Random Access Music Hosts Queens New Music Festival, Now thru 5/13

The New York-based composers’ group, Random Access Music, presents the first Queens New Music Festival from today May 10 through May 13, 2012 at the Little Secret Theatre (Studio 104, 44-02 23rd Street, Long Island City, Queens). This "trailblazing festival seeks to highlight and promote composers, musicians, and ensembles living and creating new music in the borough of Queens."

Following a call for proposals, over 40 applications for programs were submitted for consideration. Random Access Music selected 9 diverse programs for the first of what is planned as an annual event, including several world, US, or New York premieres by both well-established and emerging composers.

All-access festival passes will be sold for $50; Saturday or Sunday one-day passes will be $30; single tickets purchased online in advance will be $15; single tickets will be $20 at the door. To purchase or seek more information, visit http://www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.

Today, May 10, 7:30 pm; Lucky Number Generator: Random Access Music and Cadillac Moon Ensemble

The festival opens with a program featuring five world premieres by Random Access Music composers B. Allen Schulz, Wang Jie, David Fetherolf, Manly Romero, and Gilbert Galindo, featuring the emerging Cadillac Moon Ensemble. [Titles of works to be announced.]

Formed in 2007, Cadillac Moon Ensemble has commissioned and premiered over two-dozen works from talented emerging composers. With its unique combination of flute, violin, cello, and percussion, Cadillac Moon Ensemble is dedicated to retaining the intimacy and artistry of traditional chamber music, while expanding its palette of sonic possibilities.

Friday, May 11, 7:30 pm; Narkissos; Daniel Neer and Alysa Reit

Versatile writer, actor, and tenor Daniel Neer and harpist Alyssa Reit, present Narkissos, a 90-minute staged recital with multimedia design and direction by Ted Gorodetzky. Narkissos combines art song, spoken word and inventive staging to explore the multi-layered themes of narcissism and self-entitlement in contemporary America.

This program also highlights six newly commissioned works, which include Personal Helicon by Chandler Carter; Pride and First Monday in November by Martha Sullivan; Metamorphosis by Scott Gendel; Gitchee Gumee by Jonathan David; and Among All Creatures by Lauren Bernofsky. Additional works are Bare Ruined Choirs by Jason Robert Taylor; The Gyre by Robinson McClellan; Eleonor Sandresky’s Someone Comes By; Susan Botti’s The Exchange, and Benjamin Britten’s The Death of Saint Narcissus.

Saturday, May 12, 1pm; Big Idea for One Man to Handle: Tignor, Britt, and Mazzariello

Christopher Tignor, Cameron Britt, and Andrea Mazzariello rewire both their bodies and their instruments to explore and expand the possibilities of composition and performance through technology. The program includes two world premieres of EMvibe Etudes by Cameron Britt and Big Idea for One Man to Handle by Christopher Tignor, plus The Exchange by Andrea Mazzariello.

Saturday, May 12, 3 pm; Poétique: Lost Dog New Music Ensemble

The Queens-based Lost Dog New Music Ensemble performs two works by Philippe Bodin: Mynah Games and Poétique des Fluides; Sofia Gubaidulina’s Dancer on a Tightrope (1993); and Mark Phillips’ Rain Dance.

Founded in 1995, Lost Dog New Music Ensemble is dedicated to the advancement of contemporary music by providing performance opportunities both for emerging and under-represented mid-career composers, commissioning and premiering new works, exploring the relationship between music and the other performing arts through innovative and daring programming.

Saturday, May 12, 5 pm; The Cosmos – Nature and Spirit: Quintet of the Americas

The Quintet of the Americas presents a multimedia program that will feature projections from the Hubble Telescope, paintings by Queens artists Karen Fitzgerald and Ken Cro-Ken. Highlights include four world premieres: Daniel Binelli’s Espacial for woodwind quintet, bandoneon and piano; Neil Rolnick’s Ambos mundos for woodwind quintet and computer; Carl Maultsby’s Kum-Ba-Ya Marcus for quintet and narrator; and Matt Sullivan’s Multiple Oneness for electronically-processed oboe and quintet improvisations with Ken Cro-Ken’s real-time painting. The program also features wind quintets: The Stuff of Comets by Dylan Glatthorn, Winter Music by Adam Shoenberg, Sfumato by Yao Chen, Mo Suo's Burial Ceremony by Xinyan Li, and Short Winds by Sean Friar.

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