We are proud to announce the full schedule for the second annual Avant Music Festival, five nights of music from the evolving avant-garde, February 11th-19th at Wild Project in New York City. Curated by minimal composer and Avant Media artistic director, Randy Gibson and experimental vocalist Megan Schubert, the festival presents the works of Georges Aperghis, John Cage, Randy Gibson, Reiko Füting, and Nils Vigeland as interpreted by some of the most talented young musicians in New York. All performances will start at 8PM at Wild Project – 195 East 3rd Street.
The full list of performances is as follows:
Friday 2/11/2011 – The World Premiere of a new version of Randy Gibson’s Apparitions of The Four Pillars
Saturday 2/12/2011 – An evening of works by John Cage featuring Vicky Chow, Ekmeles, and William Lang
Thursday 2/17/2011 – Duets by Reiko Füting and Nils Vigeland
Friday 2/18/2011 – The New York Premiere of Georges Aperghis’ opera Sextuor: L’origine des Espèces
Saturday 2/19/2011 – Randy Gibson’s Apparitions of The Four Pillars
Advance tickets to individual concerts for $12, $8 for students, and multi-night festival passes are available starting today. There are no fees to buy online, and tickets at the door will be $15/$10, purchase advance tickets and save.
The second annual Avant Music Festival focuses on evolution as its guiding theme, from the evolution of a single work (the world premiere of a new version of Gibson’s Apparitions of The Four Pillars), evolution through an artist’s career on the John Cage night, to the literal exploration found in the New York premiere of Georges Aperghis’ opera Sextuor: L’origine des Espèces, based on Darwin’s “Origin of Species.” A roundpanel discussion moderated by Schubert between Gibson, Reiko Füting, and Nils Vigeland will take place at 5:30 PM on the evening of the 12th, in advance of the Cage performances. The discussion, free to the public, will discuss the concepts of artistic and personal evolution through composition. On the theme of this year’s festival, Randy Gibson says, “Standing on line for a packed concert downtown, Megan and I were talking about the festival, and where we wanted it to go. The idea of Evolution came to mind as it relates to all of the work we’re programming. It’s something I’m extremely interested in within my own work, and the theme of personal evolution is really strong throughout all the works and programs we’re presenting.” Click here for full details on this year’s lineup
We are very pleased to return to Wild Project for the 2011 Avant Music Festival.
This year, curators Randy Gibson and Megan Schubert are focusing on Evolution as a guiding theme. The evolution of contemporary music, evolution in the literal sense, how we learn from our mentors, and how a work evolves once it’s in the hands of the performers.
The Avant Music Festival will feature some of the most talented young interpreters in New York, highlighting the influence of the performer on experimental music from the 20th century and today.
The festival is Avant Media’s first festival of music exploring the nature of collaboration. The performer is a critical and powerful influence on both the composition and realization of some of the most influential music of the last 70 years. The performers appearing are dedicated to the vibrant history and the exciting future of modern classical music. Curated by Avant Media artistic director, Randy Gibson, and experimental vocalist Megan Schubert, the festival features works by Cage, Gibson, Stockhausen, and many more that reflect the intense and multi-faceted relationship between composer and performer.
Tickets for the special, one-night-only, world premiere of Randy Gibson‘s Doleo Æternus with video sculpture by Oscar Henriquez will go on sale on Monday November 2nd.
Tickets will be $20 for general admission, and $10 for students/members. Click here to learn more about becoming a member. The performance will take place on November 21st at Wild Project in the East Village, NYC.
Check back soon for a special microsite all about Doleo Æternus.
It’s looking more and more like the Just Intonation World Premiere of Doleo Æternus is going to happen in New York this fall. Updates with exact dates and venues will be coming in the coming weeks.
I’m obviously very excited by this fact. So I’m going to do something I don’t normally do, and post an excerpt of the work in-progress.
I’ve been rehearsing with the violinist Drew Blumberg, and we’re going to be putting together a pretty interesting ensemble for this premiere.
Doleo Æternus (Ira into Mador) VI-xiv-2009 16:33:51″ – 16:44:33″ (Brooklyn):
These have been making the blogging rounds for a bit now, but there really is something beguiling and endearing about Christoph Niemann’s micro-sculptures and NY commentary. Check out the full gallery here.
In December Ana Baer-Carrillo and I collaborated on Doleo Æternus, an evening-length work for musicians, computer, and video which was presented at the ISIM conference in Denver. This is a long and tumultuous work in the history of Avant Media, and it spans almost the entire duration that Avant Media has been in existence. From our first show in New York City in January of 2007, where we premiered what was then Anger, to our most recent performance, Ana’s work has been a powerful influence on my work and a guiding force keeping me grounded enough in reality to reign in, albeit ever so slightly, my penchant for the extreme. (more…)
