Composer’s Voice will feature the teen ensemble Face the Music and their string quartet Quartet: This Side UP with a smorgasbord of new music by living composers both young and old.

The Composer's Voice Concert Series is acclaimed as "One of the premier showcases for promising composers" - Time Out New York

Face the Music is the only teen ensemble in the U.S. dedicated to the creation and performance of music by living composers. In residence at Kaufman Music Center, the 170+ member Face the Music has taken its place as a full-fledged player in New York City’s vibrant contemporary classical scene, rapidly becoming what Allan Kozinn of the New York Times has called “a force in the New York new-music world.” Quartet: This Side Up will be premiering the 15 one-minute miniatures from different composers for Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame.

"…the 15 Minutes of Fame project of Vox Novus is a godsend. It organizes competitions whereby ensembles commission worldwide calls for submissions of approximately one-minute pieces, and then select their 15 favorites for premieres. The players, themselves emerging … get original works to present, while the likewise emerging composers get a chance for exposure and a premiere…" - Seth Gilman, New York Music Culture Examiner Quartet: This Side Up is a string quartet consisting of four Face the Music string players, mentored by the Kronos Quartet as part of the Kronos at Kaufman program.

Also included on the program are works by: Composer Austin Celestin is a 7th grade student at the Center School in Manhattan. Amelia Krinke is a violist and composer in fifth grade at Special Music School, a public school for musically gifted children. (She started composing when she was three.) Caroline Adelaide Shaw a New York-based musician appearing in many different guises, she is a Grammy-winning singer in Roomful of Teeth and in 2013 became the youngest ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, for her enigmatic composition Partita for 8 Voices (also nominated for a Grammy for Best Classical Composition). And Terry Riley who launched what is now known as the Minimalist movement with his revolutionary classic IN C in 1964.

Composer's Voice concert featuring:
Face the Music with Quartet: This Side Up
Sunday, May 17 at 1:00pm
New York, New York 10021
FREE ADMISSION
DONATIONS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED

Works selected for this call for scores include:

Pocket Trio by Aurelio Scotto,
Molto Perpetuo by Nickos Harozanos,
Sanguine by Blair Whittington,
Silver Over Silk by Jerome Kurtenbach, and
Amaryllis Elegy by Alice Spatz

BATEIRA

BATEIRA brings innovation to traditional works and has a bold approach to new music. A mixed ensemble of flute and strings, Bateira’s unique timbre is best described by composer, Vivian Li: “fresh sounds that, when pureed, make a wholesome drink for your spirit.”

Comprised of flutist Sandy Hughes, violist Conway Kuo, and double bassist Satoshi Okamoto, the New York City-based ensemble was born from a group of musicians and friends that enjoyed animated conversation over a platter of Bateira Sushi.

The unusual trio began by performing at church services and other community events, but since its founding in 2006, Bateira has broadened its horizons. Bateira has performed at Trinity Church, Jan Hus Church, The Met Museum, and The Harvard Club, among other New York City venues, in solo recital, for new music events and on chamber music series. Their repertoire includes both the conventional and the avant-garde, ranging from Medieval to Contemporary.

In 2012, Bateira participated in Vox Novus's Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame series, featuring world premieres of fifteen one-minute pieces written especially for the group. As part of the ensemble’s Carnegie Hall debut Bateira presented all fifteen original works.

Champions of new music, Bateira continues its collaborations with both established and blossoming composers, enlarging the repertoire for this lovely combination of colors.