist Tom Chiu.

Held at Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY, tickets are $20 for adults / $15 for students & seniors, and available online.

The perennially influential and innovative vocalist/composer Joan La Barbara presents new material from her ongoing opera-in-progress, Dreams of Water Beyond One’s Depth, inspired by the lives and work of the iconic Virginia Woolf and the enigmatic Joseph Cornell, with lyrics by the award-winning Vietnamese-American novelist Monique Truong, and featuring an ensemble of voices, instruments, synthesizer, and sonic atmosphere.

Tom Chiu’s Ensemble Metrix is a mixed-instrumentation group exploring the recontextualization of music in a variety of styles and genres. Using material from the broad canon of popular and underground music, Chiu deconstructs and distorts melodic hooks and motivic riffs, and weaves the material into an extended, minimalistic jam. The resulting structured score represents an analogue to a dee-jay’s pre-determined playlist. Replacing turntables and records, the musicians produce the music live, each injecting personal flair in the final mix. Joining Ensemble Metrix will be some of Chiu’s favorite collaborators, including Meaghan Burke, Sara Schoenbeck, Charles Waters, Peter Zummo, and other special guests.

About Interpretations: 

“When we started, this was a real need, especially for the more experimental new music,” says Founder and Artistic Director Thomas Buckner. “Now we are experiencing a blossoming of new music groups and solo performers, which makes the series necessary in a new way. There are so many exceptional composers and performers who need a great place to perform.”

The Interpretations series, now in its thirtieth season, is a New York-based concert series focusing on the relationship between contemporary composers and their interpreters. Sometimes the interpreters are the composers themselves; more often, the series features performers who specialize in the interpretation of new music. 

For its 30th Anniversary, Interpretations has assembled an eclectic line-up of innovative composers and their interpreters, representing a wide variety of approaches to music making. The Interpretations Series is dedicated to nurturing the relationship of innovative composers with the growing community of new music virtuoso performers. 

REMAINING 2019 SERIES LINEUP

Thursday, April 4, 2019: Thomas Buckner (with Joseph Kubera, Melanie Genin, William Winant, & James Ilgenfrtz)

Thursday, May 2, 2019: Annie Gosfield (with Harris and Chow); Edmund Camplon (with Marilyn Nonken, Manuel Laufer, and others)

Thursday, June 6, 2019: String Noise (Pauline Kim Harris and Conrad Harris); The String Trio of New York (featuring James Emery, Toni Marino, Rob Thomas)