GABI presents new compositions for string quartet, voice, and electronics, investigating perceptions of time, ecstasy, form, and breath.
Program:
Where
The Trees Are Falling
brief intermission
Sleep
Soon Song
Time Stops
“I have been waiting all summer for myself to be myself again.”
–Georgia O’Keeffe
Composed by GABI (neé Gabrielle Herbst): voice, electronics and keyboard joined by:
Contemporaneous: Sarah Goldfeather, violin; Lena Vidulich, violin; Sarah Haines, viola; Luke Krafka, cello; with Mara Mayer, bass clarinet; Eli Greenhoe, electric guitar; conducted by David Bloom.
Gabrielle Herbst (b. 1986) is a composer, vocalist and educator. She seeks honesty and intimacy in her music. She’s received commissions from Roulette and the Jerome Foundation, the Nouveau Classical Project, Duo Noir, Experiments in Opera, Fresh Squeezed Opera, and contributed to the opera Magdalene as part the Prototype Festival 2020 in NYC. She’s been composer- in-residence at the Watermill Center,
Exploring the Metropolis, Inc., Atlantic Center for the Arts, Avaloch Farms, Roulette and is currently artist-in-residence at Pioneer Works. She has had her compositions presented at venues including National Sawdust, The Stone, Issue Project Room, HERE Arts Center, the National Guitar Society, MATA, and Lincoln Center Atrium. She eleased her debut album Sympathy on Software Recording Co. in 2015. Tour highlights included David Byrne’s Meltdown Festival, London, Pop Kultur Festival, Berlin, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam, The Great Escape, Brighton, UK, Marfa Myths Festival, TX, The Wick presented by Pitchfork, and a series at Roulette with Missy Mazzoli curated by Meredith Monk. She released her sophomore album, Empty Me, on Double Double Whammy in 2018. She graduated from the Yale School of Music where she studied composition with Martin Bresnick, Aaron Jay Kernis, and David Lang.
Contemporaneous is an ensemble of 23 musicians whose mission is to bring to life the music of now. Recognized for a “ferocious, focused performance” (The New York Times) and for its “captivating and whole-hearted commitment” (I Care If You Listen), Contemporaneous performs and promotes the most exciting work of living composers through innovative concerts, commissions, recordings, and educational programs. Based in New York City and active throughout the United States, Contemporaneous has been presented by such institutions as Lincoln Center, Park Avenue Armory, PROTOTYPE Festival, Merkin Concert Hall, MATA Festival, St. Ann’s Warehouse, and Bang on a Can and has worked with such artists as David Byrne, Donnacha Dennehy, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Dawn Upshaw, and Julia Wolfe.
Contemporaneous has premiered more than 150 works, and with its newly-launched program Contemporaneous IMAGINATION, the ensemble champions large-scale works, curated from an open call for artists to submit ideas for projects that take risks and defy constraints. The ensemble has recently released the first season of its new podcast Imagination Radio, which explores the significance of creativity and music in our lives through dialogues with composers, scientists, a cartographer, and a BASE jumper. Contemporaneous has recorded for the New Amsterdam, Cantaloupe, Innova, Roven, and Navona labels. Contemporaneous also leads participatory programs for public school students in the communities where the ensemble performs. These workshops are designed to instill a passion for new music and to convey the power of careful listening and meaningful expression through music. The ensemble has held residencies at such institutions as
City University of New York, the University of New Orleans, Williams College, and Bard College, where the group was founded in 2010. Contemporaneous is a federally tax-exempt not-for-profit organization, supported by a dedicated community of listeners.
