American Contemporary Music Ensemble Performs The Music Of Johann Johannsson As Part Of Le Poisson Rouge's 10th Season

On Sunday, June 10, 2018 at 9:30pm (doors 9pm), the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), will perform the music of the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St., NYC) as part of the venue's 10th anniversary celebration, LPR X. The concert will include selections from Jóhannsson's first concert in New York, which took place in 2009 at Le Poisson Rouge, with ACME. ACME artistic director Clarice Jensen will also perform bc for solo cello and tape loops, a piece that she co-composed with Jóhannsson last year, which is included on her 2018 debut solo album For this from that will be filled (Miasmah).

ACME frequently toured and recorded with Jóhannsson from 2009 until his death in February 2018. The group commissioned Jóhannsson to write his hour-long work for quartet and choir, Drone Mass, for its 10th anniversary in 2015; ACME premiered the piece at the Met Museum that year and later performed it at the Sacrum Profanum Festival, Big Ears, and Duke Performances. ACME will next perform Drone Mass on June 18, 2018 at the Summer Nostos Festival in Athens, Greece, with Paul Hillier and Theatre of Voices.

ACME players for the June 10 concert at LPR are Clarice Jensen, cello; Ben Russell, violin; Laura Lutzke, violin; Caleb Burhans, viola.

Jóhann Jóhannsson was a Berlin-based composer originally from Iceland. His varied and eclectic output includes commissioned works for Bang on a Can, Theatre of Voices, American Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, and more. His debut album Englabörn appeared in 2002; he released eight solo albums on the Touch, 4AD, and Deutsche Grammophon labels. He also composed music for the theatre, dance and film, including the film scores for The Theory of Everything (2014), Sicario (2015), and Arrival (2016). In 2015, he won the Golden Globe and received Oscar, BAFTA, Grammy and Critics' Choice nominations for his score for The Theory of Everything. In 2010, Jóhannsson collaborated with the American avant-garde filmmaker Bill Morrison on The Miners' Hymns, a lyrical and reflective response to Britain's lost industrial past and the heritage of the mining communities of Northeast England. In 2015, Drone Mass, Jóhannsson's piece commissioned and performed by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) was premiered at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Jóhannsson premiered another ambitious project at Manchester International Festival in 2017 - Last and First Men, in which Jóhannsson's symphonic soundtrack is paired with text based on Olaf Stapledon's sci-fi novel read by Tilda Swinton, and footage shot by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen in the former Yugoslavia.

The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), led by Clarice Jensen, was honored by ASCAP during its 10th anniversary season in 2015 for the "virtuosity, passion, and commitment with which it performs and champions American composers." NPR calls them "contemporary music dynamos," and The New York Times describes ACME's performances as "vital," "brilliant," and "electrifying." ACME's recordings appear on the Deutsche Grammophon, New World, Butterscotch, and New Amsterdam labels. ACME released its first portrait album on Sono Luminus in 2017, featuring music by members Caroline Shaw, Timo Andres, and Caleb Burhans, plus John Luther Adams. The Strad wrote, "Warmth and care are fully evident in the ensemble's immaculate, considered performances - the four composers could hardly wish for more committed, convincing accounts of their music."

ACME's dedication to new music extends across genres and has earned them a reputation among both classical and rock crowds. ACME's many collaborators have included The Richard Alston Dance Company, Wayne McGregor's Random Dance, Gibney Dance, Jóhann Jóhannsson, actress Barbara Sukowa, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, Blonde Redhead, Grizzly Bear, Low, Matmos, Jeff Mangum, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Roomful of Teeth, Lionheart, and Theo Bleckmann. The group has performed at leading venues including Carnegie Hall, BAM, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Miller Theatre, The Met Museum, Constellation Chicago, Stanford Live, UCLA, Peak Performances, Melbourne Recital Hall, Big Ears, Sydney Opera House, the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Poland, and All Tomorrow's Parties in the UK, among many others. www.acmemusic.org

Clarice Jensen, cellist, is the founding artistic director of ACME. A graduate of The Juilliard School, her most recent performances include concerts at The Kings Theatre, Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Disney Hall, Benaroya Hall, The Sydney Opera House, Big Ears Festival, Duke Performances, The Kitchen, BAM, Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, and the Isamu Noguchi Museum. She can be heard on recordings released on Deutsche Grammophon, Kranky, Warp, Matador, Brassland, Domino, Merge, Jagjaguwar, Domino, New World, 4AD and many others. Her many collaborators include Jóhann Jóhannsson, Stars of the Lid, Owen Pallett, Max Richter, and Tyondai Braxton, among others. Jensen's debut solo album featuring music that she premiered in her first solo show at The Kitchen in New York was released on Miasmah Recordings in April 2018. Jensen is the author of the only transcription of Julius Eastman's The Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc, the score of which had been lost. Her recording of Joan will be released in summer 2018. www.claricejensen.com