North/South Consonance, Inc. Presents Its 9th Concert Of Its 29th Season 6/16

North/South Consonance, Inc. will present its 9th concert of its 29th consecutive season on Tuesday, June 16 at 8 PM at the auditorium of Christ & St. Stephen's Church (120 West 69th St) in Manhattan. Admission is free.

The Grammy nominated North/South Chamber Orchestra under the direction of conductor Max Lifchitz will perform four recent works by composers from the US and Italy. Counter tenor Phillip Cheah will be the featured soloist.

The composers will be on hand to introduce their works and meet with the audience during intermission and after the concert. All participants in the event are available to the press for interviews and may be contacted through our office at <ns.concerts@att.net>

North/South Consonance's 2008-09 season is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs as well as grants from the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University; the Keene Family Foundation; and the Music Performance Funds. For further information about its activities, including concerts and recordings, please visit <http://www.northsouthmusic.org/>

The program will open with the premiere of Celestial Sphere for winds, strings and percussion by Nikolas (Allen) Jeneliauskas, the Syracuse, NY-based composer. Born in 1982, Jeleniauskas recently graduated from Indiana University and is active as composer, conductor and dancer. Celestial Sphere is an exciting single-movement composition that combines colorful percussion sounds with dramatic melodic lines.

The program will continue with a performance of This is the Hour of Lead for counter tenor and chamber ensemble by PatRick Castillo, the New York based composer. Born in 1979, Castillo studied at Vassar College before he was awarded the 2005 Brian M. Israel prize from the Syracuse Society of New Music. Built around the poetry of Emily Dickinson and William Butler Yeats, This is the Hour of Lead is a five-movement cantata. Vocalist Phillip Cheah, who commissioned the work will be the featured soloist. Mr. Cheah has recorded for the Pro Organo and Tzadik labels and has performed works by numerous composers including Paul McCartney, John Teverner, and Ralph Shapey.

The second half of the program will open with the premiere of Chamber Concerto No. 6 - Speed Games for piano, winds and strings by the Los Angeles-based Daniel Kessner. Born in 1946, Kessner studied with Henri Lazarof at the University of California, Los Angeles and taught for over 30 years at the California State University, Northridge campus. A recipient of awards such as the Queen Marie-Jose International Composition Prize in Geneva and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts International, Kessner has guest conducted the LA Philharmonic New Music Group, the North/South Consonance Ensemble and orchestras in California and Eastern Europe. A study in unusual tempo fluctuations, Speed Games features three pairs of instruments in addition to the keyboard. These semi-autonomous groups of instruments function independently of each other moving at their own speed or tempo.

The concert will close with the New York premiere of Chiaroscuro by Gabriele Vanoni, the Italian composer now residing in Boston. A native of Milan, Vanoni (b. 1980) studied at the Guiseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan before moving to New England to earn a Ph. D. at Harvard University. His works for electronic means and/or instruments are crafted with a great concern for color and texture. Chiaroscuro for a large mixed ensemble (winds, strings, piano and percussion) was inspired by the paintings and color techniques developed by the American painter Edward Hopper. In four sections performed without pause, the virtuosic and demanding Chiaroscuro leads the listener through a unique and exciting world of sound.

Tuesday, June 16 at 8 PM
Christ & St Stephen's Church
120 West 69th St (bet Bway & Columbus), NYC
Free Admission. No tickets required.
http://www.northsouthmusic.org