ICE Performs Ann Cleare Composer Portrait Led By Steven Schick At Miller Theatre

On Thursday, March 1, 2018 at 8pm, the innovative artist collective International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) returns to Miller Theatre for a Composer Portrait celebrating young Irish composer Ann Cleare. ICE musicians perform some of Cleare's most striking works in an ensemble led by Steven Schick, including the square of yellow light that is your window, inspired by fellow Irish artist Oscar Wilde; Dorchadas for bass flute, bass clarinet, bassoon, trombone, percussion, piano, and strings; the U.S. premiere of to another of that other for trumpet, trombone, clarinet and orchestra; and the world premiere of teeth of light, tongue of waves for voice, bassoon, viola, cello, bass, co-commissioned by ICE and Miller Theatre.

Ann Cleare is an Irish composer working in the areas of concert music, opera, extended sonic environments, and hybrid instrumental design. Her work explores the static and sculptural nature of sound, probing the extremities of timbre, texture, colour, and form. She creates highly psychological and corporeal sonic spaces that encourage a listener to contemplate the complexity of the lives we exist within, exploring poetries of communication, transformation, and perception. Through working with some of the most progressive musicians of our time, she has established a reputation for creating innovative forms of music, both in its presentation, and within the music itself. Current and future projects include new works for The Crash Ensemble, Ekmeles and solo trombonist William Lang; an Australian tour of a new sculptural trumpet piece for Callum G'Froerer; a sonic theatre piece for Sirius Arts Centre and Tonnta Music in response to Brian O'Doherty's newly restored murals; a solo piano piece for Dublin International Piano Competition; a chamber orchestra piece for Ensemblekollektiv Berlin; an evening length work for ELISION; a video opera version of her opera rinn; and the creation of an outdoor musical playground for children with sculptor Brian Byrne. Cleare studied at University College Cork, IRCAM, and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Her scores are published by Project Schott New York. She is Associate Lecturer in Composition at the University of York in England.
Link: http://www.millertheatre.com/events/ann-cleare

Program:
teeth of light, tongue of waves (2017-18) World Premiere, Miller Theatre and ICE co-commission
to another of that other (2009-13) U.S. Premiere
the square of yellow light that is your window (2013-14)
Dorchadas (2007)

Performers:
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
Steven Schick, conductor

Alice Teyssier, voice
Zachary Good, clarinet
Rebekah Heller, bassoon
Ryan Muncy, saxophones
Peter Evans, trumpet
David Byrd-Marrow, French horn
Michael Lormand, trombone
David Nelson, trombone
Ross Karre, percussion
Levy Lorenzo, percussion
Daniel Lippel, guitar
Jacob Greenberg, piano
Josh Modney, violin
Wendy Richman, viola
Katinka Kleijn, cello
Randall Zigler, double bass

The International Contemporary Ensemble is an artist collective that is transforming the way music is created and experienced. As performer, curator, and educator, ICE explores how new music intersects with communities across the world. The ensemble's 35 members are featured as soloists, chamber musicians, commissioners, and collaborators with the foremost musical artists of our time. Works by emerging composers have anchored ICE's programming since its founding in 2001, and the group's recordings and digital platforms highlight the many voices that weave music's present.

A recipient of the American Music Center's Trailblazer Award and the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, ICE was also named the 2014 Musical America Ensemble of the Year. The group currently serves as artists-in-residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Mostly Mozart Festival, and previously led a five-year residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. ICE was featured at the Ojai Music Festival from 2015 to 2017, and at recent festivals abroad such as gmem-CNCM-marseille and Vértice at Cultura UNAM, Mexico City. Other performance stages have included the Park Avenue Armory, The Stone, ice floes at Greenland's Diskotek Sessions, and boats on the Amazon River.

New initiatives include OpenICE, made possible with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which offers free concerts and related programming wherever ICE performs, and enables a working process with composers to unfold in public settings. DigitICE, a free online library of over 350 streaming videos, catalogues the ensemble's performances. ICE's First Page program is a commissioning consortium that fosters close collaborations between performers, composers, and listeners as new music is developed. EntICE, a side-by-side education program, places ICE musicians within youth orchestras as they premiere new commissioned works together; inaugural EntICE partners include Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and The People's Music School in Chicago. Summer activities include Ensemble Evolution at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, in which young professionals perform with ICE and attend workshops on topics from interpretation to concert production. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for ICE. Read more at www.iceorg.org.

A cornerstone of Miller's programming, these evening-length musical profiles explore the work of a single composer in depth, offering contemporary composers and performers a space to explore, experiment, and make significant contributions to the field. For more than a decade, Miller's flagship series has exposed audiences to the boundary-breaking music of today. This season, we offer an in-depth look at six composers-hailing from Brazil, China, France, Ireland, Massachusetts, and Brooklyn-in these evening-length immersions, including the chance to hear directly from the composers during onstage discussions. Major support for Composer Portraits is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.