Violinist Mari Kimura & Pianist Bruce Brubaker Appear In CODEX To CAGE At North Of History

Long-time westsider musicians Mari Kimura (violinist/composer) and Bruce Brubaker (piano) will join up for "CODEX to CAGE" an eclectic concert program in the heart of Upper West Side on Monday, December 10 at 7:30 PM at North of History, 445 Columbus Avenue (81-82 Street). Kimura will perform solo violin works ranging from Bach to Ioanis Xenakis to works of her own. Brubaker, who heads the Piano program at the New England Conservatory and is a renowned interpreter of Philip Glass and Terry Riley, will perform works from his repertoire, including "Codex Faenza," a 15th-century manuscript that Brubaker has arranged. Kimura and Brubaker will join forces in their interpretation of John Cage's "Fontana Mix" to conclude the concert.

Mari Kimura (www.marikimura.com) is a violinist/composer and a leading figure in the field of interactive computer music. As a violinist, she is renowned for her mastery of subharmonics--the production of pitches that sound up to an octave below the violin's lowest string--as well as for her dynamic performances as an improviser, interpreter of many notable compositions by today's composers. She has been a soloist with major orchestras including the Tokyo Symphony and the Hamburg Symphony. She was named one of "Immigrants: Pride of America" by the Carnegie Corporation and has received the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Fromm Award from Harvard University, and residencies including IRCAM and Rockefeller Brothers Fund in New York. She is a developer of a prototype motion sensor MUGIC for interactive performance and she is the founding chair of Future Music Lab at the Atlantic Music Festival. A faculty member of The Juilliard School since 1998, she was appointed in 2017 as a Full Professor of Music at the Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT) program at University of California, Irvine. She is presently developing new prototypes of MUGIC as head of The Multi Disciplinary Program at California Institute for Telecommunication and Technology (Calit2) at UC Irvine for the second year.

Pianist Bruce Brubaker (https://brucebrubaker.com) is a model of the new musician, visionary virtuoso and artistic provocateur. His concerts are wide-ranging, from Mozart with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to Philip Glass on the BBC. He has premiered works by Glass, Meredith Monk, Nico Muhly, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Oliver Lake, Simon Hanes, and John Cage. He made his New York debut at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and has been presented by the International Piano Festival at La Roque d'Anthéron, at Michigan's Gilmore Festival, by the St. Louis Symphony at the Sheldon, at the Philharmonie de Paris, and at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art as opening-night performer in the museum's acclaimed Diller Scofidio + Renfro building. He is a frequent performer at New York City's Le Poisson Rouge and at Folle Journée in Nantes. Brubaker trained at the Juilliard School, where he received the Edward Steuermann Prize, the school's highest award, upon graduation. At Juilliard, where he taught for nine years, he originated an interdisciplinary performance course involving actors, dancers, and musicians. He has appeared in public conversations with Philip Glass, Milton Babbitt, and Meredith Monk. He gives prestigious master classes and forums, is widely published, and has curated numerous concert series and festivals. He presently chairs the piano department at New England Conservatory in Boston. He has been profiled on NBC's Today show and his blog, "PianoMorphosis," appears at ArtsJournal.com.

North of History, a "popup" gallery and performance space, was created by architect Gene Kaufman to present plays and art exhibits by a broad range of artists who will use the space for performances, exhibitions, concerts and interactive art displays. It is a flexible space located in a former storefront at 445 Columbus Ave. between 81st and 82nd Streets, within sight of the Museum of Natural History. North of History is a project of New Vision, a nonprofit arts organization founded by Mr. Kaufman.

Terry Eder, a concert pianist, began a musical events program at North of History last March, curating a menu of varied musical events of which this is one.

The space illustrates the expansion of the alternative art scene into multi-use spaces. "Due to rising real estate prices and business licensing obstacles, maintaining an art space in New York City is increasingly difficult, even though the art itself is alive and well," said Gene Kaufman. "As a result, we must expand the definition of 'gallery,' 'concert venue' and other terms in an effort to fully integrate the arts into neighborhoods across the city."

Photo: Left: Mari Kimura, Right: Bruce Brubaker