The penultimate Composer’s Voice anticipated the imminent Summer solstice with a collection of puckish works, highlighting zaniness and showmanship. Curator Andy Evan Cohen—who possesses deep ties to theater— tickles our fancywith a cleverly paced show that proves to be both sonically and visually compelling.
Contrabass clarinetist and up-for-anything imp Alex Sramek challenges conventional expectations with a Fifteen Minutes of Fame entitled Thinking Outside the Paperclip. With works ranging from absurdist to hilarious, Sramek demonstrates a marked talent for producing sweet sounds that rapidly morph into aching bleats. He displays his proclivity for these swift aural switches during the opening piece, Lori Archer Sutherland’s Microburst. Beginning with an ominous sense of doom, Microburst hastens into a nimble canter studded with psychedelic interjections. Composer Michael Boyd challenges musicians to interact with their instruments by asking them to erect a structure out of everyday objects. Much to our delight, Sramek produces a gnarly paper structure mimicking the form of the contrabass clarinet in Replication [CBCL] before snapping a few photos. In Marissa DiPronio Dike’s work Wrinkle, Sramekattaches a sheet of paper emblazoned with the word WRINKLE. When a low C is played, the paper flutters audibly, layering a surprising layer to the outré composition. Sramek enlists our participation in Daniel Schnee’sProphecy Structure. After showing us Schnee’s visual score, different sections of the audience conspire to tap and intone our way to a jubilant cacophony. Thinking Outside The Paperclip concludes with Joey Bourdeau’s Fit, a jocular take on a musician struggling, and then finally surmounting, a tricky technique.
Works by Betie Ross, BerkOzdemir, Rodrigo Baggio, Andy Evan Cohen, Juan Maria Solare, Fermino Gomes, Jon Fielder, Roger May, Ron Wray, and Ari Frankel round out Fifteen Minutes of Fame’s Thinking Outeside the Paperclip.
The longer works continue to explore a fanciful world dappled with magic.
Cohen, performing Janet Bentley’s Supernova Prototype on the piano, whisks us on a mystical journey. A twine of a silken melody intensifiesbefore the piece erupts into crystalline twinkles. Speckled with moments of expectant repose, Supernova Prototype shimmers with a bright, silvery transparency.
Bentley and Cohen team up on his two-part selection, The Unanswerable Question. The first movement features Cohen on piano and Bentley intoning a vignette about an enigmatic cat; the second is devoted to Bentley asking questionsappropriated from Yahoo Answers. Bentley, a plucky performer, enthralls with a quirky delivery underscoring the silliness of questions such as “how often do you talk to your toaster” and “why do my insides itch.”
The last work on the program, Orchard—crafted by and starring Melinda Smart, acts as a unique musical theater piece showcasing dancers Dani Vialpando and Jacline Henrichs with Cohen on guitar and Tami Jaton on violin. Smart—clad in a pink frock, black heels, and a black apron—laments in front of a table with a floral tablecloth. As she engages in typical household drudgery, it begins to shake. Apples roll from under the table and hands appear offeringkitchen utensils. Ultimately, Vialpando and Henrichs appear, costumed in gauzy coral. With Smart, the three perform swirling choreography replete with shoulder rolls, fluid pathways of the arms, and undulations to the plaintive, winding music. Orchard culminates with the three beauties standing behind the table, grinning deviously.
In early 1964, the Beatles arrived in the U.S. as the vanguard of the so-called “British Invasion” of rock ’n roll bands. Actually, there was an earlier British Invasion that also involved beetles. In May 1959, Mark D. Chapman of the New Jersey Entomology League spotted a swarm of Giant Predacious Pestiferous Beetles, which are indigenous to Cornwall, feeding on the Atlantic City Mudflats. He trapped two of them when he realized that their hive mates were now after him. Chapman escaped, but not before a coleopteran had taken a good sized chunk out of his right leg. He was left with a pronounced limp and a hatred of the insects. As time passed, Chapman grew increasingly unable to distinguish between the entomological beetles and the musical ones, until, on December 8, 1980, in New York City, he ... well, do we really have to revisit that tragic moment in history?
In New York City Composers Voice will hold its 5th Annual Guitar Concert on Sunday, June 23rd at 1pm at Jan Hus Presbyterian Church & Neighborhood House curated by guitarist and composer Dan Cooper.
The Composer's Voice Fifth Annual Guitar contert will feature:
Dan Cooper, 'Titania's Lullaby' for three guitars, double bass, and piano Andrew McKenna Lee, 'Arabescata' for guitar solo Molly Joyce, 'Dissolve' for guitar, flute, and electronics William Anderson, 'AYU' for guitar and tiple Alba Potes, 'A Due' for guitar and tiple Dan Cooper, 'Design' for guitar and tiple Masatora Goya, 'Saudade' for guitar, flute, and viola Rubens Salles, 'DUO' for guitar and piano Greg Baker, 'Astor' for electric guitar, 7-string bass guitar, and electronics Angela Babin and Cristian Amigo, 'Two Guitars No. 6' for two electric guitars Dave Soldier, 'The Revolutionary Mr. Jenkins' for two electric guitars
With performances by David Acker, Cristian Amigo, William Anderson, Angela Babin, Greg Baker, Shaun Barlow, Thomas Carlo Bo, Carlos Boltes, Melanie Chirignan, Dan Cooper, Nathaly Corales, Colin Davin, Oren Fader, Masatora Goya, Scott Hill, Molly Joyce, Andrew McKenna Lee, Daniel Reyes Llinas, Alba Potes, David Ricco, Rubens Salles, and Dave Soldier, and Justin Valazquez.
As Andres Segovia wrote, “Lean your body forward slightly to support the guitar against your chest, for the poetry of music should resound in your heart.” On June 23rd at 1pm, Vox Novus / Composers Voice presents its 5th Annual Guitar Concert, featuring the music of Cristian Amigo, William Anderson, Angela Babin, Greg Baker, Dan Cooper, Masatora Goya, Molly Joyce, Andrew McKenna Lee, Alba Potes, Rubens Salles, and Dave Soldier. Additional performers include David Acker, Shaun Barlow, Thomas Carlo Bo, Melanie Chirignan, Nathaly Corales, Colin Davin, Oren Fader, Daniel Reyes Llinas, David Ricco, Justin Valazquez, and Alturas Duo (Carlos Boltes & Scott Hill). The guest host and curator for this concert is NYC composer Dan Cooper.
Composer's Voice Concert Series is an opportunity for contemporary composers to express their musical aesthetic and personal "voice" created in their compositions.
Started in 2001, the “Composer’s Voice” concert series has presented over 100 concerts throughout the world.
Don't miss this fun, FREE event, to be held at Jan Hus Presbyterian Church & Neighborhood House, 351 East 74th St (between 1st and 2nd Ave), NYC.
Note: donations of food & clothing towards Jan Hus Homeless Outreach & Advocacy Program are encouraged.
Composer’s Voice concert
Sunday June 23, 2013 1:00PM
Jan Hus Presbyterian Church www.janhus.org
351 East 74th Street,
New York, NY 10021-3798
FREE ADMISSION
Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame: Daniel Mihai, violin & tape
Deadline: July 4, 2013
Vox Novus is calling for one-minute pieces composed for Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame: Daniel Mihai, violin & tape to be premiered in September 2013 for Composer’s Voice collaboration concert in Constanţa, Romaniai.
Composer's Voice is calling for performance proposals for its concert scheduled December 8th, 2013.
The theme for the concert is "Hard Eight" All proposals must be less than 8 minutes in total; applicants are STRONGLY urged to keep their proposals for performances between 4-8 minutes.
The concert is a celebration of Composer's Voice founder and Director Robert Voisey for his 44th birthday.
Performance Proposals should include:
- Title
- Relation to theme – (program notes)
- Instrumentation
- Length of performance
- Biographies of performers and composers
- All proposals should be submitted by August 8, 2013 to composersvoicesubmit@gmail.com
- The email subject should read Hard Eight – your name - Title of Proposal
Chosen applicants will receive a performance slot on Composer's
Voice concert December 8th, 2013 at Jan Hus Church in New York City,
PR and administrative assistance from Composer's Voice, and the heartfelt appreciation
of Robert Voisey. :)
Proposals should indicate if they need Vox Novus and Composer's Voice
to help recruit musicians. Any and all questions should be address to
composersvoicesubmit@gmail.com with "Hard Eight" in the subject heading.
Dice (commonly known as craps), is a game often played for money where the player (referred to as the shooter) rolls 2 dice hoping to roll a winning combination. The number 8 can be obtained 3 ways. The "easy way" by rolling a 6 and 2 or a 3 and 5, or the "hard way" by rolling a 4 and 4. "Hard" numbers are any 2 pair combinations: 2 and 2, 3 and 3, 4 and 4, 5 and 5, and 6 and 6. Betting on the "hard" number combination results in a larger return when it is thrown.
Rob Voisey will be turning 44 on this Composer's Voice concert in December; and it will be "hard" as the age suggests. *Crap* :)
