Brian O’Doherty, Structural Play: Vowel Grid, 1970. Performance, Grianan Aileach, Donegal, Ireland, 1998. Courtesy of the artist and Brenda Moore-McCann.
October 8 at 7PM at the Kitchen, we’re honored to participate in a program honoring Brian O’Doherty through the presentation of his early performance works. While we won’t be dressed as fashionably as the performers of the Vowel Grid above, we will be giving the very first performance of his Vowel Chorus for Five Voices!
Ekmeles’s 2021-2022 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Last May, this was the first show we had to cancel. Now, masked up and remote, we’re excited to bring it to you! The show will go live at 5:30PM on May 8th, and stay up for a week following.
First off, we’ll have an opening set by composer and pianist Courtney Bryan, from whose work our concert takes its title.
Then we move to Ekmeles’s portion of the show: Wolfgang Rihm’s Sieben Passionstexte is a wrenching set of seven Latin texts relating to the biblical Passion, or crucifixion story. Weaving between evocations of renaissance polyphony and stirring dissonance, the piece exists in a unique stylistic world. Courtney Bryan’s A Time For Everything, written for Ekmeles, is a set works on biblical texts drawing from the composer’s experience as a New Orleans-born jazz pianist and church musician. The works range in harmonic language from austere atonal shimmers to rich chorales. Shades of Aka pygmy music via Herbie Hancock, funeral wails, and groans mix with more traditional classical vocalism in an expression of the composer’s diverse musical interests. Finally, the late radical gay Black American composer Julius Eastman is represented with his 1989 work Our Father. Built on a sacred text of his own devising, the work echoes ancient plainchant traditions while reaching towards the future.
Courtney Bryan – A Time for Everything (2013) Ekmeles commission
Ekmeles’s 2020-2021 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by LMCC; and funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and administered by LMCC.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Performance details
Date:Saturday, May 8th 2021
Time:5:30pm
City:Ekmeles in
Manhattan, NY
Venue:Online
Notes:A Time for Everything: Music by Courtney Bryan, Julius Eastman, and Wolfgang Rihm
Following a string of shows performed in isolation and brought together with innovative video and technology, Ekmeles comes together as a distanced and masked quartet, marking their first in-person performing since last January. The show will go live on February 27th at 8PM and stay online for a week following.
Two microtonal world premieres – one from a composer living down the street, and one writing in Calgary, one with electronics and one without. Then a classic of live electronics and voices by Saariaho, a gossamer web built of two Emily Dickinson poems by Carolyn Chen, and a uniquely flexible soundworld written on graph paper by Nomi Epstein.
Jeff Myers – Advice to a Migraineure (2020) World Premiere
Rebecca Bruton – i n s t i t u (2021) World Premiere
Ekmeles’s 2020-2021 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by LMCC; and funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and administered by LMCC.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Performance details
Date:Saturday, February 27th 2021
Time:8:00pm
City:Ekmeles in
Manhattan, NY
Venue:Online
Notes:Quartet: Premieres by Rebecca Bruton and Jeff Myers, music by Carolyn Chen, Nomi Epstein, and Kaija Saariaho
Ekmeles returns to live-streaming with another free event creatively mixing live and pre-recorded elements, with an opening audio/visual set by Phong Tran. The performance will go live on January 16th at 8PM, and will stay online for a week following.
Excerpts from Phong Tran’s Away Message and Cassandra Miller’s Guide
Phong Tran’s Away Message is an ambient visual mixtape about a breakup via AOL instant messenger.
slowdrift
ican’t(part1)
talkforasecond
ireallywanna
moodylyricposting
try
howdidyougethere
ifyoudon’t(part2)
Cassandra Miller’s Guide brings together two trios and a duo of mixed live and pre-recorded performers from across the country, Jessie Marino’s SOTU is a wild collage of choreography and word, Martin Iddon’s hamadryads features wine glasses and five live performances synchronized online, and finally Kayleigh Butcher and Bethany Younge’s Her Disappearance features voices filtered through PVC pipes.
Cassandra Miller – Guide (2013)
Martin Iddon – hamadryads (2010)
Kayleigh Butcher and Bethany Younge – Her Disappearance (2015)
Ekmeles’s 2020-2021 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by LMCC; and funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and administered by LMCC.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Performance details
Date:Saturday, January 16th 2021
Time:8:00pm
City:Ekmeles in
Brooklyn
Venue:Online
Admission:Free
Notes:Guide: Works by Martin Iddon, Jessie Marino, Cassandra Miller, Kayleigh Butcher and Bethany Younge. Opening set by Phong Tran
Ekmeles returns to live-streaming with another free event creatively mixing live and pre-recorded elements. The performance will go live on October 16th at 8PM, and will stay online for a week following.
Charlotte Mundy and Elisa Sutherland will perform a work of Saariaho with both live and pre-recorded video elements; Steven Hrycelak and Jeffrey Gavett recorded a performance in Fort Tryon Park near their homes; Steven Bradshaw and Tim Keeler perform Cage live from Philadelphia and San Francisco respectively; and Gavett Hrycelak Mundy and Sutherland will meet online from Manhattan and Brooklyn for live online Eastman.
Kaija Saariaho – From the Grammar of Dreams (1988)
Ekmeles’s 2020-2021 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by LMCC; and funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and administered by LMCC.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Performance details
Date:Friday, October 16th 2020
Time:8:00pm
City:Ekmeles in
Brooklyn
Venue:Online
Admission:Free
Notes:A, G, L, M: Works by Cage, Eastman, Saariaho, and Zubel, streamed online live and pre-recorded from New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco
Ekmeles’s core female vocalists perform a special live-stream edition of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s In the Sky I am Walking and a November 15th 2019 recording of a live performance of Raven Chacon’s Asdzaa Nádleehé & Yoolgai Asdzaa. Artists maya + rouvelle have created video elements for this special event, streamed from the singers’ home in Brooklyn.
Stockhausen’s theatrical work is based on English translations of poetry from the Chippewa, Pawnee, Nootka, Teton Sioux, Ayacucho, and Aztec nations. Chacon’s work is titled for two powerful goddesses in the Navajo tradition, Changing Woman and White Shell woman. The text draws on important elements of the Diné Bahane’ (Navajo: Story of the People). Pianist Steven Beck joined the singers for this work.
Karlheinz Stockhausen – In the Sky I Am Walking (1972)
Ekmeles’s 2019-2020 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by LMCC; and funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and administered by LMCC.
Performance details
Date:Saturday, July 18th 2020
Time:8:00pm
City:Ekmeles in
Brooklyn
Venue:Online
Admission:Free
Notes:In the Sky I Am Walking: Works by Raven Chacon and Karlheinz Stockhausen, live from Brooklyn.
Ekmeles performs sacred music in the atmospheric crypt of Church of the Intercession. The program features two Ekmeles commissions and one world premiere, representing a wide range of styles and influences.
Courtney Bryan – A Time for Everything (2013) Ekmeles commission
Ekmeles’s 2019-2020 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by LMCC; and funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and administered by LMCC.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Shows — Comments Off on A howl, that was also a prayer 14 Oct 19
Ekmeles celebrates the release of their first album A howl, that was also a prayer, with a concert at the DiMenna Center’s Cary Hall. Featuring two large-scale microtonal commissions written for the group, and one adopted favorite, the album showcases Ekmeles’s focus on expanding the limits of tuning and technique in ensemble singing. Every ticket comes with a free copy of the album.
Taylor Brook – Motorman Sextet (2013) Ekmeles commission
Erin Gee – Three Scenes from SLEEP (2008)
Christopher Trapani – End Words (2017) Ekmeles commission
Ekmeles’s 2019-2020 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by LMCC.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Ekmeles’s core female vocalists perform Karlheinz Stockhausen’s In the Sky I am Walking and Raven Chacon’s Asdzaa Nádleehé & Yoolgai Asdzaa. Stockhausen’s theatrical work is based on English translations of poetry from the Chippewa, Pawnee, Nootka, Teton Sioux, Ayacucho, and Aztec nations. Chacon’s work is titled for two powerful goddesses in the Navajo tradition, Changing Woman and White Shell woman. The text draws on important elements of the Diné Bahane’ (Navajo: Story of the People). Pianist Steven Beck will join the singers for this work.
Karlheinz Stockhausen – In the Sky I Am Walking (1972)
Raven Chacon – Asdzaa Nádleehé & Yoolgai Asdzaa (2016) New York Premiere
Ekmeles’s 2019-2020 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
Ekmeles, joined by Mivos Quartet, perform the US Premiere of this hour-long meditation on the requiem mass. There will be a 7:30 set of other chamber music by Rihm performed by Hannah Harnest, piano, Abigel Kralik, violin, Julian Schwarz, cello, and Sophie Delphis, Mezzo Soprano; followed by Ekmeles and Mivos with ET LUX at 8:30.
Ekmeles’s 2019-2020 season is made possible with funds from the Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund, The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music, and the generosity of private donors.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Notes:ET LUX: 7:30 set is Rihm’s chamber music with other musicians – 8:30 set Ekmeles and Mivos Quartet perform an hour-long work for voices and strings.
