The Poné Ensemble

Founded in 1974 by Gundaris Poné (1932 -1994) and Karen Poné (1935 – 2005), the Poné Ensemble for New Music is dedicated to the performance of contemporary chamber music. Each concert season brings guest artists to join with the regular musicians of the Poné Ensemble in offering music of the 20th and 21st Centuries that you are unlikely to hear elsewhere. The Ensemble has premiered many works by living composers and seeks to increase the accessibility and enjoyment of contemporary music for appreciative audiences in New York's Hudson Valley and beyond. The Poné Ensemble for New Music is celebrating its 40th anniversary season in 2013-2014.

The mission of The Poné Ensemble for New Music is to perform chamber music of the 20th and 21st centuries, with an emphasis on American composers and composers of the Hudson Valley. The ensemble is also committed to the encouragement of newly-emerging composers.

The performing artists of The Poné Ensemble for New Music, several of whom are founding members, are outstanding free-lance players from the Hudson Valley, first-chair players of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and select faculty members from SUNY-New Paltz. The size of the group is flexible depending on the repertoire it performs. The Ensemble's own players are used as soloists, as well as are outstanding regional performers.

The Poné Ensemble for New Music has long consisted of a core of musicians playing violin, viola, cello, piano, flute and piccolo, clarinet, oboe and English horn. You can find more about the The Poné Ensemble for New Music at www.poneensemble.org

The Poné Ensemble selected 15 one-minute works to premiere on April 27, 2014 in New Paltz, New York for Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame.

The Poné Ensemble for New Music is celebrating its 40th season in 2013-14. The Anniversary concert season, entitled “The Poné Ensemble @ 40: Past, Present, Future”, is a series of three concerts featuring works from key composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, culminating in a concert of new works for chamber ensemble.

The final concert ("Future") will be on April 27, 2014 and will feature composers under the age of 50 (basically composers born and coming of age during the life thus far of the ensemble). This Fifteen Minutes of Fame will be featured on the “Future” concert.

Concert Dates

  • April 27, 2014 - Methodist Church - New Paltz, New York

15 one-minute selections for The Poné Ensemble

  • Inception

    David Bohn

    David Bohn received degrees in composition from the University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the University of Illinois. He currently resides in West Allis, Wisconsin, and is the music director at St. John's Lutheran Church in West Milwaukee. He is the President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers.

    "At the point of inception, all things are in the future."

  • Jubilee

    Scott Brickman

    Scott Brickman (b. Dec. 28, 1963, Oak Park, Illinois) holds music degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Brandeis University. Since 1997 he has taught at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where he is Professor of Music and Education, and Chair of the Arts and Sciences Division.

    Jubilee is my homage both to the Pone Ensemble and to myself on my 50th birthday. The piece uses a 12-tone row whose initial hexachord is a subset of the octatonic scale. Additionally, I allude to the music of my favorite composers, Carter and Wuorinen.

  • Splash

    Andrew Bukowski

    Andrew Bukowski (Composer) World Première. American composer residing in Brooklyn, New York. BM, Berklee College of Music. Winner in Cutrain Up: Original Musical Theater Songs in 2010 and 2011. Additional orchestrations for Kobolds: A New Musical, performed at Emerson College in March 2011.

    When I hear this piece I imagine a gargantuan stone filled with molten falling into an icy ocean, the splash reaching higher and higher until it can’t stretch any more. As the water settles, the stone sinks to the bottom of the sea, where it finds its final resting place.

  • Contra Punctum

    Chris Cresswell

    Originally from Cazenovia, NY, Chris Cresswell (b. 1988) is a young composer who is gaining recognition for his work in a wide variety of music genres. Upcoming collaborations are planned with Tempus Continuum Ensemble, Steve Weiss Percussion Group, Jewell Piano Trio, trombonist Kevin A. Virgilio and pianist Holly Roadfeldt.

    Born out of a counterpoint exercise, Contra Punctum begins with a short melodic fragment that develops into a brief, loud climax. It was completed on December 29th, 2013 in Cazenovia, NY.

  • Exiguous Caper

    Elizabeth Skola Davis

    Currently residing in Columbia, MD, Ms. Davis earned her M.M. at LSU, where she won prizes in the 1989 and 1991 ASCAP Victor Herbert Young Composers competitions. The Londontowne Symphony (Edgewater, MD) debuted a commission of hers October, 2013; she is completing a new work for the Howard County Ballet.

    Exiguous Caper was written January 5-6 of this year. I have always loved the expressive range of clarinet and cello especially, and strings in general, so chose them for this quartet. The motives are loosely based on fourths; the caper in 4/4 time a vignette of a dancing couple.

    • Dream Fragment

    Anthony Donofrio

    Anthony Donofrio currently teaches theory and composition at Kent State University. Many superb ensembles and soloists, such as the Locrian Chamber Players, the Wilson Duo, and saxophonist Jeffrey Heisler, have featured his music. More information and music can be found at www.donofrio-music.com or www.soundcloud.com/anthonydonofrio

    Dream Fragment is a small experiment with canon, brought on by an interest in strict forms and procedures. Also, having mainly written works of considerable length, this little fragment is also a study in miniatures.

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  • ENCOUNTER 1

    Fermino Gomes

    Fermino Gomes (Patos, PB, Brasil) studied theory with Gazi Sa and João de Barro at Caipira University of Paraiba (UNICPB), Brazil. As well as an active composer, Fermino performs on the viola (Brazilian 10 string-folk guitar) regularly. Fermino currently lives in New York City.

    ENCOUNTER 1 is continues my exploration of language. In this case a near future lingua franca of the not too distant future; a Creole drawn from languages of emerging countries: Portuguese & Hindi combined with English into a very recognizable amalgamation.

  • Der Struwwelpeter

    Nathan R. Johnson

    A native of the Seattle area, composer Nathan R. Johnson (b. 1982) writes music that is inspired by folk music, astronomy, literature, and the nature of the Pacific Northwest. His music has been performed in the United States, Canada, and Russia.

    Der Struwwelpeter is an 19th-century German cautionary tale, designed to terrify children who did not groom themselves properly. This setting is a tongue-in-cheek retelling.

  • Au commencement, le crépuscule..

    Martin Loridan

    Martin Loridan is a French composer. He is graduated from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris(CNSMDP). His works include chamber, orchestral and vocal music, as well as film-music, arrangements and orchestrations, and have been performed throughout Europe America and Asia by various orchestras and ensembles. www.martin-loridan.com

    Au commencement, le crépuscule... is a short introduction for string quartet. 2 contrasting elements are presented and developed : a sforzando attack leading to a Sul ponticello (metallic) sound, and a coloristic/impressionistic effect made by natural and artificial harmonics. It was written in 2013 for the Poné Ensemble.

  • love is like the measels

    Gene Pritsker

    Composer/guitarist/rapper/Di.J. Gene Pritsker has written over four hundred seventy compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music and songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles. All of his compositions employ an eclectic spectrum of styles and are influenced by his studies of various musical cultures.

  • Self Portrait 1854

    Edward Ruchalski

    Edward Ruchalski has been commissioned by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Helen Boatwright, and Syracuse's Society for New Music. His compositions have been performed at Lincoln Center, Mass MOCA, and at the Festival of Miami. Ruchalski is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY.

    This composition was inspired by the painting Self Portrait c.1854 by Edgar Degas.

  • Copy-pasting myself to death

    Joaquín Mendoza Sebastián

    Joaquín Mendoza Sebastián (Caracas, 1980), composer and multimedia artist. www.joaquinmendoza.net Throughout his music and sound work, he has explored the close(sometimes not so apparent) relationship between post WWII avant-garde and popular music, with works ranging from abstract sound objects to experimental pop.

    I'm copy-pasting myself to something better, I'm copy-pasting myself to something better, I'm copy-pasting myself to something better. You can clap along the rhythm

  • Hudson Valleyr

    Juan Maria Solare

    Juan Maria Solare, born 1966 in Argentina, works currently in Germany as composer, pianist (contemporary & tango) and teaching at the University of Bremen and at the Hochschule fuer Kuenste Bremen. His music has been performed in five continents. Twelve CDs of different performers include at least one piece of him. www.JuanMariaSolare.com

    Hudson Valley, for quartet, is dedicated to The Poné Ensemble for New Music on their 40th anniversary. The title Hudson Valley refers to the activity center of the Poné Ensemble, in the U.S. state of New York. The piece was composed in Bremen (Germany) on 28th June 2013.

  • Quartet for the Beginning of Time

    José Jesus de Azevedo Souza

    José Jesus de Azevedo Souza studied in England at the Purcell School with a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and later studied at the Trinity College of Music and the University of Sheffield. He has since composed a considerable amount of music, some of which has been performed. and Oslo Concert House, while composing on the side.

    With The Poney Ensemble’s forward looking brief, this piece offers a glimpse backwards by maintaining Olivier Messiaen’s instrumentation and alluding to his monumental Quartet for the End of Time. This jovial work presents a lively motif which is then shared among the four.

  • Inquiry

    Frederick Alden Terry

    Frederick AldenTerry earnedan MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Utah. His music has been featured in theatres,concert halls, dance concerts, and film, including at Prospect Theater, NYCFringe, The National Arts Club, and the Sundance Film Festival.

    After composing several short musicals, I have becomefascinated by and drawn to short forms. It is exciting to build an arc and develop ideas within a verycompressed time frame. For thisone-minute challenge, I chose to focus on a single thought idea—a question: thesituation of inquiry.