Wet Ink Ensemble to Present Mini-Festival Of Adventurous Music At Dixon Place

New York City-based new music collective Wet Ink Ensemble will present a mini-festival of adventurous music celebrating works by this season's artists-in-residence, plus a new album release by ensemble member Kate Soper, on Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at Dixon Place.

The program will be presented in two sets. The first set at 6:00 p.m. features two works by AIR Caroline Chen, Birria and Introducing Object, which highlight the breadth of her artistry from chamber music to text and movement. Chen's works intermingle with Kate Soper performing excerpts from her newest album The Romance of the Rose (New Focus Recordings). With an original libretto inspired by the medieval poem of the same name, The Romance of the Rose is an opera that blends medieval and contemporary allegory to dramatize how love, sex, and music wreak havoc on our sense of self. The recording features Wet Ink Ensemble with Eric Wubbles conducting.

The second set at 8:00 p.m. includes solo performances by AIRs Gelsey Bell (vocals) and Ben LaMar Gay (cornet), Raven Chacon's shimmering chamber work Biyan I, and Sam Pluta's Systems of Interaction I, which will feature the Wet Ink band performing alongside Bell and LaMar Gay. The audience is invited to mingle with the performers in between sets and following the program at the Dixon Place Lounge.

Performance Details:

Wet Ink Ensemble Mini-festival: Artists-In-Residence, Soper Album Release
Saturday, December 14, 2024 - Sets at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Dixon Place | 161A Chrystie Street | New York, NY 10002
Tickets: $20 suggested / pay what you can [reserve online or purchase at door] - Get a bundled Festival Pass for $30
Ticket Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wet-ink-ensemble-mini-festival-artists-in-residence-soper-album-release-tickets-1089355915869?aff=oddtdtcreator

Program:

First Set (6:00 p.m.)
Kate Soper - Lady Reason Suite (2023)
for voice, piano, vocoder keyboard, and electronics
Carolyn Chen - Birria (2021)
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, and piano
Kate Soper - Shame (2023)
for voice and electric guitar
Carolyn Chen - Introducing Object (2018)
for speaker and object
Kate Soper - Rondeau (2023)
for soprano and violin

Second Set (8:00 p.m.)
Ben LaMar Gay - Solo (2024)
for cornet
Raven Chacon - Biyan I (2011)
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and percussion
Gelsey Bell - The Psithurists (2024)
for ensemble
Sam Pluta - Systems of Interaction I (2021)
for flute, saxophone, percussion, piano, violin, voice, and cornet

Performers:

2024-25 Artists-In-Residence:
Gelsey Bell
Carolyn Chen
Ben LaMar Gay

Guest Performers:
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Clare Monfredo, cello
James Moore, electric guitar

Wet Ink Ensemble:
Erin Lesser, flute
Alex Mincek, saxophone
Ian Antonio, percussion
Eric Wubbels, piano
Modney, violin
Kate Soper, voice
Sam Pluta, electronics