Southern Theater Presents International Contemporary Ensemble 1/24/11

A "powerhouse of new music programming" (The New Yorker), ICE has established itself as one of the leading and most innovative musical ensembles in the U.S. and a champion of young composers. Its impressive Twin Cities debut at the Southern Theater last season put the wheels in motion for a longer-range partnership.

This season, ICE will return to the Southern twice; first, on January 24, 2011, when the ensemble presents The Bright and Hollow Sky: The Music of Nathan Davis, featuring new electroacoustic compositions written for and with the members of ICE. Then on April 26, the ensemble returns with another concert of new music from three young composers: Phyllis Chen, Steve Lehman and Mario Diaz de León.

Both concerts are part of ICElab, ICE's revolutionary new model for the commissioning, incubation and performance of new music in the 21st century. Each year, ICE selects six emerging composers and gives them the resources they need to create concert-length works tailor-made for the musicians of ICE. Composers and performers meet for two-week incubation workshops, experimenting with ideas and performance techniques as the new pieces take shape; they develop interactive educational programs for local schools that demonstrate the basic ideas of each composer's work, introducing a younger generation to the creation of new music; and finally, inexpensive, accessible concerts are presented in multiple cities to introduce diverse audiences to the new ICElab compositions. From beginning to end, the process is documented through video and audio, and can be tracked on the ICE website, giving everyone the chance to watch, listen, and participate as the projects develop.

"ICE had a blast playing at the Southern last year-we instantly fell in love with theater's gorgeous acoustics and with the vibrant community that the theater brings together," says ICE Executive Director Claire Chase. "We are excited to bring two groundbreaking new ICE programs to the Southern this year featuring ICE collaborations with some of the most visionary emerging composers of our time."

About the composer: Working with the musicians of ICE, Nathan Davis has crafted a cycle of beautiful new works for a small combination of instruments that transform into an architecture of color, texture, rhythm and breath. Using microphones as microscopes, he draws out the fine details of sound that exist all around us, making music that magnifies the essential characteristics of instruments and the fragile athleticism of playing them.

Performances:
January 24, 2011
Mon. at 7:30pm

Tickets: $24, $22

Southern Theater box office: 612.340.1725
1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55454
http://www.southerntheater.org/2011_01-24_ICE.htm

 

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