Yarn/Wire to Perform Composer Portrait Of Thomas Meadowcroft

On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 8:00pm, experimental percussion and piano quartet Yarn/Wire will perform two world premieres by Australian-born, Berlin-based composer Thomas Meadowcroft at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. Part of Miller Theatre's Composer Portraits Series, the program will feature Meadowcroft's Another Children's Television and Forward Through Circles, in which the composer pulls from an array of influences to create his own unique take on pop songs. Both pieces are Miller Theatre commissions.

Another Children's Television (2021) is an archive of imaginary titles of music from lost children's television programs of the 1970's. Thomas Meadowcroft says, "On the one hand, these musical blocks of Anglo-American cultural memory induce a melancholia for a lost time, when daily routine was shaped by free-to-air television, and not everything was privatized. On the other hand, to quote Walter Benjamin, 'in waste products, children recognize that the face of the world of things turns towards them, and towards them alone.'"

Meadowcroft's Forward Through Circles (2021) is inspired, in part, by the circular harmonic diagrams and mandalas that have appeared at various historical moments in Jazz, Bebop and Free Jazz (Bob Graettinger, John Coltrane, Steve Coleman et al). "In turn," explains the composer, "12 chords in 12 keys are permeated in a 36 chord progression and re-iterated 3.5 times for the duration of the piece." Nonetheless, this description is not so pertinent: what matters is that time's arrow creates beautiful conundrums for circular musical concepts.

A cornerstone of Miller Theatre's programming, the Composer Portraits (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 over twenty years, Miller's flagship series has exposed audiences to the boundary-breaking music of today. In the 2021-22 season, Miller Theatre offers an in-depth look at five composers in these evening-length immersions, including the chance to hear directly from the composers during onstage discussions.

Concert Information

Composer Portraits: Thomas Meadowcroft
Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 8:00pm
Miller Theatre at Columbia University | 2960 Broadway at 116th St
Tickets: Starting at $20
Link: https://www.millertheatre.com/events/thomas-meadowcroft

Thomas Meadowcroft - Another Children's Television (2021) [World Premiere, Miller Theatre Commission]
Thomas Meadowcroft - Forward Through Circles (2021) [World Premiere, Miller Theatre Commission]

Yarn/Wire
Sae Hashimoto, percussion
Laura Barger, piano
Russell Greenberg, percussion
Julia Den Boer, piano

About Yarn/Wire

Yarn/Wire is a New York-based percussion and piano quartet (Sae Hashimoto and Russell Greenberg, percussion; Laura Barger and Ning Yu, pianos) dedicated to the promotion of creative, experimental new music. Pianist Julia Den Boer will join as guest artist for the 2021-2022 season. Described by The Brooklyn Rail as "fascinating and exciting, with playing that is precise and full of purpose," the ensemble is admired globally for the energy and precision it brings to performances of today's most adventurous compositions. Founded in 2005, the ensemble seeks to expand the representation of composers so that it might begin to better reflect our communities and experience new creative potential.

Yarn/Wire appears internationally at prominent festivals and venues including the Lincoln Center Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, Rainy Days Festival (Luxembourg), Ultima Festival (Norway), Transit Festival (Belgium), Dublin SoundLab, Monday Evening Concerts (Los Angeles), Contempuls Festival (Prague), Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York's Miller Theatre at Columbia University, River-to-River Festival, La MaMa Theatre, Festival of New American Music, and London's Barbican Centre. Their numerous commissions include works from composers such as Enno Poppe, Michael Gordon, George Lewis, Ann Cleare, Raphaël Cendo, Peter Evans, Alex Mincek, Thomas Meadowcroft, Misato Mochizuki, Tristan Murail, Sam Pluta, Tyondai Braxton, Kate Soper, and Øyvind Torvund. The ensemble enjoys collaborations with genre-bending artists such as Tristan Perich, Ben Vida, Mark Fell, Sufjan Stevens, and Pete Swanson.

Through the Yarn/Wire International Institute and Festival and other educational residencies and outreach programs, Yarn/Wire works to promote not only the present but also the future of new music in the United States. Their ongoing commissioning series, Yarn/Wire/Currents, serves as an incubator for new experimental music.

Yarn/Wire has recorded for the WERGO, Northern Spy, Distributed Objects, Black Truffle, Populist, and Carrier record labels in addition to maintaining their own imprint. For more information, please visit: www.yarnwire.org.

About Thomas Meadowcroft

Thomas Meadowcroft is an Australian freelance composer who makes orchestral and chamber music for the concert hall, as well as music for theater and radio. His work has been described as "reaching an inexpressible purity" (Le Monde), "dreamy post-rock" (The New York Times), "never-ending, sugar-sweet" (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) and "hauntingly beautiful" (The Sydney Morning Herald). His orchestral music has been performed by, among others, the BBC SO, the SWR SO, and the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. He lives in Berlin. www.thomasmeadowcroft.com.

About Miller Theatre
Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New York City and a vital force for innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with a focus on contemporary and early music, jazz, opera, and multimedia performances. Founded in 1988, Miller Theatre has helped launch the careers of myriad composers and ensembles over the years, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known in the United States. A four-time recipient of the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller Theatre continues to meet the high expectations set forth by its founders-to present innovative programs, support the development of new work, and connect creative artists with adventurous audiences.

Miller Theatre's mission is to develop new audiences; foster enthusiasm for the arts by pioneering new programming approaches; educate the public by presenting specialized programs to a broad audience; discover diverse repertoire and commission new works; and share the University's intellectual riches with the public. Miller's commitment to presenting music not heard elsewhere makes it a vital part of the cultural landscape of New York City. www.millertheatre.com.

Photo Credit: Yarn/Wire (L) by Mark Sommerfeld, Thomas Meadowcroft (R) by Katrin Streicher for Miller Theatre