International Contemporary Ensemble to Present GEORGE LEWIS: HEARING VOICES At Roulette

International Contemporary Ensemble is featured in the first of two concerts this season at Roulette on Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. The concert, titled George Lewis: Hearing Voices, presents a portrait of the Ensemble's Artistic Director and features the US premiere of Lewis's H. narrans (2020) for voice and chamber ensemble, with text drawn from the writings of postcolonial theorist Sylvia Wynter.

Additional works on the program-including Melodies for Miles, a whispered nine, Apis, and Creative Construction SetTM-represent recent works by George Lewis for solo violin, small ensembles and voice, with texts by some of the most audacious literary figures of our time including Fred Moten and Lyn Hejinian, who are part of the composer's ongoing exploration of what decolonization might sound like.

A livestream will be available free of charge at 8:00 p.m. on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing.

Concert Information

George Lewis Portrait Concert
International Contemporary Ensemble
Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
Roulette Intermedium | 509 Atlantic Avenue | Brooklyn, NY 11217
Tickets: $30 in advance, $35 at doors, $25 Student/Senior (w/ ID, Senior 65+)
Link: https://roulette.org/event/george-lewis-hearing-voices/

Program:
George Lewis - Melodies for Miles (2022): Violin solo
George Lewis - a whispered nine (2019): soprano, flute, guitar, viola, percussion
George Lewis - Apis (2019): Baritone, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet in B-Flat, Trumpet in C, Trombone
George Lewis - H.narrans (2020 / US Premiere): Voice (contralto), Clarinet/Bass Clarinet in B-Flat, Trumpet in C,
Percussion, Violin, Double Bass
George Lewis - Creative Construction SetTM (2015): Open instrumentation

Artists:
International Contemporary Ensemble
Tony Arnold, soprano
Damian Norfleet, baritone
Alice Teyssier, voice/flute
Emmalie Tello, clarinet
Gareth Flowers, trumpet
Mike Lormand, trombone
Clara Warnaar, percussion
Oren Fader, guitar
Josh Modney, violin
Kyle Armbrust, viola
Lizzie Burns, bass

Nick Houfek, Lighting Designer

About International Contemporary Ensemble

With a commitment to cultivating a more curious and engaged society through music, the International Contemporary Ensemble - as a commissioner and performer at the highest level - amplifies creators whose work propels and challenges how music is made and experienced. The Ensemble's 39 members are featured as soloists, chamber musicians, commissioners, and collaborators with the foremost musical artists of our time. Works by emerging composers have anchored the Ensemble's programming since its founding in 2001, and the group's recordings and digital platforms highlight the many voices that weave music's present.

Acclaimed as "America's foremost new-music group" (The New Yorker), the Ensemble has become a leading force in new music throughout the last 20 years, having premiered over 1,000 works and having been a vehicle for the workshop and performance of thousands of works by student composers across the U.S. The Ensemble's composer-collaborators-many who were unknown at the time of their first Ensemble collaboration-have fundamentally shaped its creative ethos and have continued to highly visible and influential careers, including MacArthur Fellow Tyshawn Sorey; long-time Ensemble collaborator, founding member, and 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winner Du Yun; and the Ensemble's founder, 2012 MacArthur Fellow, and first-ever flutist to win Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Prize, Claire Chase.

A recipient of the American Music Center's Trailblazer Award and the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the International Contemporary Ensemble was also named Musical America's Ensemble of the Year in 2014. The group has served as artists-in-residence at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival (2008-2020), Ojai Music Festival (2015-17), and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2010-2015). In addition, the Ensemble has presented and performed at festivals in the U.S. such as Big Ears Festival and Opera Omaha's ONE Festival, as well as abroad, including GMEM-Centre National de Création Musicale (CNCM) de Marseille, Vértice at Cultura UNAM, Warsaw Autumn, International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt, and Cité de la Musique in Paris. Other performance stages have included the Park Avenue Armory, ice floes at Greenland's Diskotek Sessions, Brooklyn warehouses, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and boats on the Amazon River.

The International Contemporary Ensemble advances music technology and digital communications as an empowering tool for artists from all backgrounds. Digitice provides high-quality video documentation for artist-collaborators and provides access to an in-depth archive of composers' workshops and performances. The Ensemble regularly engages new listeners through free concerts and interactive, educational programming with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Curricular activities include a partnership at The New School's College of Performing Arts (CoPA), along with a summer intensive program, called Ensemble Evolution, where topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion build new bridges and pathways for the future of creative sound practices. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the Ensemble. Read more at www.iceorg.org and watch over 350 videos of live performances and documentaries at www.digitice.org.

The International Contemporary Ensemble's performances and commissioning activities during the 2023-24 concert season are made possible by the generous support of the Ensemble's board, many individuals, as well as the Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Cheswatyr Foundation, Amphion Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, New Music USA's Organizational Development Fund, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The International Contemporary Ensemble was the Ensemble in Residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology from 2018-2021. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the International Contemporary Ensemble.

Photo credit: Maurice Weiss