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Tag: New Music

Kit Fitzgerald and Peter Gorgon: Into the Hot, Out of the Cool

What: Large-scale video paintings by Kit Fitzgerald accompanied by six-piece musical ensemble directed by Peter Gordon.
When: Sunday, April 22, 2018, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20 Online $25 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org // (917) 267-0368

Brooklyn, NY – Long-standing collaborative duo Peter Gordon (keyboard, sax, electronics) and Kit Fitzgerald (video) present Into the Hot, Out of the Cool. The performance will feature large-scale video paintings by Fitzgerald accompanied by a six-piece musical ensemble directed by Gordon. Fitzgerald’s visual imagery will include video drawings, animations, and camera imagery—mixed and processed live—combining early analog and current digital technology. The dialogue between the early and the contemporary video aesthetic is part of Fitzgerald’s signature look and is at the heart of the Hot/Cool dialogue. Into the Hot, Out of the Cool is a new work that marks the 35th year of collaboration between Fitzgerald and Gordon, a pioneering duo incorporating live video and musical performance. Read

Kit Fitzgerald has collaborated with composers Max Roach, Peter Gordon, Ned Sublette, and Ryuichi Sakamoto; choreographers Donald Byrd, Bebe Miller, and Bill T. Jones; poets Sekou Sundiata and Bob Holman, and theater companies The Wooster Group and The Talking Band. She directs award-winning documentaries on art and culture, music videos, dance videos, video installations, live performance, and album covers. Her work is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art and has been featured twice in the Whitney Biennial. Her work has been commissioned by Tokyo Broadcasting, Fuji TV, SONY Japan, and Northern Netherlands Theatre. Fitzgerald is the recipient of prizes at international film and television festivals and awards from The Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and Japan Foundation. Her work is distributed by Electronic Arts Intermix, New York. Fitzgerald is Professor of New Media at Concordia College-New York.

Peter Gordon moved to New York in 1975, where his Love of Life Orchestra first gained attention at downtown venues such as The Kitchen, CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, and the Mudd Club. An early proponent of the recording studio as a compositional tool, Gordon produced recordings for LOLO, as well as Robert Ashley, Arthur Russell, Rhys Chatham, Laurie Anderson, Jill Kroesen, David Van Tieghem, and “Blue” Gene Tyranny. He was music producer for Robert Ashley’s video opera Perfect Lives, as well as the recent Spanish-language version, Vidas Perfectas (presented at the Whitney Museum in 2014). A friend and frequent collaborator of the late Arthur Russell, Gordon has recently been touring Arthur Russell’s INSTRUMENTALS at several international festivals. Gordon is Professor of Music at Bloomfield College.

Lineup:
Kit Fitzgerald – Video Artist
Max Gordon – Keyboards, Trumpet
Peter Gordon – Composer, Saxophone, Keyboards, Electronics
Matt Mottel – Synthesizer
Michael Attias – Saxophone
Paul Nowinski – Bass
Ron Blake – Saxophone
Bill Ruyle – Percussion

ECCE and Court-Circuit: French/American Music in Dialogue

What: A tour de force of French and American repertoire by two leading ensembles from America and France.
When: Thursday, April 19, 2018, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $15 Online, $20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: https://roulette.org/event/ecce-and-court-circuit-french-american-music-in-dialogue/

Brooklyn, NY ECCE and Court-Circuit join forces to present works by Christophe Bertrand, Philippe Hurel, David Felder, Philippe Leroux, and John Aylward. The ensembles themselves will present smaller chamber works featuring members of each ensemble. Then, Maestro Jean Deroyer from Court-circuit will lead the combined ensembles in performances of Philippe Hurel’s Figures Libre and the world premiere of John Aylward’s Narcissus.

Founded by composer John Aylward, ECCE is an East Coast-based ensemble of culturally and socially engaged musicians. The French ensemble Court-Circuit has been dedicated to experimentation and intense risk-taking in contemporary music since its founding in 1991.

Performers

ECCE
Jennifer Choi — Violin
John Popham — Cello
Roberta Michel — Flutes
Carlos Cordeiro — Clarinets
Hassan Anderson — Oboe
Julia Den Boer — Piano
Dennis Sullivan — Percussion
Nicholas Demaison — Conductor

Court-Circuit
Jeremie Fèvre — Flute
Pierre Dutrieu — Clarinet
Tom Kolor — Percussion
Jean Marie Cottet — Piano
Alexandra Greffin Klein — Violin
Frédéric Baldassare — Cello
Jean Deroyer — Conductor

William Hooker: The Great Migration

What: Through music, narrative, and dance, William Hooker tells the story of African-American migration from 1935 to 1950.
When: Thursday, April 5, 2018, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20 Online, $25 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: https://roulette.org/event/william-hooker-the-great-migration/

Brooklyn, NYAvant-garde percussionist William Hooker offers a multi-disciplinary contemplation and exploration of African-American migration from the American South to points north during the years 1935–1950. The Great Migration features music (with veteran performers like William Parker and David Soldier), dance, video, and narratives from 97-year-old Alton Brooks and Nannie Lampkin, who experienced this historical period firsthand.

A body of uninterrupted work beginning in the mid-seventies defines William Hooker as one of the most important composers and players in jazz. As bandleader, Hooker has fielded ensembles in an incredibly diverse array of configurations. Each collaboration has brought a serious investigation of his compositional agenda and the science of the modern drum kit. As a player, Hooker has long been known for the persuasive power of his relationship with his instrument. His work is frequently grounded in a narrative context. Whether set against a silent film or anchored by a poetic theme, Hooker brings dramatic tension and human warmth to avant-garde jazz. His ability to find fertile ground for moving music in a variety of settings that obliterate genre distinctions offers a much-needed statement of social optimism in the the arts.

Lineup:
William Hooker – Percussion
Ras Moshe – Reeds, Flute
Eriq Robinson – Electronics, Images
Mark Hennen – Piano
Goussy Celestin – Narrator, Dance
William Parker – Bass
David Soldier – Violin, Banjo
Ava Mendoza – Guitar
Alton Brooks & Nannie Lampkin – Primary Narratives

Mario Diaz de Leon and TAK Ensemble: Sanctuary Release

What: Mario Diaz de Leon and TAK Ensemble celebrate the release of Sanctuary, Diaz de Leon’s first album-length classical work.
When: Tuesday, April 3, 2018, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20 Online, $25 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: https://roulette.org/event/mario-diaz-de-leon-and-tak-ensemble-sanctuary-album-release/

Brooklyn, NY —  NYC-based composer and performer Mario Diaz de Leon presents work from his first album-length classical work, Sanctuary, which was released by Denovali in the fall of 2017. It was written in collaboration with TAK Ensemble, a brilliant quintet devoted to energetic and virtuosic performances of contemporary music, who will appear with him at Roulette in an expanded lineup featuring marimba, synthesizer, soprano voice, flute, violin, and bass clarinet. Combining stark rhythms with ecstatic gestures, Diaz de Leon’s new work embraces elements of post-minimalism to dramatic and expansive effect. Bassoonist Rebekah Heller will open the evening with the NYC premiere of Labrys, a tour de force of virtuosic and luminous sonic alchemy, and the latest addition to Diaz de Leon’s acclaimed set of works for live soloist and electronics.

Mario Diaz de Leon is a composer, performer, and educator, whose work encompasses modern classical music, experimental electronic music, extreme metal, and improvised music. His debut album, Enter Houses Of was released in 2009 on John Zorn’s Tzadik label and praised by the New York Times for its “hallucinatory intensity.” His second album, The Soul is the Arena, was named a notable recording of 2015 by New Yorker Magazine. He has worked with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Talea, Mivos Quartet, and TILT Brass.  

TAK is a quintet dedicated promoting ambitious programming and fostering engagement within the contemporary music community and the artistic community at large. Their debut album Ecstatic Music: TAK plays Taylor Brook was released to critical acclaim by New Focus Recordings in 2016.

Rebekah Heller is a dynamic solo bassoonist and collaborative chamber artist committed to expanding the modern repertoire for the bassoon. Her debut solo album, 100 names, was called “pensive and potent” by The New York Times, and her newly-released second album, METAFAGOTE, is receiving wide acclaim. She is the recently-appointed co-artistic director of the renowned International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).

Lineup:
Mario Diaz de Leon – composer, lighting design
TAK Ensemble
Charlotte Mundy –  soprano
Laura Cocks – flute
Marina Kifferstein – violin
Carlos Cordiero – clarinet and bass clarinet
Ellery Trafford – marimba and percussion
Tristan McKay – synthesizer and Ciat-Lonbarde tetrazzi

Spotlight On: Cecilia Lopez


Cecilia Lopez: machinic fantasies
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

Tell us about yourself and what you do.

I am a composer, musician and multimedia artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’ve been living around. New York for the past three years, studying and working on different music and installation projects. My work often explores the physical and perceptual matters of sound through a variety of mediums like composition, objects, video or combinations of them. I also play piano and different synthesizers. I sometimes write songs. I sometimes sing. I used to play in a band, which is called Vigilante Margarita. I am the third of three siblings. I have a black cat named Igor that lives in Buenos Aires.

Describe the project you are developing for Roulette.

The project is based on past explorations that I did around a revolving sound sculpture that functions as a live “mediation machine.” I think of it as a performative installation because it’s presented as a composed space where certain multichannel video and sound techniques are used to play with concepts like immersion, meditation and synchronicity, but it’s also a musical work composed to follow a timeline. The objects in question are like artisanal filter machines made with revolving oil drums. The barrels have a speaker inside that plays music or sound, which is filtered by their spinning as the sculpture is moved by hand. This explanation might sound very complicated but in fact the perceptual principles behind the piece are very simple. I am interested in questioning ideas of content, transmission and the oppositions between object/subject and form/structure. I would say that it’s sort of an industrial or lo-fi science fiction fantasy (à la Raymond Roussel) that plays with very primitive principles of sound an image.

What is your first musical memory?

I can’t really say what my first musical memory was, but I can say that I spent endless hours the first seven years of my life on a swing that my parents have installed in our house’s attic, listening to the radio and singing along with an old cassette player.

What is influencing your work right now?

I work a lot with processes for filtering either sound or visual content. In that way my work is very

permeable. Many things that have been influential for me have ended up becoming material for some of my works. That goes for music, sound recordings from specific places, literature, the world that surrounds me, etc. What is interesting to me about this way of working is that abstract ideas about our perception of sound can be put in conversation or in opposition with more narrative or conceptual ideas that I feel are important.

What is your favorite place to buy records?

Despite the current trend, I really don’t buy records. I don’t own a record player and

in the last few years, my nomadic life has caused me to avoid accumulating stuff… So I am totally out of the vinyl fetishist loop. That said, I can answer the question by describing my extremely modest record collection: Eliane Radigue, Feedback Works; Wendy Carlos, Switch-on Brandenburgs; Anthony Braxton Duets with Muhal Richard Abrams, and a Spanish-language soundtrack from the TV show “Speed Racer.”

What’s your absolute favorite place in the city to be and why?

Phill Niblock’s Experimental Intermedia. You know, there is something about that place… also that was my first connection with New York since I met Phill before coming here. It’s been one of the most interesting, familiar and friendly places that I can think of in this hectic landscape.

Describe your performance at Roulette in three words.

Precarious augmented reality

 

 

William Hooker: The Great Migration

What: Through music, narrative, and dance, William Hooker tells the story of African-American migration from 1935 to 1950.
When: Thursday, April 5, 2018, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20 Online, $25 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: https://roulette.org/event/william-hooker-the-great-migration/

Brooklyn, NYAvant-garde percussionist William Hooker offers a multi-disciplinary contemplation and exploration of African-American migration from the American South to points north during the years 1935–1950. The Great Migration features music (with veteran performers like William Parker and David Soldier), dance, video, and narratives from 97-year-old Alton Brooks and Nannie Lampkin, who experienced this historical period firsthand.

A body of uninterrupted work beginning in the mid-seventies defines William Hooker as one of the most important composers and players in jazz. As bandleader, Hooker has fielded ensembles in an incredibly diverse array of configurations. Each collaboration has brought a serious investigation of his compositional agenda and the science of the modern drum kit. As a player, Hooker has long been known for the persuasive power of his relationship with his instrument. His work is frequently grounded in a narrative context. Whether set against a silent film or anchored by a poetic theme, Hooker brings dramatic tension and human warmth to avant-garde jazz. His ability to find fertile ground for moving music in a variety of settings that obliterate genre distinctions offers a much-needed statement of social optimism in the the arts.

Lineup:
William Hooker – Percussion
Ras Moshe – Reeds, Flute
Eriq Robinson – Electronics, Images
Mark Hennen – Piano
Goussy Celestin – Narrator, DanceWilliam Parker – Bass
David Soldier – Violin, Banjo
Ava Mendoza – Guitar
Alton Brooks & Nannie Lampkin – Primary Narratives

Mario Diaz de Leon and TAK Ensemble: Sanctuary Release

What: Mario Diaz de Leon and TAK Ensemble celebrate the release of Sanctuary, Diaz de Leon’s first album-length classical work.
When: Tuesday, April 3, 2018, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20 Online, $25 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: https://roulette.org/event/mario-diaz-de-leon-and-tak-ensemble-sanctuary-album-release/

Brooklyn, NY —  NYC-based composer and performer Mario Diaz de Leon presents work from his first album-length classical work, Sanctuary, which was released by Denovali in the fall of 2017. It was written in collaboration with TAK Ensemble, a brilliant quintet devoted to energetic and virtuosic performances of contemporary music, who will appear with him at Roulette in an expanded lineup featuring marimba, synthesizer, soprano voice, flute, violin, and bass clarinet. Combining stark rhythms with ecstatic gestures, Diaz de Leon’s new work embraces elements of post-minimalism to dramatic and expansive effect. Bassoonist Rebekah Heller will open the evening with the NYC premiere of Labrys, a tour de force of virtuosic and luminous sonic alchemy, and the latest addition to Diaz de Leon’s acclaimed set of works for live soloist and electronics.

Mario Diaz de Leon is a composer, performer, and educator, whose work encompasses modern classical music, experimental electronic music, extreme metal, and improvised music. His debut album, Enter Houses Of was released in 2009 on John Zorn’s Tzadik label and praised by the New York Times for its “hallucinatory intensity.” His second album, The Soul is the Arena, was named a notable recording of 2015 by New Yorker Magazine. He has worked with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Talea, Mivos Quartet, and TILT Brass.  

TAK is a quintet dedicated promoting ambitious programming and fostering engagement within the contemporary music community and the artistic community at large. Their debut album Ecstatic Music: TAK plays Taylor Brook was released to critical acclaim by New Focus Recordings in 2016.

Bassoonist Rebekah Heller is a dynamic solo and collaborative chamber artist committed to expanding the modern repertoire for the bassoon. Her debut solo album, 100 names, was called “pensive and potent” by The New York Times, and her newly-released second album, METAFAGOTE, is receiving wide acclaim. She is the recently-appointed co-artistic director of the renowned International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).

Lineup:
Mario Diaz de Leon composer, lighting design

TAK Ensemble
Charlotte Mundy  soprano
Laura Cocks flute
Marina Kifferstein violin
Carlos Cordiero clarinet and bass clarinet
Ellery Trafford marimba and percussion
Tristan McKay synthesizer and Ciat-Lonbarde tetrazzi

ACFNY Presents: Studio Dan / Breaking News

What: US premiere performance of commissioned pieces by George Lewis + Oxana Omelchuk from Austrian ensemble Studio Dan.
When: Sunday, December 3, 2017, 8:00pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $25/20 Online: $20/15 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – Austrian ensemble Studio Dan presents an evening of US premieres and performances of commissioned pieces by George Lewis and Oxana Omelchuk, followed by works by Johannes Kreidler, John Zorn, and others.

The key work for the concert is George Lewis’ new piece commissioned by the group, followed by another commissioned piece by Belarusian composer Oxana Omelchuk, featuring two solo trombones. Both pieces will be premiered in October during the 50th edition of musikprotokoll held in Graz, Austria. The second half of the program will be dedicated a collection of short pieces for smaller ensembles, including Johannes Kreidler’s concept piece “Charts Music,” composed with the aid of stock exchange and trading charts.

Founded in 2005 for the first JazzWerkstatt Wien festival, Studio Dan started as big band, but has since morphed to perform in various permutations, depending on the project. The group operates on the borders between diverse subgenres of contemporary music: improvisation, new music, jazz, and (art) rock, and others. Studio Dan curates and produces new programs, concert series, and recordings, working alone or in cooperation with large institutions. In 2016, Studio Dan brought new programs to several internationally-renowned stages as Wien Modern, Kampnagel Hamburg, musikprotokoll graz, and the Tagen für Neue Musik in Zurich. The ensemble also presented works Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Cornelius Cardew, George Crumb, and others during a  four-concert series at Vienna’s Porgy & Bess. Past guest soloists and collaborations with Studio Dan include Vinko Globokar, Elliott Sharp, Michel Doneda, and Friedrich Cerha.

Program:
Johannes Kreidler (1980) – Charts Music
George Lewis (1952) – New Work
Oxana Omelchuk (1975) – wow and flutter
Caitlin Smith (1983) – Wie schön ist es zu leben
Christoph Walder (1967) – vozmozhnost
John Zorn (1953) – Ceremonial Magic