Miller Theatre at Columbia University School Of The Arts continues the 12th season of its renowned Composer Portraits with John Zorn.
Soloists Fred Sherry, Jennifer Koh, and Stephen Gosling join Talea Ensemble and special guest artists in five premieres,
including a new solo violin piece for Ms. Koh, commissioned by Miller Theatre
Friday, December 9, 8:00 p.m.
Tickets: $25 • CU Students: $7 • All other students: $15 with valid ID
JUST ADDED: Zorn to play late-night organ improvisations at St. Paul's Chapel following the Portrait- Friday, December 9, 11:00 p.m. • free admission for Portrait ticketholders and Columbia students
Click here to watch a video with John Zorn talking about his Composer Portrait
From Miller Theatre Director Melissa Smey:
"I am so thrilled to continue Miller Theatre's relationship with John Zorn with this very ambitious program. Unconstrained by genres and traditions, Zorn is easily one of the most adventurous and exciting composers working today. I am especially proud that among his Portrait's five premieres is the world premiere of a new Miller Theatre commission for violinist Jennifer Koh."
Composer Portraits
Miller Theatre's signature series shines the spotlight on a single contemporary composer in every concert, introducing audiences to the most important musical voices of our time. This season features a fascinatingly diverse group of composers in a series that will present 3 new commissions, 8 world premieres, 4 U.S. premieres, and 2 New York premieres. Plus, every composer will participate in an onstage discussion at his or her Portrait.
Friday, December 9, 8:00 p.m.
JOHN ZORN
The iconic avant-gardist John Zorn returns to Miller with an incredibly ambitious lineup, featuring four world premieres played by some of his favorite musicians from New York and beyond. A top-shelf selection of soloists will play virtuosic new works written just for them, while larger ensemble pieces round out the program, infused throughout with Zorn's characteristic vitality, rhythmic drive, and rockstar solo passages.
Just added: Zorn himself will give a late-night encore performance following the concert, improvising on the beautiful Aeolian-Skinner organ at St. Paul's Chapel on the Columbia campus. The performance-inspired by Zorn's early experience as a church organist-will begin at 11 p.m. and last approximately 30 minutes.
ARTISTS: Fred Sherry, cello
Jennifer Koh, violin
Steve Gosling, piano
Talea Ensemble
Brad Lubman, conductor
with special guests
Jenny Choi, violin
Trevor Dunn, bass
Peter Evans, trumpet
David Fulmer, viola
June Han, harp
Alex Lipowski, percussion
Michael Nicolas, cello
Tara Helen O'Connor, flute
Joe Pereira, percussion
Marcus Rojas, tuba
Joshua Rubin, clarinet
David Taylor, bass trombone
Willie Winant, percussion
Kenny Wolleson, drums
PROGRAM: Bateau Ivre (2011) - world premiere
Illuminations (2010) - world premiere
Passagen (2011) - world premiere, Miller Theatre commission
Cerberus (2010) - world premiere
À Rebours (2010) - New York premiere
BIOS:
John Zorn
Drawing upon his experience in classical, jazz, rock, hardcore punk, klezmer, film, cartoon, popular, world and improvised music, John Zorn has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. Born and raised in New York City, he is a central figure in the Downtown Scene, incorporating a wide variety of creative musicians into various compositional formats. His work is remarkably diverse and eclectic, drawing inspiration from Art, Literature, Film, Theatre, Philosophy, Alchemy and Mysticism as well as Music. He founded the Tzadik label in 1995, runs the East Village performance space The Stone and has edited/published five volumes of musician's writings under the title ARCANA.
Fred Sherry has performed for audiences on five continents and all 50 United States through his close association with such composers as Babbitt, Berio, Carter, Davidovsky, Foss, Knussen, Lieberson, and Zorn. He has been a member of the Group for Contemporary Music, The Juilliard Ensemble, the Galimir String Quartet, and a collaborator with Chick Corea. Sherry was a founding member of Speculum Musicae and Tashi. He has been a performer with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and was the artistic director from 1988 to 1992. He is a member of the faculty of The Juilliard School and the Mannes College of Music. Sherry's collaboration with Robert Craft has produced recordings of the Schoenberg Cello Concerto and String Quartet Concerto and other major works by Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Webern.
Jennifer Koh is recognized in the United States and abroad for her ability to fuse intensity of temperament with a classical poise and elegance. Since she came to international attention in 1994 as winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition, Koh has gone on to perform as guest soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, National Symphony of Washington, D.C., the Moscow Radio Symphony, and the Helsinki and Czech Philharmonics. She is an active chamber musician and recitalist, performing in New York, Philadelphia, and other centers with such distinguished artists as Jaime Laredo and Leon Fleisher. She is heard annually at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. Koh is a graduate of Oberlin College and an alumna of the Curtis Institute.
Stephen Gosling enjoys a varied career as soloist and chamber musician with a particular focus on the music of our time. He is currently a member of the New York New Music Ensemble, Ensemble Sospeso, Manhattan Sinfonietta, American Modern Ensemble, and Ne(x)tworks. He is additionally a frequent guest of many other groups, including the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bang on a Can, and Absolute Ensemble. His work has garnered consistent critical acclaim, and he was profiled by The New York Times in October of 2005. Gosling earned his bachelor's, master's and Doctoral degrees at The Juilliard School, during which time he was awarded the Mennin Prize for Outstanding Excellence and Leadership in Music and the Sony Elevated Standards Fellowship. Gosling has collaborated with John Adams, Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, Steve Reich, John Zorn, Pierre Boulez, James Dillon, Brian Ferneyhough, Oliver Knussen, and Marc-Anthony Turnage.
The Talea Ensemble has been labeled "...a vital part the New York contemporary-classical scene" by The New York Times and has given many important world and U.S. premieres of new works by composers including Pierre Boulez, Tristan Murail, Jason Eckardt, Pierluigi Billone, Hans Abrahamsen, Stefano Gervasoni, Marco Stroppa, and Fausto Romitelli. The Talea Ensemble was the guest ensemble for the 18-day Spectrum XXI Festival tour in Paris and London and has twice been invited as guest ensemble to the Nevada Encounters of New Music (NEON) as well as La Ciudad de las Ideas (Mexico), Art Summit Indonesia (Jakarta), and the International Contemporary Music Festival of Lima, Peru. As an active collaborator of new music the Talea Ensemble has joined forces with the Austrian Cultural Forum, Consulate General of Denmark, Korean Cultural Service NY, Italian Cultural Institute, and the Ukrainian Institute. Assuming an ongoing role in supporting and collaborating with student composers, the Talea Ensemble has served as ensemble-in-residence at Harvard University, Columbia University and New York University. The Talea Ensemble has recorded works on the Living Artists Label and Gravina Musica. Upcoming projects include two concerts at the Darmstadt International Music Festival, residencies at Stanford University, Harvard University, Ithaca College, and Cornell University, and a release on Mode Records. Recently commissioned composers for upcoming seasons include James Dillon, John Zorn, Pierluigi Billone, Eric Chasalow, Victor Adan, and Georges Aperghis.
Brad Lubman has led major orchestras in Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and the United States. Among these are the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, RSO Stuttgart, WDR Symphony Cologne, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Finnish Radio Symphony, and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic. In addition, he has worked with some of the most important European and American ensembles for contemporary music, including Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta, Musik Fabrik, ASKO Ensemble, Chicago Symphony MusicNOW, and Steve Reich and Musicians. Lubman has conducted at new-music festivals across Europe, including those in Lucerne, Salzburg, Berlin, Huddersfield, Paris, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Oslo. He is noted for his ability to master challenging new scores in a variety of settings, a skill honed during his tenure as assistant conductor to Oliver Knussen at the Tanglewood Music Center from 1989-1994. That aptitude has earned him the opportunity to premiere works by Michael Gordon, Jonny Greenwood, Meredith Monk, Michael Nyman, Steve Reich, Augusta Read Thomas, Julia Wolfe, and others.
