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On Thursday, December 5th, 2019, 8pm, the Interpretations Series continues it 31st season with composers Elizabeth Brown and Frances White with the Momenta Quartet (momentaquartet.com). Held at Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY, tickets are $20 for adults / $15 for students & seniors, and available on Roulette.org and Interpretations.info.

The Momenta Quartet joins forces with composers Elizabeth Brown and Frances White in a multimedia evening fusing Western contemporary music with Japanese aesthetics, literary references, and a video/sculpture installation by artist Lothar Osterburg.

This dynamic program features Momenta alongside baritone/narrator Thomas Buckner and Elizabeth Brown in her equal capacity as a master of the shakuhachi: a traditional Japanese flute. The concert includes two new works written specifically for this concert, with commission funds provided by The Sparkplug Foundation and a New Music USA Project Grant. 

The NY premiere of Brown’s Dialect for solo shakuhachi, which uses repeating, morphing phrases to trace the evolution of a unique language. Then the world premiere of Babel continues the linguistic theme in a positive spin of the myth, celebrating NYC as a living organism, using multilingual pages and recordings of Emma Lazarus’ verse from the Statue of Liberty. Unlike the traditional story, nothing here is destroyed; instead, it is cumulative, with its architectural history visible, its constant influx of immigrants the source of its life and beauty. And White’s The book of evening for quartet and shakuhachi (also a world premiere) is drawn from the Mark Strand poem Moon, with the musical arrangement evoking “the moon between the clouds.” Strand’s moon creates a path to “those places where what you had wished for happens.” The music reflects that, evoking a longing for that place, vanishing as the book of evening closes.

Dedicated to the Momenta Quartet, Brown’s Just Visible in the Distance draws its title, inspiration, and form from W.G. Sebald’s book The Rings of Saturn. The piece, inspired by Sebald’s continuous narrative arc, consists of intuitively-assembled small movements, each flowing into the next. Then White’s And so the heavens turned, for quartet and narrator, contemplates the mystery of storytelling itself.  A collaboration with writer James Pritchett and inspired by the 11th-century Persian epic Shahnameh, the text is read before the music and during its closing, evoking at times the anguish and passion of the epic’s mythic lovers, at others a questioning stillness.

Interpretations continues its tradition of playing host to composers, interpreters, and improvisers — artists of both local and international scale, with myriads of approaches to music.

On the heels of last year’s acclaimed 30th anniversary, the Interpretations Series is dedicated to nurturing the relationship of innovative composers with the growing community of new music virtuoso performers. “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.”

Other upcoming Series lineups:

※ THURSDAY APRIL 9, 2020: THOMAS BUCKNER
Baritone Thomas Buckner presents his 31st annual concert of newly commissioned pieces with works by Earl Howard, JD Parran, Buckner himself — including Gold/Crack, a Mutable Music commissioned work by Pauline Kim-Harris, and performed with String Noise (Kim-Harris and Conrad Harris). The evening also includes performers Soo Yeon Lyuh (haegeum, a two-stringed Korean bowed instrument); Andrew Drury (percussion); Earl Howard (synthesizer and saxophone); JD Parran (reeds).

※ THURSDAY MAY 7, 2020: MÉLANIE GENIN | ENSEMBLE L’ART POUR L’ART
Mélanie Genin performs new music for harp by Christian Dachez, Michael Greba, Saad Haddad, Pauline Kim Harris, Mantovani, and Ricardo Romaneiro. / Ensemble L’Art Pour L’Art perform works by Matthias Kawl, Stephan Streich, Killian Schwoon and others.  With Matthias Kawl (percussion); Astrid Smelik (flute). Michael Shorder (guitar); plus special guest Thomas Buckner (baritone voice).

For audio and video, and background on composers Brown and White, click here.
For more general information, please visit interpretations.info

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EMMANUEL VUKOVICH, violin

On Saturday, November 2nd, 2019, at 8 pm, the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra will present a concert under the direction of guest conductor Jens Georg Bachmann with Canadian violinist Emmanuel Vukovich as soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major. The program will be performed at the Staller Center for the Performing Arts Main Stage, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $10 for seniors and students, and available on www.stallercenter.com and in person at the box-office.

JENS GEORG BACHMANN, guest conductor

Under the baton of Jens Georg Bachmann, who is Artistic Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cyprus, the SBSO will be performing an opulent program featuring Vukovich — critically acclaimed for his attention to “every detail of phrasing” (Calgary Herald) and for being “a true musician” (Yannick Nézet-Séguin).

Soviet-Russian-born American composer Lera Auerbach’s Post Silentium for Orchestra opens the evening. Originally commissioned in 2012 by Germany’s Staatskapelle Dresden, this one-movement work is written for strings, piccolo, English horn, contrabassoon, bass trombone, harp, piano, and various forms of percussion.

Composed in 1888, and translated into English as “Death and Transfiguration”, Richard Strauss’s tone poem Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24 depicts the death of an artist, with a four-part sonic storyline of childhood, manhood, attainment, and the shift from this plane to the afterlife.

Initially a failure at its premiere in 1806, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 is a work of “radiant beauty” (Yehudi Menuhin). This monumental work defines a turning point in the evolution of the concerto form in which the soloist emerges from the orchestra as a free and independent individual voice.  

Works included:
 Strauss Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24
Lera Auerbach Post Silentium for Orchestra
 Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

Critically acclaimed for his “attention to every detail of phrasing”, Canadian violinist Emmanuel Vukovich (www.emmanuelvukovich.ca) is emerging as an artist of musical integrity and artistic maturity. Grand-prize winner of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition as first violinist of the former Lloyd Carr-Harris String Quartet, Emmanel has performed across North and South America, Europe, and Australia in performances with artists such Ida Haendal, Matt Haimowitz, Anton Kuerti, and Alex Klein. He is the founder and artistic director of The Parcival Project, an international chamber music collective which has toured Canada, the US, and South America, as well as artist director of Montreal’s Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur “Bach Odyssey” – a multi- year series centered around the solo violin Sonatas and Partitas of JS Bach. Emmanuel performs on a 1629 Nicolo Amati violin on generous loan from The Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

 Upcoming highlights include the creation of two new works:

  • Inspired by North Indian Classical Hindustani music, American composer Sheila Silver is writing a violin concerto expressly for Emmanuel. This concerto is intended to be premiered and recorded in 2021. 
  • An original work for solo violin, African drums, and chamber orchestra, co-composed with award-winning composer John McDowell, Parzival & Fierefiz: A New Narrative of Race will make its world premiere at the University of Toronto in November 2020 in conjunction with the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Wagner’s Parsifal.

Emmanuel is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University, working with Philip Setzer and Eugene Drucker of the Emerson String Quartet, Hagai Shaham, and Colin Carr. His final graduation recital will present selections from the solo violin Sonatas & Partitas of J S Bach and Parzival & Fierefiz: A New Narrative of Race.

Jens Georg Bachmann (www.jensgeorgbachmann.com) is the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Cyprus, since 2017. With his artistic leadership the CySO has significantly increased its popularity and reputation across the country. Being equally at home in operatic and symphonic repertoire, Bachmann has conducted, the Boston, Florida and Princeton symphony orchestras, the Berlin and Hamburg symphony orchestras, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the ERT Radio and Thessaloniki Symphony Orchestras of Greece, the Radio Orchestras of Germany (NDR) as well as at The Metropolitan Opera New York, Royal Swedish Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin and the state operas of Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Düsseldorf.

Mr. Bachmann had been Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Texas Chamber Orchestra as well as Music Director of the Crested Butte Music Festival in Colorado. He has collaborated with some of the world’s finest musicians such as Pinchas Zukerman, Daniel Hope, Yefim Bronfman, Cyprien Katsaris and singers Renée Fleming, Marcello Giordani and Jonas Kaufmann. In addition, Bachmann has been teaching in the USA and Germany academically at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the Lübeck Hochschule. He also collaborates regularly with the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Being thoroughly trained through mentorships with Christoph von Dohnányi and James Levine for several years, Bachmann is an avid proponent of contemporary music and has worked with many active composers of our time including Elliott Carter, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sofia Gubaidulina as well as annually since 2017 with members of the Center of Cypriot Composers.

Jens Georg Bachmann was born in Berlin, Germany, and studied conducting and violin at the Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ Berlin and The Juilliard School New York.

Bachmann has recorded for the DaCapo and Naxos labels.

For more about Emmanuel Vukovich, please visit his website.
To purchase tickets for this event, visit the Staller Center’s order page.

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On Thursday, November 7th, 2019, 8pm, the Interpretations Series continues it 31st season with Harlem Reunion: original improvisational compositions led by JD Parran; and Elevated Moon: a ‘ritualistic happening’, presented by both Amir Bey & JD Parran. Held at Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY, tickets are $20 for adults / $15 for students & seniors, and available on www.Roulette.org and www.Interpretations.info.

Composer and multi-woodwind player JD Parran’s Harlem Reunion is a music/spoken word quartet, performing original improvisational compositions. (With Alexis Marcelo, piano; Larry Roland, poet and bass; Jackson Krall, percussion.)

Amir Bey & JD Parran present Elevated Moon: a ‘ritualistic happening’ that combines sound, movement, visual vibrance, and light projections. An ‘elevation of spirits’ is presented in a multidisciplinary, mixed-media synthesis, aiming to present the room with a joyous experience.

Storyteller Amir Bey acts as a visual ambassador, using various masks, Astrologos, and swinging percussive mobiles. The audience is invited to participate at the end, synergising with the Freedom the performers have expressed. (With Soundrhythium Michael TA Thompson, drums & percussion; Bill Toles, light-magic; Chihiro Cute-Beat Kobayashi, movements and poses.)

Of this concert, JD Parran says, “In the past I have performed in Interpretations concerts that have marked high points in my work. I am excited about this concert as an opportunity to compose and perform the music  for two specific projects close where I live in my creative self.”

Interpretations continues its tradition of playing host to composers, interpreters, and improvisers — artists of both local and international scale, with myriads of approaches to music.

On the heels of last year’s acclaimed 30th anniversary, the Interpretations Series is dedicated to nurturing the relationship of innovative composers with the growing community of new music virtuoso performers. “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.”

※ THURSDAY DECEMBER 5, 2019: MOMENTA QUARTET + ELIZABETH BROWN, FRANCES WHITE
The Momenta Quartet joins forces with composers Elizabeth Brown and Frances White in a multimedia evening fusing Western contemporary music with Japanese aesthetics, literary references, and a video/sculpture installation by artist Lothar Osterburg.

※ THURSDAY APRIL 9, 2020: THOMAS BUCKNER
Baritone Thomas Buckner presents his 31st annual concert of newly commissioned pieces with works by Earl Howard, Pauline Kim, JD Parran, and Buckner himself.  With performers Soo Yeon Lyuh (haegeum, a two-stringed Korean bowed instrument); Andrew Drury (percussion); Earl Howard (synthesizer and saxophone); JD Parran (reeds).

※ THURSDAY MAY 7, 2020: MÉLANIE GENIN | ENSEMBLE L’ART POUR L’ART
Mélanie Genin performs new music for harp by Christian Dachez, Michael Greba, Saad Haddad, Pauline Kim Harris, Mantovani, and Ricardo Romaneiro. / Ensemble L’Art Pour L’Art perform works by Matthias Kawl, Stephan Streich, Killian Schwoon and others.  With Matthias Kawl (percussion); Astrid Smelik (flute). Michael Shorder (guitar); plus special guest Thomas Buckner (baritone voice).

For more information, please visit interpretations.info

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PAUL ROBESON: MAN OF THE PEOPLE
A NEW JAZZ POETRY OPERA

Chicago Premiere: FRIDAY, JUNE 7th 2024
Free performance at Hamilton Park District Fieldhouse, Chicago, Illinois.

Paul Robeson: Man of the People is a new jazz poetry opera chronicling the life, artistic legacy, and activism of the most important and iconic figure of the twentieth century. This live, multimedia presentation explores the life, creative ethos, and inclusive social vision of concert artist, stage and film actor, athlete, and activist, Paul Robeson. Educator and civil rights leader Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune referred to Mr. Robeson as “the tallest tree in our forest.”

Co-created by librettist Lasana D. Kazembe and composer Ernest Dawkins, Paul Robeson: Man of the People will have its Chicago premiere on Friday, June 7, 2024, from 6-7:30 pm in the Fieldhouse at Hamilton Park District, 513 W 72nd St, Chicago, IL. Admission is free, with no reservation or ticket required. This will be the work’s second performance, after an earlier performance in Indianapolis on May 31, 2024. 

The production serves to introduce contemporary audiences to the art, creative legacy, and social justice activism of Mr. Robeson via creative interpretation and artistic engagement with his musicianship, stagecraft, intellectual spirit, writings, political speeches, and his tireless global activism. Mr. Robeson’s epic life story is rendered in a multimedia stage production that features original poetry, operatic storysong, a jazz/blues-infused original score, dramatic narration, video animation, and live visual art. 

PERFORMERS INCLUDE 

Lasana D. Kazembe,  spoken word/narration; librettist
Ernest Dawkins, saxophone; score; musical director
Corey Wilkes, trumpet
Isiah Keith, piano/vibes
Staci McCrackin, vocalist
Kevin King, flute/clarinet/oboe/saxophone
Gaylon Morriss, bass
Isiah Spencer, drums; percussion
Caitlin Edwards, violin
Edith Yokley, violin
Wilfred Farquharson, viola
Tahirah Whittington, cello

The opera develops across six movements. The music, songs, and dialogue develop sequentially to reflect Mr. Robeson’s development and maturation into a global icon for freedom. 

This extended original work is made possible through the Indiana University Presidential Arts & Humanities Fellowship program.



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Listen to the first episode in a new series of podcasts by Studio zOaR, the production and composition nexus for composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp. In this podcast, Sharp gives an overview of his opera Die Grösste Fuge which will receive its US premiere on June 13, 2024 at Roulette in Brooklyn, NY.

Nearing the end of his life and almost completely deaf, Beethoven becomes unmoored from reality and travels to the future and back. Witnessing our world’s horrors and beauty inspires him to compose his final work “Die Grösse Fuge” (The Great Fugue). One may listen to the entire opera, Die Grösste Fuge, here.

While the original version of Die Grösste Fuge was sung in German, the work has been translated into English for the US premiere.

Credits:
Released May 8, 2024
Recorded at Studio zOaR, NYC, May 5, 2024.
Features excerpts from Sharp’s recording of Die Grösste Fuge with bass/baritone Nicholas Isherwood and the Asasselo Quartet as well as an excerpt from an unattributed performance of Beethoven’s Die Grösse Fuge.
Narration: Elliott Sharp.

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On May 28, 2024,  Elevation, non-profit Elevate Vocal Arts’ flagship ensemble of 39 vocal artists, releases their second album, Are You Looking For Me? at the Meyer Media label produced by GRAMMY award-winning Andreas Meyer. Available at all major online download and streaming sites. Preorder is now available on Apple Music and Amazon.

Are You Looking For Me? is an introspective work with nine world premiere tracks that explores the depths of faith. Through a meticulously curated repertoire that blends ethereal melodies with raw, emotive lyrics, the album invites listeners on a profound journey inward and outward. It questions the essence of belief in the divine, in the goodness within people, in the transformative power of art, and in the relentless march of time. And, it challenges us to reflect on our own convictions and human potential.

At its core, Are You Looking For Me? is a dynamic canvas for artists to explore the complex narratives of faith, resilience, and identity. Elevate Vocal Arts‘ unwavering commitment to nurturing talent and providing platforms for historically marginalized communities is evident in the range of vocal artistry showcased in this album. Through music, storytelling, and spoken word, the choir’s talent is on full display, a testament to the power of song and story. 

Album Teaser:

The works included on this album span centuries of choral stylings and landscapes. From “Laus Trinitati,” Faith Zimmer’s reworking of chants from the High Middle Ages, to “Were You There?” a Negro spiritual first published in 1899, sacred compositions are recontextualized for modern understanding. In keeping with the theme of modernity, contemporary works such as Dominick DiOrio’s newly commissioned piece “Are You Looking For Me?” and Reginal Wright’s “Tides” speak to modern meanings and expressions of faith in everyday life, while also commenting on timely social issues such as political division and police brutality.

Compositions on the album incorporate texts from diverse sources such as Indian mystic poet and saint Kabir, and writer and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson. Further inspiration is drawn from musical sources ranging from 11th-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen, Hip-Hop looping, and even Westminster Chimes, the ubiquitous set of pitches used by clocks around the world to toll the hours of the day.

The team that produced Are You Looking For Me? is led by Artistic Director & CEO, Arreon A. Harley-Emerson, along with Dr. Jillian Harrison-Jones, Associate Artistic Director, L. Jay Besch, Operations Manager and Assistant Conductor, and Erik Meyer, Collaborative Keyboardist.

WORKS (ALL WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS) INCLUDE:

I. Divine Commentary
1. Laus Trinitati, Faith Zimmer
2. Were You There, Christopher H. Harris
II. Searching For Faith
3. Are You Looking For Me, Dominick DiOrio
4. Tides, Reginal Wright
III. Odes to Joy
5. Joy Never Leaves, Christopher H. Harris
6. Elevate, Lori C. Hicks
IV. Infinite Song
7. The Gift To Sing, Erik Meyer
8. Hymn to Time, Lee R. Kesselman
V. The Majestic
9. You Are Worthy of All The Praise, Kevin B. James

Elevate Vocal Arts (EVA)
Arreon A. Harley-Emerson
Andreas K. Meyer

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**As of May 10, 2024 this concert is postponed indefinitely. it will not take place on June 5, 2024.**

Pianist Haskell Small has toured key cities in US in the 2023-24 season with his program Celebration of Healing, performing Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. His next stop will be at Weill Recital Hall located in the celebrated Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 5.

In 2021, Composer and Pianist Haskell Small suffered a debilitating stroke that rendered his left hand and foot paralyzed. At the time, Small feared his accomplished professional career would come to an end. Three years later, he is not only playing piano again (with both hands!) but has embarked on a nationwide Celebration of Healing tour that launched in his hometown of Washington, DC in September 2023 and is not hitting Carnegie Hall. He will be the subject of a documentary film entitled Small Steps directed by Christopher McGuinness to be released later this year. The trailer can be viewed here.

Wednesday, June 5, 2024, 8PM
Weill Recital Hall: Carnegie Hall
154 W 57th St, New York, NY

Tickets are $25 and are available at carnegiehall.org, the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Carnegie Hall is located at 881 Seventh Avenue in New York City.

More information available at www.haskellsmall.com

As captured in The Washington Post, Small used his painstaking journey of rehabilitation as a creative muse. Unwilling to stay away from music, he began arranging and performing classical masterworks for his right hand alone, as well as writing and performing a new composition, Diary of a Stroke: The Adventures of Herb and Pete (playful nicknames Small gave to his paralyzed hand and foot). Today, Small’s rehabilitation has further progressed and he has returned to playing with full use of both hands. Small’s Celebration of Healing Tour will not only mark his full recovery, but fulfill his life-long dream of performing Beethoven’s immensely difficult and sublime Diabelli Variations.

“To go from thinking my career might be over, to touring the country with one of the most demanding and sublime works in the repertoire has become a life-saving journey,” says Small. “I’m hoping that my story can resonate with others who have suffered setbacks and offer inspiration that you should never give up on your dreams. Sometimes what seems like a disaster can in fact be an opportunity to grow and challenge yourself in a whole new way.”

Adding to Haskell’s challenges and augmenting his “celebration of healing,” this spring (2024) he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, fortunately caught early and curable with a big surgery called a ‘Whipple procedure’ that he is presently recovering from.

Haskell Small

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On Thursday, June 13, 2024, at 8 pm, composer Elliott Sharp presents the US Premiere in English of his opera Die Grösste Fuge (The Greatest Fugue) – a time travel opera – at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn. This opera features the virtuosic bass/baritone Nicholas Isherwood as Ludwig van Beethoven with DGF String Quartet, prerecorded electroacoustic backing tracks, and projection design by Janene Higgins.

Tickets: $25 in advance ($20 Student/Senior w/ID) and $30 at the door.  Tickets available at roulette.org. A live stream will be available free of charge on YouTube at 8 pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing. 

Elliott Sharp  composer, electronics
Nicholas Isherwood  bass/baritone
Janene Higgins  projection design		 DGF STRING QUARTET:
Sara Salomon, Concetta Abbate  violins
Ron Lawrence  viola
Hao Jiang  cello

Recently, Infrequent Seams released the double CD of Die Grösste Fuge, which is available for streaming. It received rave reviews from sources such as The Moderns: “The performances are every bit as grand and in-your-face as the work’s subject deserves” and Touching Extremes: “Isherwood masterfully portrays Beethoven’s torment.”

One may imagine Ludwig von Beethoven in the 1820s in ill health and nearly deaf, bitter and lonely with his economy in tatters, and clinging to his delusions of nobility. He must escape but it is impossible. Yet escape he does but not by his own agency. He becomes unmoored from the tethers of his daily life and mind to travel in time to an incomprehensible future, surprisingly both magnificent and horrendous. Once he has returned to his normal life he processes his experiences in “this greatest fugue” (die grösste Fuge) and begins to create a string quartet, Die Grösse Fuge. 

In writing the libretto for Die Grösste Fuge, Elliott Sharp drew inspiration from Beethoven’s letters and notes as well as from works by Schiller and Goethe. These excerpts were never used verbatim but translated, often multiple times from German to English and back again using AI translation software. In addition, some texts were run through “cut-up” software that would simulate strategies invented by Brion Gysin and often used by William Burroughs to reveal layers of meaning within a text by literally cutting up the printed words and phrases on a page and resequencing them. Some of these same strategies were employed in creating the music. Melodic materials would be extracted and turned into seeds that could then be expanded and layered to form vocal melodies and contrapuntal accompaniment. Rhythmic motifs would be looped and reversed, recombined and transformed. However, first and foremost, the settings of the songs are designed to flow from the words themselves so that the meaning, while layered, is always in bas-relief.


Elliott Sharp
Nicholas Isherwood
Janene Higgins