VITAL VOX: A VOCAL FESTIVAL explores the myriad power of the human voice in its solo and ensemble forms across a multitude of genres. This three day festival is in its 2nd annual appearance and will occur on November 11, 12, and 13 2010 at 8:30pm at the ISSUE Project Room at the Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd Street, in Brooklyn, NY. (F/G Subway to Carroll St or F/M/R to 9th St./4th Ave.) Tickets are $10 ($9 in advance) and can be purchased at www.issueprojectroom.org or by calling 718-330-0313. VITAL VOX celebrates composer-performers in the vocal arts who stretch and expand the voice in new and original ways, continuing a strong contemporary tradition developed in the United States.

With international influences springing from such countries and regions as Taiwan, East Timor, Slovakia, Africa, South India, and more; genres ranging from jazz, experimental, contemporary, free improvisation, “noise” music, and abstract solo opera; and themes ranging from “maintaining one’s composure”, to cinematographic music theater inspired by the life, films and death of the German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, VITAL VOX has wide ranging scope and appeal.

VITAL VOX was premiered in May 2009 at Teatro IATI (International Theatre Arts Institute) in the East Village. The Festival brought together some of the most talented & creative young vocalists in NYC, and featured a total of 7 projects and 13 vocalists. Sasha Bogdanowitsch & Sabrina Lastman are Artistic Directors for the festival, which is produced by World in One & Issue Project Room.

The November 11, 2010 program includes Inner Chapters performed by Jen Shyu; Songs for Double Bass and Voice by Nat Baldwin; River of Painted Birds by Sabrina Lastman; and The Art of the Diff by Chris Mann.

The November12, 2010 program includesHold Yourself Together by Corey Dargel ; Inflections in a Vibratory Field by Samita Sinha; Improvisations 11-12-10 by C Spencer Yeh; and Gatekeeper by Joan La Barbara.

The November 13, 2010 program includes Takadimi duo (Lori Cotler with Glen Velez); Untitled for 2010 by Audrey Chen; Present, Past and Future Sees by Sasha Bogdanowitsch; and Gisburg’s The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Songs performed by Magic Names.

Continue reading “Joan La Barbara, Corey Dargel, and 10 other vocalists/ensembles featured in VITAL VOX Festival”

The lineup has been finalized for the Union Square stage for the September Concert on September 11, 2010. These music events, which take place in designated performance spaces, including public parks and concert halls in cities around the world, have the sole purpose of joining people together worldwide to “celebrate peace and humanity through music.”

Performances are free, outdoors, and open to the public – join us at Union Square!

12-12:40 Threefifty Duo

1-1:40 Joseph Brent Quartet

2:00-2:40 Frank Viele & the Manhattan Project

3:00-3:40 Rob Mosher’s Storytime

4:00-4:40 Cassis B. Staudt with special guests Tamara Hey and Mary Beth Stone

5:00-5:40 Copal

Composer, pianist and percussionist John McDowell teams up with Canadian violinist Emmanuel Vukovich, cellist Julia MacLaine, and string bass player Evan Premo to create the musical ensemble Music For Farms which will perform a benefit concert for the Rockland Farm Alliance entitled “A Musical Harvest” at the Threefold Auditorium at 260 Hungry Hollow Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY on Friday, September 10, 2010 at 8pm. Tickets may be purchased at the door and are $20 ($15 for students, $10 for children). For more information, call 845-362-0207 or email [email protected].

John McDowell and Emmanuel Vukovich, who practice music and farming side by side (McDowell at Camp Hill Farm in Pomona, NY; and Vukovich in Quebec, Canada), have formed an international initiative, Music for Farms, which works to revive and sustain local organic agriculture and farming communities through the arts. Julia MacLaine and Evan Premo join them for this special concert. The program, described below, includes the music of Bach, several original works in contemporary and classical idioms, and the quartet’s own creative arrangements that incorporate African drum rhythms and reflect a weaving of Eastern and Western traditions. This concert will be a benefit for the Rockland Farm Alliance (RFA). The mission of the RFA is to facilitate local sustainable agriculture in Rockland County, New York.

Juilliard and McGill trained Emmanuel Vukovich is the recipient of Canada’s first Golden Violin Award, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts Orford String Quartet scholarship. His twin passions of farming and music are brought to expression in this artistic Musical Harvest. John McDowell is best known as composer of the score to Oscar winning Born into Brothels. He has toured with rock/world band Rusted Root as a pianist and percussionist and founded/led the internationally acclaimed band Mamma Tongue. Cellist Julia MacLaine has been consistently singled out by The New York Times for her rich tone, sweet vibrato and superb musicianship, and performs throughout North and South America and in Europe as a recitalist and chamber musician. Like Julia, an alumnus of Carnegie Hall’s resident Ensemble ACJW, Evan Premo performs chamber music regularly at Carnegie Hall and does outreach in public schools in NYC. An active chamber musician and soloist, Evan also practices farming, woodworking, and ‘homesteading’.

The program will be drawn from the following selections:

• Bach, works for solo violin and solo cello
• F Major, by John McDowell
• Swara Kakali (transcription of a work by Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar)
• Barn Dances, by Evan Premo
• La Paloma, by Julia MacLaine
• Tango, arr. Music For Farms
• Kalo Kalo, by John McDowell

Innovative Canadian composer/performer Kyle Bobby Dunn and electric guitar quartet Dither will open the second season of new music series Music at First on Friday, September 10th, 2010 at 7:30pm. The Series is held at First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, located at 124 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. Tickets are $10 at the door. Contact [email protected] for more info. Directions are at www.fpcbrooklyn.org.

MUSIC AT FIRST, curated by Wil Smith (composer who also serves as organist at First Presbyterian), occurs monthly, featuring two performers or ensembles per evening. Smith describes Music at First as “a diverse mix of New York City’s best new music ensembles and performers, accessible to a wide audience of both community members and seasoned new music listeners.” Future performers in the fall series will include bassist Eleonore Oppenheim and special guest TBA on October 8th; pianist Isabelle O’Connell and Flutronix on November 5th; and a double bill of Phithia and Slow/Fast on December 3rd.

Originally from Ontario, Canada, now residing in Brooklyn, 24 year old KYLE BOBBY DUNN has premiered his highly specialized works in live settings, including exclusive outdoor and site specific environments, throughout North America for nearly a decade. His work has been described as “patience incarnate” – (Pitchfork Media) and walks a wide intersection between extended minimalist technique, neo-classicalism, textural processed drone, and post-romantic song crafting. His work examines the inner workings of the human condition in mostly large, emotionally charged and epic pieces for guitar, strings and piano that translate the beauty and horror of our time, memory, feeling, and actions. Dunn’s compositions are painterly, haunting, and wanderingly romantic, and can transport the listener to the furthest and most forgotten landscapes.

DITHER, a New York based electric guitar quartet featuring Taylor Levine, David Linaburg, Joshua Lopes, and James Moore, is dedicated to an eclectic mix of experimental repertoire which spans composed music, improvisation, and electronic manipulation. Formed in 2007, the quartet has performed in the US and abroad, presenting new commissions, original compositions, improvisations, multimedia works, and large guitar ensemble pieces. With sounds ranging from clean pop textures to heavily processed noise, from tight rhythmic unity to cacophonous sound mass, all of Dither’s music wholeheartedly embraces the beautiful, engulfing, and often gloriously loud sound of electric guitars. Dither’s recent collaborators include downtown bagpiper Matthew Welch, composers Eve Beglarian and David Lang, and guitarist/composers Bryce Dessner, Nick Didkovsky, Marco Cappelli, Elliott Sharp, and Mark Stewart. Recent performances in New York include the Performa Biennial, The MATA Festival Interval Series, and the Bang on a Can Marathon. Dither’s debut album was released by Henceforth Records in June 2010. For this concert, Dither will be playing music by composers Ted Hearne, Josh Lopes, Lisa Coons, and Wil Smith.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BROOKLYN (FPC) is committed to supporting the arts in the community, and has been noted by Lucid Culture blog as as “doing double duty as comfortable neighborhood hang and avant garde central for the budget conscious.”  FPC is an open and intentionally diverse congregation, by race, culture, age, theology, and sexual orientation. #

“Piano Innovation,” pianist Matthew McCright’s upcoming solo concert consists of new, sophisticated art music by six compelling Minnesota composers.

Co-Sponsored by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the American Composers Forum, Piano Innovation will take place on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 at 8:00pm at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. This special concert is held at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center, located at 129 West 67th Street in Manhattan. General admission tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.kaufman-center.org or by calling 212.501.3303. $15 student tickets are available at the door only.

The American Composers Forum and the Minnesota State Arts Board are proud to present pianist Matthew McCright in a concert of new piano works from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  Based in the Twin Cities, the Forum has a long history of  promoting new music throughout the country.  This concert will feature the New York premieres of pieces by young, emerging, and established composers of this cultural mecca of the Midwest. Works include James Marentic’s “Rothko”; Justin Rubin’s “Waltz through Vapor”; Adam Wernick’s “Dream/Play”; Paul Cantrell’s “Disembodied Dance”; Kirsten Broberg’s “echoes” and Daniel Nass’ “quatre etudes de fromage.” [PDF of complete composer bios]

American pianist Matthew McCright has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as piano soloist and chamber musician. He has thrilled audiences and critics alike with an imaginative repertoire that spans both the traditional and a wide range of contemporary works. He has premiered numerous new pieces, many written for him, and has collaborated with such composers as Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, Augusta Read Thomas, Paul Dresher, Michael Gordon, Mary Ellen Childs, Julia Wolfe, Evan Ziporyn, Mark Anthony Turnage, Kirsten Broberg, Kamran Ince, Alvin Lucier, Linda Buckley and Judith Lang Zaimont among many others. McCright currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a member of the piano faculty of Carleton College while maintaining an active freelance schedule as one of the most sought after pianists in contemporary music. Recent projects include the 2009 CD release of Second Childhood on innova Records and an upcoming disc of the piano works of Minnesota composer Gene Gutchë on Centaur Records. He is curator of the Open Doors music series, partnering performing artists with charitable causes and is housed at Saints Martha and Mary Episcopal Parish, where he is pianist-in-residence for the series. He created The Composer’s Project, a nationwide program featuring emerging composers. McCright completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota, under the tutelage of Lydia Artymiw. In addition to private study in New York City with Lisa Moore, he also holds a Master of Music Degree in Piano from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati studying with Richard Morris and earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance, Magna Cum Laude, from Westminster College with Nancy Zipay DeSalvo.