American Modern Ensemble celebrates its 10th anniversary in macabre style with "Ghosts and Ghouls". The cutting-edge ensemble presents works by George Crumb, Robert Paterson and David Del Tredici in a free performance at Merkin Concert Hall, October 30, 2014.
Ten years ago, the American Modern Ensemble set the New York new music scene ablaze with sizzling performances of music by living American composers. The New York Times, reporting on a standing-room-only performance by AME at the Tenri Cultural Institute, wrote, "Pessimists about the future of classical music may be looking in the wrong place." Now, AME celebrates its tenth anniversary with a whimsical "Ghosts & Ghouls" program co-presented by ChamberMusicNY on Thursday, October 30 at 8pm at Merkin Concert Hall (129 W. 67th Street). Works by George Crumb and David Del Tredici, along with three NYC premieres of works by Robert Paterson, come to vivid life in a free concert that proves once and for all that new music can be frightening and accessible.
Intrepid guest conductor David
Alan Miller, fresh off his GRAMMY victory with the Albany Symphony, leads AME in a trio of works that inhabit the shadowy corners of the universe.
George Crumb transforms the great cosmic unknown into a famously kaleidoscopic score in one of his seminal works, Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III) for two amplified pianos and two percussionists, featuring a huge battery of percussion instruments that fills the stage. Featuring AME's Blair McMillen and
Stephen Gosling on pianos,
Matthew Ward and
Robert Paterson on percussion. Then, soprano soloist Melissa Wimbish undergoes a horrific transformation, set in motion by a famous Transylvanian count and a touch of theremin, in
David Del Tredici's monodrama Dracula based on
Alfred Corn's poem "My Neighbor, the Distinguished Count."
Also on the program are the NYC premieres of three pieces by AME co-founder and house composer,
Robert Paterson: Hell's Kitchen (2014), Closet Full of Demons (2001), and Ghost Theater (2013). These three works comprise a gruesome series with references to apparitions and the underworld. Hell's Kitchen won the Utah Arts Festival commission in 2014 and takes its name literally, making use of kitchen tools such as two blenders, a coffee grinder and even a kitchen sink as percussion instruments to evoke the sound of a restaurant in hell. Ghost Theater, originally written for David
Alan Miller's Albany Symphony new music group Dogs of Desire, features two amplified sopranos (Melissa Wimbish and
Nancy Allen Lundy). Rounding out Paterson's terrifying triptych, bedroom monsters stage a noisy Boschian nightmare in Closet Full of Demons, complete with amplified Jack in the Box and alarm clocks.
While some modernist composers may have unwittingly scared off their audiences, the eerie mysticism and uncanny terror of these pieces is entirely intentional. Costumes are encouraged, of course!
ABOUT AME - Founded in New York City in 2005 by
Robert Paterson and
Victoria Paterson, American Modern Ensemble is a dynamic, creative force in the modern music scene. Robert serves as artistic director as well as house composer, and Victoria is Executive Director as well as one of the violinists on the roster. With a world-class ensemble made up of NYC's finest, AME is "simply 'first-rate" (The New York Times). AME has performed music by 150 living composers in venues ranging from Lincoln Center to The Roulette, and has "consistently demonstrated a flair for inventive programming" (
Steve Smith, Time Out New York).
AME programs both cutting edge and traditional works, presenting unique, engaging events that encourage dialogue between artists and audiences. Sold out crowds at Merkin Hall, DiMenna Center, the Rubin Museum, SubCulture and many other venues are a winning testament to AME's tremendous fan base and ever expanding popularity. AME has done and continues to do educational and outreach concerts and residencies at universities such as the CUNY Graduate Center, Princeton, Yale, Adelphi, James Madison, Lafayette, and many more. Recent collaborations include the Prototype Opera Festival, American Opera Projects, the Dance Theater of Harlem, and the Talujon percussion ensemble. AME presents thematic programs using a robust combination of instrumentalists, vocalists, and conductors.
