SEM at PCG March 16 at 7:30
2010-03-05 20:35:55 GMT
S.E.M. Ensemble
Presents the world premiere
Somei Satoh’s The Passion
With soloists Thomas Buckner and Gregory Purnhagen
Also performances of music by
Iannis Xenakis
and Petr Kotik on text by Gertrude Stein
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 7:30
Paula Cooper Gallery, NYC
The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Conductor
Somei Satoh: The Passion (2009)
Thomas Buckner, Baritone and Gregory Purnhagen, Baritone
Chorus and Orchestra
Iannis Xenakis: Mikka “S” (1976)
Conrad Harris, Violin
Petr Kotik: There is Singularly Nothing (1971-73)
On text by Getrude Stein
Megan Schubert, Soprano; Rachel Calloway, Alto; Michael Steinberger, Tenor; Neil Netherly, Bass Baritone; Woodwinds, Brass and Strings
WHEN: Tuesday, March 16, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 West 21st Street, New York
This concert is produced in collaboration with “Interpretations 21” concert series
Tickets: $15, Students and Seniors $10
Reservations: (718) 488-7659 or pksem <at> semensemble.org
Info: www.semensemble.org or www.interpretations.info
The Japanese composer Somei Satoh (b.1947 in Sendai, Japan) began his work as composer in 1969 with "Tone Field," an experimental, mixed media group based in Tokyo. Since then he has worked in music, multimedia arts and theater. In a work from 1981, Satoh placed eight speakers approximately one kilometer apart on mountaintops overlooking a huge valley. The sound from the speakers combined with laser beams to move the clouds into various formations. Satoh has been awarded the Japan Arts Festival prize and received a visiting artist grant from the Asian Cultural Council. The Passion is one of the rare examples of an Asian approach to the story of Christ and Crucifixion. It was commissioned by Mutable Music Productions and is dedicated to Thomas Buckner.
The Greek composer Iannis Xenakis (b.1922 in Athens, d. 2001 in Paris) studied engineering and music. Known also as an architect, he worked with the architectural team of Le Corbusier, designing, among others, the Philips pavilion for the Brussels Exposition of 1958. Xenakis often based his compositions on his architectural designs as well as mathematical principles, including Gaussian Distribution, Markov chains, game theory and probability theory. Mikka “S” (dedicated to Mica Salabert) was Xenakis’ first works for solo violin. Here, Xenakis explores the use of glissandos within a dense musical structure. The piece was commissioned and written for Xenakis’ publisher Mme. Francis Salabert.
The Czech / American composer Petr Kotik (b.1942 in Prague) was educated in Prague and Vienna. In 1969, he relocated to the U.S. and in 1970, he founded the S.E.M. Ensemble, which, in 1992, expanded into The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble. Among Kotik's best-known compositions are Many Many Women (1976-78) on a text by Gertrude Stein and Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking (1978-81) on texts by R. Buckminster Fuller, as well as recent orchestral works Music in Two Movements (1998-2002) and Variations for 3 Orchestras (2005). There is Singularly Nothing was the first work Kotik written for his newly formed S.E.M. Ensemble. There is no general score and its parts/solos have been composed for various members of the Ensemble. The vocal parts were written for the composer and singer Julius Eastman, who was one of the founding members of the group.
-- To join or leave the Silence mailing list, please go to https://list.mail.virginia.edu/mailman/listinfo/silence. You can find searchable list archives at http://list.mail.virginia.edu/pipermail/silence/
RSS Feed