Feb 25

Performance Archive

Sequenza21 & MNMP present: ACME in Concert

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 @ 7:00pm

Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater

425 Lafayette Street

Subway: 6 to Astor Place

Admission FREE with $12 food/drink minimum; call Joe’s Pub at 212-539-8778 to RSVP.

 
Tickets are now available for the 2011 Sequenza 21/MNMP Concert at Joe’s Pub, featuring the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME). This event is free and open to the public, and will include the following works, selected through an open call for scores by ACME artistic director Clarice Jensen, composer and Sequenza21 senior editor Christian Carey, and composer Hayes Biggs.

Oracle Night – James Stephenson (UK)

Sixteen Lines – Robert Thomas (NJ)

Slumber Music – Jay Batzner (MI)

Grand Dragon – Rob Deemer (NY)

Refuge – Sam Nichols (CA)

Requests – David Smooke (MD)

How it Will Go – Dale Trumbore (CA)

Linea Negra – Laurie San Martin (CA)

Nostos Algea – James Holt (NY)

In addition, the concert will feature an opening work by Christian Carey called Wily Overture and a closing work by Hayes Biggs.

About the Artists:

Led by artistic director and cellist Clarice Jensen, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) is dedicated to the outstanding performance of masterworks from the 20th and 21st centuries, primarily the work of American composers. The ensemble aims to present cutting-edge contemporary literature by living composers alongside the “classics” of the contemporary. Known for their work with the Wordless Music Series as well as indie music icons such as Grizzly Bear, ACME’s dedication to cutting-edge contemporary literature extends across genres, and has earned them a reputation among both classical and rock crowds. Time Out New York calls them “one of New York’s brightest new music indie-bands.” ACME has performed at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Tenri Cultural Institute, the Noguchi Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, the Flea Theater, and Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, among others. (www.acmemusic.org)

Jay C. Batzner is a composer, sci-fi geek, home brewer, burgeoning seamster, and juggler on the faculty of Central Michigan University, where he teaches music technology and electronic music courses. (www.jaybatzner.com)

Hayes Biggs, born in Huntsville, Alabama and raised in Helena, Arkansas, has taught at Manhattan School of Music since 1992. This season his Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs, composed for soprano Susan Narucki and pianist Christopher Oldfather, and Three Hymn Tune Preludes, commissioned by organist Gail Archer, will receive their first performances. (www.hayesbiggs.com)

Composer Christian Carey is Senior Editor at Sequenza 21 and an Assistant Professor of Music at Rider University. The New York New Music Ensemble, Cassatt String Quartet, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Locrian Chamber Players, and others have performed his music. He blogs regularly at File Under ? (www.sequenza21.com/carey)

Rob Deemer, a composer and conductor, is head of music composition at SUNY Fredonia, a member of the composition faculty at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, and is the composer-in-residence with the Buffalo Chamber Players. He writes frequently about new music for Sequenza21 and NewMusicBox. (www.robdeemer.com)

James Holt is a composer, podcaster, and arts administrator. His music has been performed across the country and internationally including recent performances in New York, Boston, St. Paul and San Francisco. Holt is originally from Seattle and now lives and works in New York City. (www.myearsareopen.net)

Laurie San Martin’s compositions combine her classically trained background with the sounds of today in music for acoustic chamber ensembles and orchestra. She has also enjoyed writing for video, dance and theater. She is currently working with soprano/actor Haleh Abghari on a theatrical work setting Farrid ud-Din Attar’s Conference of the Birds. (www.lauriesanmartin.com)

Sam Nichols is a composer; he teaches composition, music theory, and electronic music at UC Davis. He lives with his wife, the composer Laurie San Martin, and their two daughters in Woodland, CA. (www.samnichols.net)

Composer David Smooke (b. 1969) currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland, where he teaches music theory, rock music history and composition, and chairs the department of music theory at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. In addition to his composition activities, Smooke founded and co-curates League of the Unsound Sound (LotUS), performs improvisations on toy piano, and writes a weekly column for NewMusicBox, the online magazine of the American Music Center. (www.davidsmooke.com)

British composer James Stephenson (b. 1981) studied at the University of York (BA, MA) and University of Manchester (PhD Composition, with Philip Grange and John Casken). His compositions have been performed across the UK and Western Europe, but never previously in America. Stephenson is also an active conductor, improviser and educator, and directs contemporary music ensemble Chiasmus. (www.jamesstephenson.org.uk)

Robert E. Thomas teaches music at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. His music has been presented around the country, including performances at the June In Buffalo and MusicX festivals and at the Conductor’s Institute at Bard. (http://retmusic.com)

An active composer on both coasts, Dale Trumbore has won numerous awards for her compositions. The Kronos Quartet premiered her string quartet as part of their residency at the University of Maryland in 2009. Trumbore currently resides in Los Angeles; she recently graduated with her M.M. in Composition from USC. (www.daletrumbore.com)

About Sequenza21:
Sequenza21 (www.sequenza21.com) contains commentary, reviews, features, a concert calendar, and composers’ forum, and is both a resource and meeting place for performers, composers, and listeners. In 2005, ASCAP awarded Sequenza21 its prestigious Deems Taylor Award.

About the Venue:
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003
http://www.joespub.com

Questions? Please e-mail [email protected] or call (212) 977 1070, extension 102.

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