Claire Chase To Premiere DENSITY PART IV At The Kitchen, 12/1

Flutist Claire Chase, whom the New Yorker describes as "the young star of the modern flute," continues her 22-year project, density 2036, to commission an entirely new body of repertory for solo flute each year between 2014 and 2036, the 100th Anniversary of Edgard Varèse's groundbreaking flute solo Density 21.5. On December 1 & 2, Chase continues these immersive and virtuosic performances with the premiere of part iv at The Kitchen. This year's lineup, featuring world premieres by Vijay Iyer, Pauchi Sasaki, Tyshawn Sorey, Suzanne Farrin and Richard Beaudoin, investigates the flute in dialogue with other forces: ondes martenot, drum set, small choir (with settings of new poems by Paul Griffiths), electronics, and an interactive dress constructed of pipes and speakers. Varese's 1936 solo masterpiece, Density 21.5, is also presented this year in a duo version created with the Swiss artist Julie Beauvais.

The mise en scene for part iv is by the Berlin-based director Lydia Steier, whose production of Stockhausen's Donnerstag aus Licht this fall at Theater Basel was named "Production of the Year" by Opernwelt. With live sound by Levy Lorenzo, video by Monica Duncan and lighting design by Nick Houfek, the performance features Tyshawn Sorey on drums, Suzanne Farrin on ondes martenot, and the Grammy-winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth.

The program includes Suzanne Farrin's The Stimulus of Loss (2016), Tyshawn Sorey's Bertha's Lair (2016), Vijay Iyer's Flute Goals (2016), Pauchi Sasaki's Gama XV: Piece for Two Speaker Dresses (2016) and Richard Beaudoin's Another Woman of Another Kind, with texts by Paul Griffiths (2016).

Tickets for each show are $15 and can be purchased online at www.thekitchen.org; by phone at 212.255.5793 x11; or in person at The Kitchen (512 West 19th Street), Tuesdays - Saturdays, 2:00 - 6:00 P.M.

Claire Chase is a soloist, collaborative artist, curator and advocate for new and experimental music. Over the past decade she has given the world premieres of hundreds of new works for the flute in performances throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, and she has championed new music throughout the world by building organizations, forming alliances, pioneering commissioning initiatives and supporting educational programs that reach new audiences.

Chase founded the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) in 2001, described as the United States' "foremost new-music ensemble" (The New Yorker). ICE has premiered more than 650 works since its inception and has spearheaded an artist-driven organizational model that earned the ensemble the Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center in 2010 and the Ensemble of the Year Award in 2014 from Musical America Worldwide. In 2015, Chase was honored with the American Composers Forum Champion of New Music Award for her leadership of ICE. The ensemble can be heard in dozens of recordings on the Tzadik, Mode, Naxos, Bridge, New Amsterdam, New Focus, Samadhi Sound and Nonesuch labels, as well as on its own online, streaming video library of live performances, DigitiCE. Chase recently announced that she'll be stepping down as co-artistic director in order to focus more on being an ensemble member.

Funding Credits

Claire Chase: density 2036: part iv is made possible with support from The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, and in part by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

About The Kitchen

The Kitchen is one of New York City's most forward-looking nonprofit spaces, showing innovative work by emerging and established artists across disciplines. Our programs range from dance, music, performance, and theater to video, film, and art, in addition to literary events, artists' talks, and lecture series. Since its inception in 1971, The Kitchen has been a powerful force in shaping the cultural landscape of this country, and has helped launch the careers of many artists who have gone on to worldwide prominence.

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