“Young choreographer Sydney Skybetter is a man of sophisticated musical tastes who creates quietly elegant works that are abstract, full-bodied, and serene.” –The New Yorker
The Ear Heart Music Ensemble debuts in a collaborative performance of contemporary dance repertory featuring the Brooklyn-based skybetter and associates. The selection of music is icy and transcendent, anticipatory of the impending winter season. Flutist and Ear Heart Music director Amelia Lukas will lead the ensemble in Karen Tanaka’s gorgeous and otherwordly Frozen Horizen for flute, string quartet, double bass, and percussion. This general feeling of stillness and cold is given new dimension by themes of violence and darkness, and a warped sense of self and other in the choreography of Sydney Skybetter. The dance portion of the program includes Temporary Matters, set to selections from Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Englabörn; Cold House You Kept set to String Quartet no. 2, Quasi una Fantasia by Henryk Górecki; and the New York premiere of Eveningland, Skybetter’s recent commission by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, featuring selections from David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Little Match Girl Passion in its version for four vocal soloists, percussion, and electronics.
skybetter and associates was formed in 2008 to perform the work of choreographer Sydney Skybetter. Skybetter draws from literary, musical, mathematical, and personal texts to explore his contradictory impulses for clear self-expression and the creation of abstract, narrative-free dance. skybetter and associates performs its rigorously formal repertory to enliven an architecture of feeling that can only be articulated by arresting bodies in motion. The company has set its repertory on New York University Tisch School for the Arts, SUNY Purchase, Skidmore College, the Zenon Dance Company, Muhlenberg College, and DeSales University, and its repertory has been performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, The Dance Theater Workshop / New York Live Arts, Danspace Project, The 92nd Street Y and The Joyce SoHo, among many other venues.
skybetter.org
Ear Heart Music
“… a feisty contemporary-classical concert series” –The New York Times
“scintillating… phenomenal programming… impeccably curated… truly original… one of our favorite new music series” –Time Out New York
In a golden age of new chamber music, Ear Heart Music is a trusted source for post-genre creative collaboration. A showcase of highly talented and adventurous performers, composers, and collaborative artists, Ear Heart Music is a modern chamber music series for modern ears. The series formed a partnership with Roulette in 2012 and continues to present dramatic and engaging multimedia events in this ideal venue September through June.
Hailed by Time Out New York as “a staple in the New York new music soundscape,” since September 2009, Ear Heart Music has produced over 75 unique concerts with over 60 world premieres. Its thoughtfully-designed programs highlight recent masterworks to stimulate creative thought and instill new avenues of perspective in the listener. The consistent level of intelligent and inspiring music-making resonates in the mind and body. Shows include electronic processing, performance art, visual art, film, and dance, providing deeper context for the music. Unique artist pairings, diverse programming, and the integral incorporation of new work, all contribute to Ear Heart Music playing a major role in reshaping the chamber music landscape for the 21st Century.
earheartmusic.org
facebook.com/pages/Ear-Heart-Music/116316791738457
Upcoming Ear Heart Music series at Roulette
December 4
Dolce Suono