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Concerts
Frank J. Oteri from the American Music Center’s NewMusicBox web magazine sat down with Metropolis composer David Bruce to discuss his work Gumboots, his new opera A Bird in Your Ear, and Groanbox, the featured work at the 2009 concert with Metropolis Ensemble and The Groanbox Boys. Listen to the podcast…
This was a Valentine’s Day we won’t soon forget, raising over $6,000 for Partners In Health and their world-class care to the people of Haiti.
“All told, twenty-six works of various lengths were performed, most contemporary and eclectic.”
Valentine’s Day concert to benefit Partners In Health - 6:00PM (doors) 7:00PM (concert) Sunday, February 14th 2010 at (le) poisson rouge
New York, NY - As a way of showing love to those who need it most this Valentine’s Day, (le) poisson rouge will present an evening of romantic favorites, new and old, performed by musicians and friends of Metropolis Ensemble. The emerging British-American composer David Bruce has written a piece especially for the occasion. 100% of ticket proceeds will benefit Partners In Health, providing world-class health care to one-third of Haiti’s citizens for the past twenty-five years.
The celebrated chamber musicians of Metropolis Ensemble will perform solo and chamber works by Bach, Bowles, Debussy, Brahms, Chopin, Piazzolla, Rachmoninoff and Ravel as well as Metropolis Ensemble’s own David Bruce, Adam Schoenberg and Ryan Francis. The generous musicians donating their performances include:
Ashley Bathgate, Cello - Sarah Beaty, Clarinet - Misha Bouvier, Baritone - Rachel Calin, Bass - Layla Claire, Soprano - Rachel Drehmann, Horn - Akimi Fukuhara, Piano - Jonathan Greenburg, Trombone - Conor Hanick, Piano - Dane Johansen, Cello - Bridget Kibbey, Harp - Taka Kigawa, Piano - Kristin Lee, Violin - Sean Lee, Violin - Britton Matthews, Percussion - Matt McDonald, Trombone - Edvinas Minkstimas, Piano - Guillaume Molko, violin - Paul Murphey, Trumpet - Anna Polonsky, Piano - Yannick Rafalimanana, Piano - Gregorio Robino, Cello - Lance Suzuki, Flute
Metropolis Ensemble is a professional chamber orchestra and ensemble based in New York City. Dedicated to emerging composers and performers, Metropolis Ensemble has quickly established a reputation for presenting “new music played with the same kind of panache and bravura we usually experience only in performances of standard repertoire” (Esa-Pekka Salonen).
The dynamic ensemble, comprised of the finest young artists now performing, is led by Music Director Andrew Cyr. Cyr is a distinctive new voice in the growing contemporary classical music scene. His enthusiasm for connecting musicians and composers of the next generation to today’s audiences led him to create Metropolis Ensemble in 2006.
Metropolis Ensemble commissions, premieres and records new works from the freshest voices in classical composition, including Timothy Andres, David Bruce, Anna Clyne, Jakub Ciupinski, Avner Dorman, Ryan Francis, Vivian Fung, Ryan Gallagher, Erin Gee, Raymond Lustig, Ricardo Romaneiro, David Schiff, Adam Schoenberg, Cristina Spinei, and Michael Ward-Bergeman. Since its formation in 2006, Metropolis Ensemble has performed to capacity crowds and has premiered and commissioned over 24 new works.
David Bruce is developing a growing international reputation as a composer, with performances this season in the US, UK, Belgium, Australia and Israel. His work has attracted the attention of some of the world’s leading musicians, including soprano Dawn Upshaw, Klezmer pioneer Giora Feidman, clarinetist Todd Palmer and the St Lawrence String Quartet.
Upshaw was also the soloist in a new song-cycle with ensemble, The North Wind was a Woman, commissioned for the Gala opening of the 2009 season by the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center. Other recent commissions include Gumboots, commissioned by Carnegie Hall for clarinetist Todd Palmer and the St Lawrence String Quartet, Groanbox for New York’s Metropolis Ensemble featuring his friends the Groanbox Boys; and Caja de Musica for Concert Artists Guild Winner Bridget Kibbey’s Carnegie Hall recital debut. Current projects include a new commission for pianist Bruce Levingston to be premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2011.
$15 Students | $20 Bar (limited) | $25 General ($30 at door) | $80 VIP Opera Box ($100 at door) | $250 | $500
(le) poission rouge is located at 158 Bleecker Street
For additional information, please contact:
Nate Bachhuber
ph. 917.763.9396
e. press@metropolisensemble.org
Watch concert highlights from Groanbox, New Music 101, Reverb, and Glimpses.
The piece has a virtuosic mandolin part and an amalgam of styles including Middle Eastern harmonies, lots of minor seconds, fluttering tremolos, and string bits that occasionally sound like something from a Bernard Herrmann film score.
With the start of the new year, we want to pause a moment to reflect on the four years since Metropolis Ensemble’s founding in 2006.
Show your support for Metropolis Ensemble and experience inspiring musical performances! If you become a member today, you’ll be invited to attend a private concert hosted by June Wu at her Upper West Side apartment (Friday, December 11 at 7pm). The concert will feature the popular “Composing and Cocktails” and “Music from Air” programs from our New Music 101 concert with composer Jakub Ciupinski and Metropolis Ensemble musicians. RSVP for the event now… You can help sustain the future of Metropolis Ensemble and the vitality of classical and contemporary music in our society by becoming a member today! Contributions are tax deductible and benefit the ensemble throughout the upcoming year. Membership includes:
one complimentary ticket for an upcoming concert
invitation to member events and private concerts
advanced ticket sales and discounts
listing in concert programs
There’s a long tradition of composers finding inspiration in Balinese music, from Poulenc and Britten to Evan Ziporyn and Ingram Marshall.
“I absolutely love churches for their long reverb. Harmonic structures can only emerge through reverb or the listener’s memory.”
To hear her describe it in precise, almost scientific terms might lead one to believe that Erin is not her music’s best salesperson; that is, until she gets on stage.
For Cristina Spinei, writing music is inextricably linked to dance, her study of Brazilian folk music, and, at times, the sounds and rhythms of her commute on Metro-North railway.
With four completely different voices, the composers in our fall concert, REVERB, have summed up their thoughts on what new music can express.
Go behind-the-scenes and watch concert highlights and premieres from our latest interactive concert.
One of the highlights of our upcoming concert, New Music 101, is a segment we’re calling “Composing and Cocktails.”
To celebrate our upcoming concert, New Music 101: Intro to Electronica, Metropolis Ensemble and composer Jakub Ciupinski are delighted to offer the mp3 of an inspiring electro-acoustic work by Jakub. “The Architect’s Brother” premiered in 2006 at the Juilliard School’s Peter Jay Sharp Theatre accompanying the choreography of Adam Weinert. You can download it here, absolutely free, for a limited time.
The Architect’s Brother as performed by Vassilis Varvaresos (piano), Marko Pavlovic (celesta), Rachel Brandwein (harp), and Eugene Lifschitz (cello).
(right-click to download the mp3s, ctrl-click on a mac)
We’ve done a bit of spring cleaning around the Metropolis website in preparation for our 2009-2010 season, and we’re excited to announce six upcoming events:
Glimpses
May 6, 2009 at Americas Society
New Music 101: Intro to Electronica
September 2009 at Le Poisson Rouge
REVERB
November 2009 at Le Poisson Rouge
CD Launch Party and Concert
January 2010
I Found It By The Sea
March 2010
Home Stretch
May 2010
Complete details about each program will be unveiled in due time. Be sure to RSVP for Glimpses on May 6 at the stunning Americas Society for an evening of music demonstration and wine tasting sponsored by Miro Cellars!
The Groanbox Boys released their new album Gran Bwa at Metropolis Ensemble’s concert, Groanbox at Le Poisson Rouge.
Composer David Bruce shares insights about his new work, Groanbox, featuring Michael Ward-Bergeman on accordion.
We’re pleased to share a new documentary video about Metropolis Ensemble’s world premiere of The Rite Remixed.
