• http://mailchi.mp/alebaco/miller-theatre-opens-2017-18-season-with-bach-glass-featuring-simone-dinnerstein-and-a-far-cry?e=[UNIQID]"Miller Theatre opens 2017-18 season with Bach + Glass featuring Simone Dinnerstein and A Far Cry

    August 15, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    “Bach articulated the language of music in the most complete and richest and complex form that any single person has ever been able to do,” says Philip Glass, the iconic American composer whose own prodigious body of work and fascination with form and repetition compares to that of Bach. During his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the mid-60s, Glass worked intensively with counterpoint and the music of Bach. His love and admiration for Bach has only intensified, as seen in works like Songs and Poems for Solo Cello and his Partita for Solo Violin.


  • http://mailchi.mp/alebaco/morningside-lights-returns-916-923-giant-lanterns-built-by-community-to-illuminate-morningside-heights-theme-harlems-secret-gardens?e=[UNIQID]"MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS returns 9/16-9/23; giant lanterns built by community to illuminate Morningside Heights (theme: Harlem’s Secret Gardens)

    August 8, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    The 6th annual MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS, presented by the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University, kicks off on Saturday, September 16 with the theme The Secret Gardens, inspired by Harlem's many community green spaces. Free lantern-building workshops will be hosted daily at Miller Theatre from September 16 – 22 (see below for times). The workshops culminate in an illuminated procession of community creations that will light up Morningside Park on Saturday, September 23. Information and sign-ups are available at www.morningside-lights.com.


  • Miller Theatre announces the fall 2017 season of its acclaimed POP-UP CONCERTS, 9/12–12/11

    August 3, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    “I’m thrilled to continue the sixth year of our Pop-Up series with an amazing fall lineup,” says Executive Director Melissa Smey. “We welcome back two ensembles that received rave reviews from Miller audiences—Regional de NY and Genghis Barbie. The incredible clarinetists Joshua Rubin and Vasko Dukovski perform a program of works for bass clarinet, one of my favorite instruments for its vast range of color. And I’m honored to feature the Argus Quartet in their Miller debut—they are one of the most talented rising quartets in the field. I hope you’ll join us often for these free and fun evenings of adventurous music.”


    R. B. Schlather brings Gertrude Stein and Susan B. Anthony to historic Hudson Hall in rare new production of The Mother of Us All, Nov. 11-19

    August 2, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House, in partnership with The Millay Colony for the Arts, marks the centenary of Women’s Suffrage and the reopening of New York State’s oldest surviving theater with a new production of Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s 1947 opera, THE MOTHER OF US ALL—a comic and profound musical pageant of 19th Century American social and political life. The New York Times has called it "one of the most entertaining and yet most pertinent operas composed in our century" and a "charmingly pungent masterpiece whose full value has probably yet to be realized."


    World Music Institute announces 2017-18 season of music and dance

    July 24, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    From Artistic Director Par Neiburger: “In my third season as Artistic Director for World Music Institute, we move even further with the programmatic vision that we began in the 2015-16 season: presenting a distinctly wide range of what the global music community has to offer. We will present artists that range from the traditional (Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté, Wu Man) to the contemporary and avant-garde (Tanya Tagaq, Yasmine Hamdan); from lesser-known artists often giving their first performance in the United States or New York (Anewal and Mdou Moctar) to legendary masters (Hugh Masekela and Hariprasad Chaurasia) and well-established artists (Mariza and Seun Kuti & Egypt 80). We are honored to present what will be the 32nd concert season for this venerable institution that long ago established its significance in the cultural community. Through our programming and community building, we aim to bring this institution into new territory—and consider it our distinct privilege to do so.”


    Miller Theatre unveils new installation by Harlem-based Colombian artist LINA PUERTA, commissioned for lobby—opens 7/17

    June 5, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    This July, the Harlem-based Colombian-American artist Lina Puerta transforms the lobby of Miller Theatre with a new installation from her Botánico Series, inspired by weeds and uncontrolled nature within urban spaces. Exploring the tension between humans and the botanical world, Puerta's ongoing series, which she started in 2010, evokes nature's resilient response amid efforts by humans to exert control. Puerta installs the new artwork in Miller's lobby from July 10-14, 2017; it officially opens to the public on July 17.


    World Music Institute & National Sawdust present JEN SHYU's new solo ritual music drama, sung in 8 languages (2 shows on 6/29)

    June 2, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Born from Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrant parents, 2016 Doris Duke Artist Jen Shyu is a groundbreaking multilingual vocalist-composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, producer, and Fulbright scholar. For these special performances at National Sawdust, Shyu will premiere Nine Doors, a solo ritual music drama, through both narrative and abstract, integrative music-movement methodologies via the voice, Taiwanese moon lute, gayageum, piano, biwa, and electronics. Shyu will sing in eight languages including Japanese, Javanese, Indonesian, Taiwanese, Mandarin, Tetum, Korean, and English.


    The Crossing presents world premiere of Michael Gordon's major new choral memoir ANONYMOUS MAN, July 1 in Philadelphia

    May 23, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    THE CROSSING—Donald Nally's extraordinary chamber choir from Philadelphia, dedicated to new music and hailed as “exquisite” (The New York Times), "something quite rare" (Q2 Music), and “something of a miracle” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)—presents the world premiere of ANONYMOUS MAN, a major new work from composer and Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon. Anonymous Man is Michael Gordon's first concert-length solo choral work. It was commissioned by The Crossing and written for the choir's 24 voices. Gordon merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power in his music, embodying, in the words of The New Yorker's Alex Ross, "the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism."


    Miller Theatre announces 2017-2018, a far-reaching season of new music, early music and jazz

    May 9, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Miller Theatre is known for the consistency and integrity of its curating. The venue has been heralded by The New York Times for its “transformative impact on musical culture in New York City” and exerting an “oversize influence on tastes and trends." Indeed, many credit Miller Theatre with pioneering the kind of programming that bigger organizations now emulate. Since becoming Executive Director in 2009, Melissa Smey has continued Miller Theatre's tradition of adventurous programming, while steering Miller toward new territory—welcoming a stylistically eclectic mix of international composers and ensembles; expanding Miller's leadership in community engagement (Pop-Up Concerts, Morningside Lights, family programs like Carnival of the Animals, and commissioning public murals in Miller's lobby); and recalibrating the gender imbalance in classical music by showcasing the work of female composers, a development hailed by The New Yorker and The New York Times.


    Rare concert by avant-garde legend TOM ZÉ of Brazil's Tropicália movement, 6/3 at BAM (a World Music Institute show)

    May 4, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Marking World Music Institute's first ever show at the at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, music legend Tom Zé—the avant-garde conscience of Brazil’s 1960’s Tropicália movement—makes a rare appearance in New York. Zé will present an evening of samba and bossa nova reimagined as only he can. A dauntless innovator whose records made beguiling experimental bedfellows of rock, folk, electronic music, and found sounds, Zé fell into obscurity until the 1990’s, when he was rediscovered and signed as the first artist on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label. At BAM, he resumes his place in Brazil’s musical firmament, exuberantly channeling the spirit of Salvador and São Paulo with new and old songs alike.


    Lincoln Center Festival July 10-30, 2017—Ornette Coleman, Carlinhos Brown, Subotnick, Gong Linna, and more

    May 2, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    20 international productions and 43 performances by innovators and iconoclasts in dance, music, theater and film. Hailing from Syria, Israel, Palestine, Tunisia, Chad, Cape Verde, China, Japan, England, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil, Cuba, Canada, USA.


    Miller Theatre and Opera Omaha join forces to present Missy Mazzoli & Royce Vavrek's PROVING UP in 2018

    April 20, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Miller Theatre at Columbia University and Nebraska’s Opera Omaha announced today their plans for the New York premiere of Proving Up, a new opera from the Brooklyn-based creative team of composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, two of the most important new talents in American music. Miller Theatre will present Opera Omaha’s production of this highly anticipated work in September 2018, as the opening of Miller’s 30th Anniversary 2018-19 season. Proving Up is co-commissioned by Washington National Opera, Opera Omaha, and Miller Theatre at Columbia University. It will premiere in January 2018 at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, then in April 2018 at Opera Omaha as part of their newly launched ONE Festival, followed by the New York premiere at Miller Theatre at Columbia University in September 2018.


    OMAR SOULEYMAN—the Syrian farmer turned electronic music hero--comes to LPR 5/11, presented by World Music Institute

    April 19, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Hailing from Syria and living now in Turkey, Omar Souleyman’s music is rooted in Dabke, a modern Levantine Arab folk circle dance of possible Canaanite or Phoenician origin. Called an “unexpected preacher of love,” Souleyman has become a worldwide sensation in modern world and electronic music circles, though he began his career as a wedding singer in Syria.


    World Music Institute presents Festival in the Desert: ALI FARKA TOURÉ BAND and TERAKAFT at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5/6

    April 10, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    The Festival in the Desert (“Festival au Désert”) was one of Africa’s most celebrated annual music festivals. Held in Mali, it showcased traditional Tuareg music and music from around the world. Shortly after the January 2012 festival, the Northern Mali conflict broke out and all Western and non-devotional music was outlawed. Exiled from the Sahara, Festival in the Desert brings its “caravan” to The Met for a rare concert.


    PRISM Quartet album release: "COLOR THEORY" with Sō Percussion & PARTCH (music for saxophones, percussion, Harry Partch instruments)

    April 7, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Having done just about everything imaginable with a classical saxophone quartet, the intrepid PRISM Quartet (Timothy McAllister, Taimur Sullivan, Matthew Levy, and Zachary Shemon) announces its newest album on PRISM's recently launched XAS record label: COLOR THEORY. This recording is the culmination of an ambitious performance and outreach series in Philadelphia and New York in June 2016, in which PRISM—dubbed “one of America’s finest saxophone quartets for three decades” by The New Yorker—partnered with the PARTCH Ensemble and Sō Percussion, and composers Ken Ueno, Steven Mackey and Stratis Minakakis to perform, explore, and record a new body of music combining saxophones with a breathtaking range of percussion instruments.


    Heartbeat Opera announces radically staged 90-minute adaptations of 2 classics: CARMEN and BUTTERFLY, May 20-28

    April 6, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    After a wildly successful Halloween Drag Extravaganza at National Sawdust and a sold-out performance on The High Line, HEARTBEAT OPERA presents its third annual Spring Festival, this year at Baruch Performing Arts Center from May 20–28, 2017. Heartbeat will premiere 90-minute versions of two operatic masterpieces, both radically staged and re-orchestrated: Puccini’s BUTTERFLY and Bizet’s CARMEN. The festival also includes an evening entitled COLLABORET (May 24 at 7:00 p.m.), with eclectic performances by guest artists that expand the definition of opera. It includes a workshop presentation of Marisa Michelson's new Sappho Fragments, a piece based on the Ancient Greek poet's words, sung in English and Greek with touches of the singer/songwriter, world/folk, and early music traditions.


    "NYFOS Next" presents soprano/actress Lauren Worsham, Kyle Jarrow, and their indie-pop band SKY-PONY at National Sawdust 5/10

    April 5, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    NYFOS Next—the “invaluable contemporary-music series” from the "indefatigable art-song devotees" (The New Yorker) at New York Festival of Song—concludes its season Wednesday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. at National Sawdust with a theatrical evening from Lauren Worsham, Kyle Jarrow, and Sky-Pony. Soprano Lauren Worsham has been a NYFOS mainstay for many years, an audience favorite on the beloved MainStage series. With this NYFOS Next show, Lauren says “I am so excited and honored to show the NYFOS audience the other side of my artistic life with my indie art-rock band Sky-Pony."


    Miller Theatre presents Composer Portrait of KLAS TORSTENSSON with Sweden's Ensemble SON and Either/Or, 4/27 (3 U.S. Premieres)

    March 30, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Sweden’s Ensemble SON teams up with Miller favorites Either/Or to introduce to New Yorkers the Swedish-born, Netherlands-based composer Klas Torstensson. Championed by conductor Peter Eötvös, and celebrated at new music festivals in Huddersfield, Vienna, and Darmstadt, the composer has explored Nordic history and themes in works inspired by the polar seas and Arctic expeditions of yore. This program features several recent chamber music works, including a new octet composed especially for Either/Or and Ensemble SON.


    World Music Institute's acclaimed Indian classical dance festival DANCING THE GODS returns, 4/23-24 at Symphony Space

    March 29, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    “With Dancing The Gods, World Music Institute has been bringing some of the finest Indian classical dancers to New York audiences for many years,” says Artistic Director Par Neiburger. “It is a truly special event and one that we hold very dear to our hearts. The last few years of the festival have focused on the dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Kathak. This year we wanted to focus on Mohiniyattam, and Dr. Neena Prasad is undoubtedly one of the finest Mohiniyattam dancers in India. She is also a true scholar of Indian classical dance and has studied four Indian classical dance forms. Over the last several years we have also felt it important to focus not only on the traditional elements of Indian dance but on artists that are moving in more modern directions. Sanjukta Sinha is a unique talent in Kathak and, while her art is heavily rooted in this tradition, her take on this dance form is uniquely modern. Both of these dancers are incredible talents and we look forward to one of the best Dancing The Gods festivals to date.”


    TINARIWEN performs on World Music Institute "Desert Blues” series 4/15-16 at Brooklyn Bowl (Dengue Fever opens)

    March 27, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    For Saharan blues band Tinariwen, the desert is their home, and their hypnotic and electrifying guitar rock reflects complex realities of their home base in Northwest Africa. They are Tuareg, descended from nomadic people who have wandered the dunes for millennia. The music of Tinariwen travels too, reverberating far from the dusty plains of Mali. Their 2011 album Tassili, recorded in the Algerian Desert—in a tent and under the stars with an esteemed cadre of musicians including Nels Cline and TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone—won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. Now, their latest record Emmaar returns to their roots, delivering stripped-down dirges, effervescent anthems, and above all, simplicity and honesty.


    World Music Institute presents three free concerts at BAMcafé: BARAJI (4/8), TONGUES IN TREES (4/21), HOUSE OF WATERS (4/28)

    March 24, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    This concert is part of the first-ever U.S. tour by Baraji, a unique Korean band whose mystical shows use folkloric music, singing, dancing and costumes. Baraji is known for the exceptional improvisation and spontaneity of their performances. In traditional Korean music, Sinawi, the word Baraji is often used to describe improvised singing in harmony. Baraji’s performances derive from a Korean shamanic tradition known as Jindo Ssitgim Gut. This rite is used to cleanse the spirit of a deceased person. Since ancient times, there is a Korean belief that when somebody dies, their body cannot enter the world of the dead because of the impurity of their spirit. The Ssitgim Gut washes away this impurity.


    Miller Theatre premieres THE BREMEN TOWN BAND, a puppet production by Lake Simons with new score by Courtney Bryan and all-star jazz band, 5/6

    March 16, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    This spring, Miller Theatre at Columbia University presents the world premiere production of an inspired spin on a classic Grimm fairytale. Seeking to escape their tiresome days on the farm, four spirited animals—a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster—set out on an adventure to realize their dreams and fill their lives with music. The innovative puppet theater artist Lake Simons—the creative force behind Miller’s beloved annual holiday season staging of Carnival of the Animals—returns to direct and design this new, original production. Through silhouette puppetry and imaginative staging, Simons transports the audience to the magical land of these four intrepid creatures. Joining Simons is composer and pianist Courtney Bryan, who has created an original score for the occasion. Bryan leads an all-star quintet of jazz musicians, including Brandee Younger on harp, Tyrone Birkett on saxophone, Dezron Douglas on bass, and Kassa Overall on drums.


    World Music Institute presents ALAM KHAN, son of Ali Akbar Khan and the face of a new generation of sarod players, 4/7 at (Le) Poisson Rouge

    March 15, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Son of the legendary sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan, Alam Khan has been touching the hearts of audiences worldwide for over a decade. For this special concert celebrating what would have been his father’s 95th birthday, he will be joined by Nitin Mitta on tabla. Alam was blessed to learn and live in the traditional style of Guru and student. Ali Akbar Khan’s careful crafting and guidance show in each note as well as in Alam’s imaginative way of expressing ancient ragas. He has toured worldwide and established himself as Ali Akbar Khan’s true heir and the face of a new generation of sarod players.


    Curated by Meredith Monk: PHIL KLINE with special guest JIM JARMUSCH, 4/5 at Roulette

    March 9, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    On Wednesday, April 5 at 8:00 p.m. at Brooklyn’s Roulette, the Curated by Meredith Monk concert series presents the always surprising composer PHIL KLINE—best known for his Zippo Songs and Unsilent Night—in an evening entitled Not OK. Not OK offers a collection of old and new music that features the premiere of the title piece, a collaboration with filmmaker (and guitarist) Jim Jarmusch. This marks the first time that Kline and Jarmusch have performed together in New York in 35 years. They have been friends since elementary school in Akron, Ohio and followed similar paths for a while, attending Columbia University together, taking poetry classes with Kenneth Koch and David Shapiro, and forming the post-punk band The Del-Byzanteens. They are currently collaborating on a music theater spectacle about the Serbo-Croatian electrical engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla.


    Miller Theatre announces the spring 2017 season of its acclaimed cocktail hour POP-UP CONCERTS, 4/11–6/13

    March 7, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    “I’m thrilled to announce this season’s final Pop-Up Concerts, our series of free, informal performances that bring you close to the artists and the music,” says Executive Director Melissa Smey. “Each offers something unique, from New York Polyphony’s exploration of Bach, to the blossoming work of So Percussion’s Jason Treuting as composer and solo artist, to the great Philip Glass interpreter Michael Riesman with Ensemble Signal. I’m also delighted to welcome back our long-time collaborators JACK Quartet, ICE, and Mivos Quartet, as they take on adventurous new projects.”


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of Austria's JOHANNES MARIA STAUD, 4/8

    March 6, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Johannes Maria Staud takes his inspiration from many sources—literature, political events, even streets he’s walked down. He is a transformer of mediums, taking meaningful words and images and creating music. Staud pays homage to Pissarro, Debussy, and the city of London in the fragile and impressionistic Sydenham Music. Another standout on the program is Towards a Brighter Hue, a nod to the wooden sculptures of British artist David Nash. Ensemble Signal guides audiences through this synesthetic evening of truly inspired music.


    World Music Institute presents Mali's Afropop superstar SALIF KEITA at Town Hall, 4/1

    March 6, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Salif Keita, known as the “Golden Voice of Africa,” is one of the most influential and important artists in African music. Born an albino, Keita was cast out by his family and ostracized by his community as his albinism was considered a sign of bad luck in Mandinka culture. He overcame these obstacles to become one of Africa’s most celebrated singers.


    All-Star SFJAZZ Collective tribute to Miles Davis concludes Miller Theatre's Jazz Series, 4/1

    February 28, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Some of the biggest names on the jazz circuit—including Miller audience favorites Warren Wolf and Miguel Zenón—come together to form the inimitable collective SFJAZZ. This touring program celebrates one of the genre’s greats: Miles Davis. The band’s explorations of this rich repertoire make it feel fresh once more, as revelatory and innovative as it sounded when Miles issued his first records back in the 1940s and 50s.


    World Music Institute presents CARLOS NÚÑEZ, virtuoso of the gaita (the bagpipes of Galicia), at Merkin Hall 3/18

    February 22, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Few artists pack as much energy, virtuosity, imagination, daring, and charisma into their concerts as Galician multi-instrumentalist Carlos Núñez. He is the world’s most famous player of the gaita, the bagpipes of Galicia, Spain’s northwest region, which is rich in vibrant Celtic traditional music. Núñez respects and seeks to safeguard Galicia’s musical legacy while skillfully exploring fresh, fascinating realms of new possibilities for it. He has collaborated with a wide variety of artists including Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder, Laurie Anderson and of course The Chieftains, who first introduced Núñez to larger, international audiences.


    World Music Institute presents the beloved Peruvian singer-songwriter SUSANA BACA at Pioneer Works 3/17

    February 21, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Susana Baca is a singer-songwriter, ethnomusicologist, folklorist, teacher, and winner of two Latin Grammy Awards. In 2011 she was named Peru's Minister of Culture. With a splendid voice and equally impressive interpretive gifts, Susana Baca is a primary exponent of the Afro-Peruvian musical tradition. World Music Institute's ORIGINS series showcases artists who represent folkloric music from their respective cultures, preserving important cultural legacies. The series opened in February with acclaimed Spanish composer, guitarist and internationally recognized producer, Javier Limón.


    Glass@80: Philip Glass with master Kora player Foday Musa Suso at National Sawdust 3/12 (a World Music Institute "Collaborations" show)

    February 16, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    This event, presented by World Music Institute in collaboration with National Sawdust, is one of the highlights of the Glass @ 80 celebrations around the world. Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso famously collaborated on the album The Screens (composed as music for a production of the play by Jean Genet), the score for the film Powaqqatsi, and on the concert work Orion. At National Sawdust, the two artists will come together again for an intimate and collaborative performance. The show will include two special guests: percussionist Asher Delerme and cellist Jeffrey Zeigler.


    Miller Theatre presents ORLANDO CONSORT in a program devoted to seldom-heard Renaissance composer Compère (3/25 at 150 West 83rd St)

    February 16, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    The name Loyset Compère is not as familiar as Dufay or Josquin, but many—the Orlando Consort among them—believe that this Franco-Flemish composer deserves a place amongst the masters of the 15th century. His early Renaissance compositions combine a sophisticated technical mind with an ear for sheer beauty. This program makes the case for Compère with a wide variety of works: his stately “Magnificat,” moving motets, and a range of secular songs, from laugh-out-loud bawdy to exquisitely romantic.


    Apollo Theater & World Music Institute present "AFRICA NOW!" on 3/11, featuring Mbongwana Star, Songhoy Blues, Daby Touré, TUELO, DJ Nenim

    February 15, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    The Apollo Theater in partnership with World Music Institute presents what has become an annual highlight, AFRICA NOW!. The celebrated event returns to the historic Apollo Theater on Saturday, March 11, at 8:00 p.m. for its fifth year spotlighting emerging and established artists of today's African music scene. This year’s concert, hosted by South African comedian Loyiso Gola, takes us on a musical trip across the continent from the Congo’s new generation of musicians who embody the concept of change with Mbongwana Star, to Mali’s Songhoy Blues blending traditional and modern, to the ethereal voice and masterful guitar of Mauritanian-born Daby Touré, Nigerian DJ Nenim, to the soulful punk rock of South African-born TUELO.


    NYFOS presents a thrilling musical excursion to FOUR ISLANDS with Caramoor's Vocal Rising Stars at Merkin Concert Hall, 3/14 (3/12 in Katonah)

    February 13, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song rounds out its 2016-17 Mainstage season alongside its ninth annual residency at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts with a program entitled FOUR ISLANDS on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. at Merkin Concert Hall. A preview performance will take place at the Caramoor Center in Katonah, NY on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. A quartet of exciting young voices bring distinctive cultures to life in a musical excursion from Ireland to Cuba and Madagascar to Manhattan with the songs of Ravel, Grenet, Caturla, Mauri, Lecuona, Garay, Villa-Lobos, Berlin, Musto, Corigliano, Porter, as well as traditional and folk songs.


    Mali's kora player BALLAKÉ SISSOKO & French cellist VINCENT SÉGAL at French Institute Alliance Française, 3/3 (World Music Institute show)

    February 7, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    When Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Ségal released their first collaborative album, Chamber Music, they caught the music world by surprise. Everything about this duo was unexpected: the Malian master of the kora; the French classically trained cellist with the unlikely background in trip-hop; and the elegant, soulful music they made together. Sissoko and Ségal have created their own cross-cultural hybrid tradition, one that draws on the ancient well of West African troubadour songs, the rich heritage of Baroque music, and an elusive but somehow clearly modern sensibility. In 2015, these two masters returned with Musique de Nuit (“Night Music”)—an album even more spellbinding than its predecessor.


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of MISATO MOCHIZUKI (with four U.S. premieres), 3/2

    February 1, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Shaped by studies in Tokyo and Paris, composer Misato Mochizuki’s music integrates Occidental tradition, the Asiatic connection to breath, and a fascination with ritual. Equally active in Japan and Europe, she has been featured at the Louvre and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. Mochizuki has just begun to make inroads in New York, and Miller is pleased to introduce her work more broadly through this Portrait, building on her relationship with local ensemble Yarn/Wire.


    Mauritania's foremost musical emissary NOURA MINT SEYMALI at (Le) Poisson Rouge, 2/24 (a World Music Institute "Desert Blues" show)

    January 26, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Noura Mint Seymali is one of Mauritania’s foremost musical emissaries and a national star of the West African country. Born into a lineage of significant moorish griots, a class of traveling poets, musicians, and storytellers who maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of Africa, Noura’s career began at age 13 as a supporting vocalist to her legendary step-mother Dimi Mint Abba. Her grandmother trained her in musical technique and Noura mastered the ardine, a traditional 9-string harp reserved for women. Having performed on stages across the world, and by collaborating with African music greats, Noura Mint Seymali has established herself as one of the next generation’s most promising artists and an unforgettable voice of Africa.


    Miller Theatre presents London's early music vocal group STILE ANTICO, 2/25 at 150 West 83rd Street

    January 23, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    Each of the 12 members of Stile Antico has chosen one musical gem drawn from five centuries of glorious repertoire, including Orlando Gibbons’ uplifting “O Clap Your Hands,” William Byrd’s exciting “Vigilate,” and works by the prolific Thomas Tallis. For those new to the repertoire, the program provides an engaging introduction to Renaissance vocal music; for longtime fans, it’s a chance to hear some treasured favorites.


    World Music Institute announces exciting 2017 Spring/Summer Season

    January 19, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    After a packed 2016-17 Fall/Winter season with a record-breaking number of sold-out shows—among them Seu Jorge's Brazilian interpretations of Bowie songs at The Town Hall and Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke at the Met Museum's Temple of Dendur (his first NY concert in a decade)—the newly revitalized World Music Institute announces its 2017 Spring/Summer program: 19 performances by remarkable talents from ten countries across four continents.


    NYFOS performs Paul Bowles' rarely heard PICNIC CANTATA plus 2 premieres: Bolcom’s opera DINNER AT 8 & a Kahane song cycle (2/21 NY, 2/18 VA)

    January 17, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song continues its NYFOS Mainstage series at Merkin Concert Hall on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. with an elegant, omniverous program entitled PICNIC CANTATA/DINNER AT EIGHT. They will preview the program at the Reston Community Center's CenterStage series in Reston, VA on Saturday, February 18, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.


    World Music Institute presents Spain's JAVIER LIMÓN in "Flamenco Orígenes" at Merkin Hall 2/11/17

    January 12, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute presents the acclaimed Spanish composer, guitarist and internationally recognized producer JAVIER LIMÓN in Flamenco Orígenes, a journey back in time that explores the origins of Flamenco music. The roots of Flamenco go back to Sephardic music, Arabic music (an essential part of the history of the Iberian Peninsula and undisputed pillar of the melodic and rhythmic legacy of the Andalusian music), and Gypsy music, with its origins in Northern India. Limón's Flamenco Orígenes will feature four extraordinary singers representing these musical traditions that exemplify the origins of Flamenco: Christiane Karam (Beirut, Lebanon), Genara Cortés (Malaga, Spain), Tali Rubinstein (Israel) and Shilpa Ananth (Kerala, India).


    Sublime Frequencies label co-founder ALAN BISHOP spins overlooked world music genres like Yeh Yeh and Freak Beat at BAM Café, 2/3

    January 5, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    On the heels of a breathtaking show by ambient icon Laraaji, World Music Institute continues its Counterpoint series at BAM Café with another fascinating example of what world music can mean in a modern context: American musician Alan Bishop, the founding member of Seattle’s quintessential avant-garde rock group Sun City Girls, as well as co-founder of the world music record label Sublime Frequencies.


    MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO makes debut on Miller Theatre's Jazz Series, 2/4

    January 3, 2017 — For Immediate Release

    “We call him ‘the genius of modern piano’ because he is,” says Wynton Marsalis of jazz legend Marcus Roberts. The long-running Marcus Roberts Trio makes its Miller debut, shining a light on the group's unique and virtuosic style. Each member of the Trio shares equally in leading and changing, displaying their innate connection to the music and each other.


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of Austria's BEAT FURRER, 2/2

    December 20, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Swiss-Austrian composer Beat Furrer is a master of form and texture. His 40-year career spans forays into opera, chamber works, music theater, orchestral pieces, and everything in between. This program focuses on more intimate chamber works from the last two decades, including a U.S. premiere. Richard Carrick conducts Either/Or in Furrer’s nuanced explorations of percussion, bass flute, piano, strings, and more. Carrick will also lead an on-stage discussion with Furrer.


    NYFOS presents PYOTR THE GREAT with Alexey Lavrov & Antonina Chehovska, opening NY Phil's Tchaikovsky Fest 1/24 at Merkin Hall (1/22 in DC)

    December 13, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song continues its NYFOS Mainstage series at Merkin Concert Hall on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. with a sumptuous recital entitled Pyotr the Great: The Songs of Tchaikovsky and His Circle. A preview performance of Pyotr the Great takes place with Vocal Arts DC in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. Following last year's Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival, NYFOS again partners with the New York Philharmonic to celebrate the life of a venerable Russian composer, this time as part of the Philharmonic's three-week festival Beloved Friend — Tchaikovsky and His World.


    Miller Theatre continues Early Music series with NEW YORK POLYPHONY, 1/21 at Church of St. Mary the Virgin

    December 12, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Since forming a decade ago, New York Polyphony has become an admired addition to the international early music scene—and a regular on Miller’s series. Together with several special guests, they take on a landmark work: Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli, or Pope Marcellus Mass, a stalwart of many a music appreciation curriculum, and a splendid example of polyphony that is both technically impeccable and glorious to hear. They round out the program with the premiere of a new work composed for them by Ivan Moody, a protégé of respected choral composer Sir John Tavener.


    Miller Theatre announces the winter 2017 season of POP-UP CONCERTS

    December 6, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    “Miller Theatre’s free Pop-Up Concerts offer a wide range of options this winter, from the music of the Renaissance to Mariah Carey to a Steve Lehman premiere,” says Executive Director Melissa Smey. “We’re delighted to welcome back Marilyn Nonken and Miranda Cuckson to Miller’s intimate stage atmosphere, and present our first Pop-Up event with Orlando Consort. And we’ll dance the night away at Prom Night with Genghis Barbie on Valentine’s Day.”


    Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night (25th anniversary) brings joyful noise to more than 28 cities; NYC is 12/17

    November 17, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    This December, composer Phil Kline’s luminous and shimmering mobile sound-sculpture UNSILENT NIGHT returns for a 25th anniversary edition in cities across the United States and abroad. Since its debut with some of Kline's friends on the streets of Greenwich Village in 1992, Unsilent Night has grown as a true word-of-mouth phenomenon; it is now a worldwide annual holiday event and has been presented in over 100 cities and on five continents.


    A unique Steve Reich event: “Drumming” with the African drummer who inspired it, Ghana's Gideon Alorwoyie—at National Sawdust, 12/10

    November 14, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    In 1970, Steve Reich embarked on a trip to study music in Ghana with Gideon Alorwoyie, the resident master drummer of the Ghana Dance Ensemble. From this experience in Africa, Reich drew inspiration for his landmark piece Drumming, which he composed shortly after his return and which uses his signature technique of phasing. Composed for a nine-piece percussion ensemble with female voices and piccolo, Drumming marked the beginning of a new stage in his career, for around this time he formed his ensemble, Steve Reich and Musicians, and increasingly concentrated on composition and performance with them. The noted writer K. Robert Schwarz described Drumming as "minimalism's first masterpiece."


    "NYFOS Next" on 12/8: Christopher Cerrone curates and hosts a show of new song & poetry at National Sawdust

    November 10, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    NYFOS Next—the “invaluable contemporary-music series” from the "indefatigable art-song devotees" (The New Yorker) at New York Festival of Song—continues Thursday, December 8 at 7:00 p.m. at National Sawdust with a showcase of new music and poetry explored by CHRISTOPHER CERRONE & FRIENDS. Brooklyn-based composer Cerrone hosts and curates this evening of his vocal works and those of his friends and colleagues—including Timo Andres, Katherine Balch, Erin Gee, Ted Hearne, and Scott Wollschleger.


    Experiments in Opera announces STORY BINGE II (featuring 5 operatic premieres) at Merkin Concert Hall, 12/15

    November 3, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The fun and fearless composer collective EXPERIMENTS IN OPERA returns in the 2016-17 season with a signal that their brand of experimentation continues to thrive amid the booming world of indie-opera. On Thursday, December 15 at 7:30 p.m., EiO presents a whole season's worth of new opera in one night: Story Binge II, the sequel to Story Binge I which took place at Roulette last year. A co-presentation with Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, this marks Experiments in Opera's first venture "uptown."


    Rare performance by Mali's elusive superstar BOUBACAR TRAORÉ at Met Museum 12/2 (a World Music Institute "Desert Blues" show)

    November 3, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Legendary Malian songwriter, master singer, and guitarist Boubacar (aka “Kar Kar”) Traoré rose to fame in the ‘60s with his desert blues performances, fusing Malian and Arabic music. Renown, however, didn’t lead to riches, and following a 1968 coup, Boubacar dropped out of sight. Personal tragedy led him to move to France, where eventually, he was rediscovered. While Boubacar Traoré has been active for decades and was a contemporary of the late Ali Farka Touré, it was not until 1990 that he released his first album, Mariama. Today, Boubacar is considered one of the most seminal figures in the African desert blues tradition. This is a rare opportunity to see and experience this elusive genius live.


    Miller Theatre opens Early Music series with THE TALLIS SCHOLARS, 12/10 at Church of St. Mary the Virgin

    November 3, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Britain’s lauded Renaissance choir returns with a seasonal program focused on classic texts about the Christmas story, as interpreted and set to music by some of the lesser-known masters of early music. Josquin, Victoria, and Taverner mingle with Franco-Flemish and Mexican contemporaries, in a program that celebrates the wonder and magic of the season.


    Miller Theatre presents a magical family-friendly show for the holidays: CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS directed by Lake Simons, 12/17

    November 2, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Last year, Miller Theatre inaugurated a new holiday season tradition: Carnival of the Animals, in a surreally playful production designed and directed by Lake Simons. This special production returns with two performances, bringing to life Saint-Saëns’ musical “salute to feathers, fur, and fins.” Theaterscene described it as "splendidly witty, sometimes poignant and sometimes thrilling, and always inventive...It was magical." Lucid Culture pronounced it “an exquisitely detailed, unselfconsciously playful performance.”


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of ZOSHA DI CASTRI with Yarn/Wire and Ekmeles, 12/1

    October 26, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    “Imagine sound on a spectrum,” says Zosha Di Castri, “moving fluidly between abstract soundscapes, gestural outbursts, and referential echoes of musics half-remembered.” Pianists, percussionists, and vocalists come together alongside electronics to explore the rich gamut of Di Castri’s work. Two premieres—including Near Mute Force for members of both ensembles—are among the evening’s repertoire.


    World Music Institute presents Meredith Monk and Ani Choying Drolma at National Sawdust, 11/17

    October 24, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute inaugurates its Collaborations series at National Sawdust on Thursday, November 17 with an unprecedented meeting of minds and art: legendary vocalist-composer Meredith Monk and Nepal's singing nun Ani Choying Drolma perform an evening of works that celebrate art as a spiritual practice. Two performances take place at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and both feature Monk and Drolma performing sets back-to-back. Monk will also be joined by two members of her acclaimed Vocal Ensemble, Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin, for a selection of pieces. These shows come two weeks after the November 4 release of Meredith Monk's newest album On Behalf of Nature (ECM New Series), a meditation on our intimate connection to nature, its inner structures and the fragility of its ecology.


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of LEI LIANG; Steven Schick conducts loadbang and JACK, 11/17

    October 17, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    As a student, Lei Liang attended class mere blocks from the Tiananmen Square protests; ever since, he has viewed art as a way to counteract violence and find freedom. His compositions pay homage to his Chinese culture while drawing on Western counterpoints. This Portrait, featuring several of Liang’s West Coast colleagues, explores opposing forces, bringing together light and dark, paradise and inferno.


    Miller Theatre continues its Jazz Series with ALICIA OLATUJA, 11/12

    October 13, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Called “one of the most thrilling vocalists of today” (JazzTimes), Alicia Olatuja has an incredible range, fueled by her fluency in multiple world music styles, classical studies at Manhattan School of Music, and an undeniable, ingrained musicality. She wowed audiences when she sang at Barack Obama’s 2013 inauguration, and her powerful vocals have received unanimous acclaim. Her Miller debut is not to be missed.


    World Music Institute presents Brazil's singer/songwriter/actor SEU JORGE in a tribute to David Bowie at Town Hall, Nov. 11/12

    October 11, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Seu Jorge, one of Brazil’s most talented contemporary singers, rose to international fame in the Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic. In his acclaimed role as Pelé dos Santos, a singing sailor, Seu Jorge performed several of David Bowie’s songs in the film. But in a twist, he did it in Portuguese, accompanying himself simply on acoustic guitar. Seu Jorge’s adaptations in Portuguese of David Bowie’s music underscore the breadth and depth of his compositions and have gone on to have a significant cultural impact. In commemoration of David Bowie’s recent passing, Seu Jorge performs a special tribute to him on November 11 and 12 at Town Hall, presented by World Music Institute and (Le) Poisson Rouge.


    Heartbeat Opera launches season with Halloween Drag Extravaganza “Queens of the Night" at National Sawdust (2 shows on 10/31)

    October 5, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    After a sold-out September performance on The High Line, HEARTBEAT OPERA—the daring young company whose unconventional orchestrations and stagings of classic operas have been called "a radical endeavor" by Alex Ross in The New Yorker—launches its third season on October 31, 2016 at the new music venue National Sawdust with Heartbeat's Annual Benefit Drag Extravaganza, this year titled Queens of the Night: Mozart in Space. Two performances take place at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.


    Malian singer/songwriter ROKIA TRAORÉ performs at Symphony Space 10/30 (a World Music Institute "Desert Blues" show)

    October 4, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Multi-instrumentalist Rokia Traoré is quite possibly one of the most talented and inventive female singer/songwriters to ever come out of Mali, one of Africa’s most musically rich countries. Her incredible musicianship and persuasive vocal skills allow her to effortlessly blend the sounds of Mali with desert blues, folk, and other traditions. Rokia is remarkable not just for the range of her powerful and emotional voice but also for her stunning live performances. On her 2016 release, Né So, Rokia turns to friends John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), and Devendra Banhart to help her express her deep sadness at the state of turmoil in her native Mali. Lamenting her homeland’s loss of life, culture, and traditions, Rokia draws audiences in with a striking translation from emotion to song, including transcriptions of some of Toni Morrison’s prolific writings.


    NYFOS Next moves to National Sawdust and opens with Gabriela Lena Frank & Friends, 11/2

    October 3, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    A new season of NYFOS Next—the “invaluable contemporary-music series” (The New Yorker) that is "a testament to the variety of ways composers today are treating the voice” (The New York Times)—opens Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m. at National Sawdust with GABRIELA LENA FRANK. Frank curates and hosts an hour-long evening of her vocal works and those of her friends and colleagues Avner Dorman and Derek Bermel.


    New York Festival of Song opens its season with RODGERS, RODGERS & GUETTEL, 11/1 + 11/3 at Merkin Hall

    September 29, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song opens its 2016-17 Mainstage season at Merkin Concert Hall with two evenings devoted to the Rodgers family—Richard, Mary, and Adam Guettel (with rare unpublished songs by both Guettel and his mother Mary). Entitled Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel: A Century of American Musical Theater, the performances take place Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. and Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.


    Ambient icon Laraaji performs his classic album "Day of Radiance" live at BAM Cafe, 10/29 (a World Music Institute show)

    September 29, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Ambient icon Laraaji began playing music on the streets of NYC in the late ‘70s, improvising trance-inducing music on a modified zither/autoharp processed through various electronic effects. Brian Eno “discovered” him playing in Washington Square Park and the result was Laraaji’s most widely recognized release, Ambient 3: Day of Radiance, the third installment of Brian Eno’s influential Ambient series. Laraaji went on to release a series of albums, captivating audiences worldwide.


    Miller Theatre presents the premiere-filled NY solo debut of flutist TIM MUNRO, 11/10

    September 27, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Until recently, Tim Munro was the charismatic flutist of Grammy-winning new music group eighth blackbird. In this evocative program, he makes his New York solo debut, combining music, storytelling, and song with dreamy lighting and a bevy of new works. The composers featured run the gamut stylistically, from post-punk guitarist to literature buff to Pulitzer Prize finalist. Through their works, Munro explores the time between sleep and waking, that fertile moment when we remember and tell our tales, before drifting off to dreaming.


    Album Release: Dave Soldier & Eliza Carthy give new (and old) meaning to "Trump” with settings of Jonathan Swift poems

    September 26, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Mulatta Records announces the release of the new recording Dean Swift’s Satyrs for the Very Very Young. The Irish satirist Jonathan Swift’s topical poems are set to music by composer Dave Soldier and sung by the British folksinger Eliza Carthy. The poems are set for the trio of flute (Robert Dick), viola (Richard Auldon Clark), and harp (Stacey Shames). Two of the pieces are based on themes by Irish composer Turlough O’Carolan, a blind harpist who was Swift’s contemporary and sometimes collaborator. The others imitate traditional Irish forms but are Dave Soldier’s inventions.


    Miller Theatre opens its Jazz Series with VIJAY IYER TRIO, 10/22

    September 21, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Vijay Iyer is no stranger to Miller audiences: he played in the venue with Craig Taborn a few years back, and his works for classical players have also been featured on Miller's stage. This time around, Miller will showcase Iyer's longstanding trio. For over a decade, the group has taken inspiration from everything from electronica to Indian classical to the jazz legend Thelonious Monk, mashing up genres and styles to create surprising and invigorating new jazz. “The logic of repurposing has always been part of what the trio does,” says Iyer.


    Miller Theatre opens 2016-17 Composer Portraits with JOHN ZORN, 10/20

    September 13, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    As prolific as he is provocative, John Zorn returns to Composer Portraits with five new works, all slated to receive their world premiere performances. A dream team of new music superstars comes together to give voice to Zorn’s newest creations, affirming once more the depth and breadth of his musical palette, which draws on punk, jazz, klezmer, classical, and other genres—spanning continents and centuries.


    World Music Institute presents 3 evenings with Brazilian bossa nova star BEBEL GILBERTO at National Sawdust, 10/4-10/6

    September 6, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    As one of Brazil’s top-selling artists and with multiple Grammy nominations, world-renowned singer-songwriter Bebel Gilberto has captivated fans and earned critical acclaim worldwide as the torchbearer of Brazil’s Bossa Nova tradition. She is the daughter of Brazilian music icon João Gilberto, one of the artists to first establish the genre of Bossa Nova in the country. Her mother is acclaimed vocalist Miúcha, and her uncle the legendary Chico Buarque. Coming from this rich family tradition of Brazilian masters, Bebel’s influences are vast and eclectic. Her penchant for sonically transporting listeners to Brazil, with bright, incandescent Bossa Nova-infused melodies, lyrics about love, and her lilting performance style have earned her rave reviews of her live performances and a strong following among music enthusiasts.


    VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ, son of Malian guitar legend Ali Farka Touré, kicks off WMI Desert Blues series 10/1 at LPR

    August 31, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara,” Vieux Farka Touré is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, the artist mainly responsible for introducing Africa’s desert blues tradition to audiences around the world. Despite his father's initial discouragement, Vieux secretly took up the guitar. His first album featured tracks recorded with his late father as well as as African kora legend Toumani Diabate. Vieux subsequently branched out and developed his own sound while remaining true to the roots of his father’s music. He has gone on to receive critical acclaim from across the globe, moving out of his father’s shadow and garnering a loyal, worldwide fan-base.


    Miller Theatre announces the fall season of its critically acclaimed cocktail hour Pop-Up Concerts, 9/27-12/6

    August 24, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    “This fall, I’m very excited about our lineup of Pop-Up Concerts,” says Executive Director Melissa Smey. “Ensemble Signal will continue our celebration of Steve Reich, this time with a look at three of his most intimate works. loadbang and Yarn/Wire perform some of the most unique new music on the season. And I’m thrilled to continue our collaboration with the Curtis Institute of Music, whose young performers join us on two occasions to celebrate the future of composition and musicianship. I hope to see you often for these free evenings of adventurous music.”


    World Music Institute presents a John Coltrane Birthday Celebration with BROOKLYN RAGA MASSIVE, 9/23

    August 23, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    In celebration of John Coltrane (1926-1967) on what would have been his 90th birthday, the dynamic and hugely popular Brooklyn Raga Massive—a collective of forward thinking musicians rooted in and inspired by the classical music of India—pays tribute to his legacy through its interpretation of his music. John Coltrane remains a pivotal force in the styles of modal jazz, avant-garde jazz, hard-bop and world music. Through his truly unique music, Coltrane bridged seemingly disparate cultures the way only few figures in modern music ever did. With records like Om and songs like India, Coltrane and his legacy have led a movement towards bringing Indian music influences closer to the world of Jazz music.


    MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS 2016 to illuminate Morningside Heights, Sept. 17-24

    August 16, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The 5th annual MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS, presented by the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University, kicks off on Saturday, September 17 with the theme TRAVERSE, inspired by passages from Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry. Free lantern-building workshops will be hosted daily at Miller Theatre from September 17–23 (see below for times). The workshops culminate in an illuminated procession of community creations that will light up Morningside Park on Saturday, September 24. Information and sign-ups are available at www.morningside-lights.com.


    World Music Institute presents Ethio-Jazz legend MULATU ASTATKE in the Temple of Dendur at the Met Museum, 9/9

    August 8, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Known as the father of Ethio-Jazz, composer and multi-instrumentalist Mulatu Astatke rose to international fame in the ‘70s and ‘80s with his unique mix of traditional Ethiopian and Western music, gaining admirers such as Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. Like many great Ethiopian artists, his music was brought to prominence in later years though the Ethiopiques compilation series along with artists such as Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia, and The Wailas Band. His music became even more well known amongst Western audiences in the past decade when it was prominently featured in the score to the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers, starring Bill Murray.


    Miller Theatre opens 2016-17 season with Steve Reich Variations featuring Ensemble Signal, 9/15

    August 2, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Steve Reich turns 80 this fall, and Miller Theatre joins with concert halls around the world to celebrate this iconic American composer. Rather than reprise the composer’s classics, Miller Theatre will partner with regular Reich collaborators Ensemble Signal to spotlight two large-ensemble works deserving of greater attention: the Daniel Variations and You Are (Variations). The former is a moving tribute to the American Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded in Pakistan in 2002; the latter, an energizing meditation on the self—its essence, its relationship to the divine, and how it comes to life in our actions.


    World Music Institute announces its 2016-17 Fall/Winter season

    July 14, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    “In my second season as Artistic Director for World Music Institute, we continue the programmatic vision started last season to not only feature artists who represent traditional and folkloric music and dance, but to expand our programming to also include artists who are at the contemporary forefront and cutting-edge of the international arts community,” says Artistic Director Par Neiburger. “In addition, many of the concerts this season will showcase unique cross-cultural artistic collaborations and explorations that reflect our mission to bridge cultural barriers through the arts. We continue to offer New York audiences performances by well-known master artists from different cultures (such as King Sunny Adé who just launched our season at SummerStage in front of 5,000 people) as well as lesser known, and rarely seen performers (such as master drummer Gideon Alorwoyie, whom Steve Reich studied with during his life-changing trip to Ghana in 1970 and who greatly influenced Reich's subsequent seminal work Drumming). We are hopeful and confident that audiences will enjoy and embrace the scope and artistic quality of the program we've prepared for WMI's 2016-2017 season. Due to the increase in performances during this season, we are splitting the program calendar into a Fall/Winter announcement, published now, to be followed by a Spring/Summer announcement to be made in January.”


    New York Festival of Song announces a wide-ranging 2016-17 season

    June 29, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    “The coming season brings a refreshing blend of the new and the traditional,” says Artistic Director Steven Blier. “On our Mainstage we’ll have premieres by William Bolcom and Gabriel Kahane, along with hot-off-the-press works by Adam Guettel, not yet published. We’ll also explore the vast, opulent song repertoire of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, a fascinating composer whose music has made only cameo appearances in our previous three decades. It is also a year of reunions with valued colleagues who have not appeared on our subscription concerts for some years: Mary Testa, Hal Cazalet, John Brancy, Alexey Lavrov, and Rebecca Jo Loeb. These are powerhouse performers, and I am eating my spinach to be ready for them.”


    Miller Theatre announces 2016-2017, a vibrant season of new music, early music and jazz

    May 11, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    “Miller Theatre’s 2016-17 season celebrates a multiplicity of voices from a wide range of genres, backgrounds, and time periods,” says Executive Director Melissa Smey. “We start in September with a double bill in honor of Steve Reich’s 80th birthday and continue with seven Composer Portraits from Japan, Sweden, Canada, Austria, and the U.S., including an all-star Portrait of John Zorn. The multi-talented flutist Tim Munro makes his New York recital debut at Miller in November, with an incredibly creative contemporary program combining music, storytelling, and song. Our family programming will also grow, with a new production of The Bremen Town Band, featuring an original score I’ve commissioned from composer Courtney Bryan. In early music, we’ll help New York Polyphony celebrate their 10th year and shine a spotlight on the under-appreciated composer Loyset Compère. I’m also excited to welcome several new artists appearing in next season’s Jazz series, including trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and vocalist Alicia Olatuja. As always at Miller, there’s no shortage of new and exciting programming to experience, whatever your interests.”


    The Crossing announces NY premiere of major Gavin Bryars work for choir & PRISM sax quartet, 6/16 (new date)

    May 9, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    In its tenth anniversary season, THE CROSSING—the extraordinary chamber choir from Philadelphia, dedicated to new music and conducted by Donald Nally—comes to New York on Thursday, June 16, 2016 to perform the NY premiere of THE FIFTH CENTURY, a large-scale work for the rare combination of choir and saxophone quartet by the iconic avant-garde English composer GAVIN BRYARS. The event, which will also feature the brilliant sax quartet PRISM and will have Bryars in the audience, takes place at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Church, Wall Street (75 Broadway).


    World Music Institute opens 2016-17 season with rare show by KING SUNNY ADÉ at SummerStage, July 3 at 3pm

    May 2, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The World Music Institute (WMI) is thrilled to open its 2016-2017 season with a rare U.S. appearance by Nigerian superstar King Sunny Adé. Presented by City Parks Foundation's SummerStage in association with WMI, the concert also features fellow Nigerian Orlando Julius and The Afro Soundz, and DJ Rich Medina. The free concert takes place Sunday, July 3, 2016 at the SummerStage in Central Park. Doors open at 2:00 p.m. and entrance is first come, first served until capacity is reached. The concert begins at 3:00 p.m. and is expected to go until 7:00 p.m.


    The Crossing joins ICE & Quicksilver for epic Buxtehude project, including 7 world premieres (6/24-25 Philly; 8/21 NY)

    April 21, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    In its tenth anniversary season, THE CROSSING—the extraordinary chamber choir from Philadelphia, dedicated to new music and conducted by Donald Nally—has commissioned seven of the world's foremost composers to compose fifteen-minute musical responses to Dietrich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri (translated as "The Limbs of our Jesus"), a monumental seven-part cantata cycle composed in 1680 and known as the first Lutheran oratorio. The Crossing will intersperse the cantatas of Buxtehude's iconic sacred work with the modern-day Responses, collaborating with two equally audacious ensembles: Robert Mealy's Quicksilver Baroque, who are "revered like rock stars within the early music scene" (The New York Times) and Claire Chase's adventurous International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).


    NYFOS premieres "Compositora: Songs by Latin American Women” on 4/26 at Merkin Hall

    April 13, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song rounds out its Mainstage season on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 with Compositora: Songs by Latin American Women, a fascinating program that showcases the prodigious accomplishments of Latina composers. The concert takes place at 8:00 p.m. at Merkin Concert Hall. Breaking the long “culture of silence” imposed on Latin American women, composers like María Grever (Mexico), Violeta Parra (Chile), Odaline de la Martínez (Cuba), Ernestina Lecuona (Cuba), Chabuca Granda (Peru), Susana Baca (Peru), and Beatriz Lockhart (Venezuela) have made an irreplaceable and exuberant contribution to the world of song.


    American Academy of Arts and Letters announces winners of USA's two largest prizes for composers of vocal music

    April 12, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the winners of our country's two largest prizes for composers of vocal music: the Charles Ives Opera Prize of $50,000 and the Virgil Thomson Award of $40,000. The Virgil Thomson Award in Vocal Music, which was endowed by the Virgil Thomson Foundation, is being given to composer and performer Kate Soper. The Charles Ives Opera Prize, made possible by the royalties to Charles Ives’s music, awards $35,000 to a composer and $15,000 to a librettist. It is being given this year to composer Lewis Spratlan and librettist James Maraniss for Life is a Dream, which premiered at the Santa Fe Opera in 2010.


    Miller Theatre's Composer Portraits series presents 4 sold-out performances of MICHAEL GORDON, 5/11-5/12

    April 7, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Michael Gordon joins forces with downtown designer Jim Findlay to create an immersive environment for this uniquely intimate, multisensory Portrait. Though Gordon has ample experience working with multimedia collaborators, he’s never attempted something quite like this: a new piece that treats space and movement as an essential element of the composition, as vital as sound and time. The audience joins the performers onstage for an unforgettable 90-minute show by the intrepid members of Yarn/Wire.


    Experiments in Opera premieres "VIDEO OPERAS" at Anthology Film Archives (5 new works made for the big screen) May 6-7

    April 6, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Building on the pioneering work of composer Robert Ashley, who believed that the America of his time was a culture of TV, the fun and fearless composer collective Experiments in Opera presents VIDEO OPERAS, a collection of five premieres created specifically for the video screen (no live performers or musicians). The five videos, which range from 10–20 minutes, will be screened as one continuous program and will take place twice at Anthology Film Archives: on Friday, May 6, 2016 and Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.


    WMI presents 5th annual "Dancing the Gods" Festival of Indian Classical Dance, April 23-24

    March 24, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The World Music Institute's annual Dancing the Gods festival—which has “a record of attracting some truly godlike dancers” (The New York Times)—returns for its fifth season, April 23-24 at Symphony Space. This festival unites some of the world's most talented Indian classical dancers with live musicians for two spectacular nights of performances, lecture-demonstrations, and chat & chai artist receptions, bringing the audience closer to the artists.


    Miller Theatre introduces FRANCESCA VERUNELLI to NY with a Composer Portrait, April 21

    March 21, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    An electroacoustic composer based in Paris, Verunelli is quietly becoming an artist to watch, with commissions from many of Europe’s top ensembles. In this Portrait, Miller Theatre will introduce her music to the United States, featuring the fruits of her close collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble. A highlight of the program is a new piece for flute and electronics, composed especially for Claire Chase.


    Announcing "Soldier Kane" CD Release, Live Show and Art Kane Photo Book event at Fiorentini + Baker, 4/13

    March 14, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    HDowntown NY music legends Jonathan Kane (February, Swans, La Monte Young) and Dave Soldier (Soldier String Quartet, John Cale, Thai Elephant Orchestra), as SOLDIER KANE, harness their collective experiences into a singular sound encompassing minimalism, blues, noise, jazz, soul, country, and the great American songbook. Think Muddy Waters, György Ligeti and The Meters meet Hank Williams at Irving Berlin’s house. On Wednesday, April 13 at 8:00 p.m. at the fashion-forward Soho shoe boutique Fiorentini + Baker, Soldier Kane will play live (Soldier on violin and banjo, Kane on guitar and drums) in front of projections of Art Kane's groundbreaking photographs to celebrate the release of their new CD Soldier Kane on Mulatta Records as well as the success of the recently released Art Kane book from Reel Art Press.


    PRISM, Sō Percussion & PARTCH premiere "Color Theory” June 1-15 at Kimmel Center in Philly and Roulette in Brooklyn

    March 8, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Having done just about everything imaginable with a classical saxophone quartet, PRISM Quartet (Timothy McAllister, Taimur Sullivan, Matthew Levy, and Zachary Shemon) announces its newest project COLOR THEORY, extending its palette through collaborations with two remarkable percussion groups to make sound combinations and musical colors that have never been heard before. From June 1–15 in both Philadelphia (Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts) and New York (Roulette in Brooklyn), PRISM—dubbed “one of America’s finest saxophone quartets for three decades” by The New Yorker—will partner with the PARTCH Ensemble and Sō Percussion, and composers Ken Ueno, Steven Mackey and Stratis Minakakis to perform, explore, and record a new body of music combining saxophones with a breathtaking range of percussion instruments.


    Miller Theatre presents two world premieres in HANNAH LASH Composer Portrait, 4/7

    March 7, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The emotional intensity of Romanticism marries disciplined technique in the music of Hannah Lash. “There is a high seriousness to Hannah,” says Martin Bresnick, her mentor at the Yale School of Music. “It’s almost Puritan—it’s a single and direct expression of one’s soul. It’s a very American type, and she burns with it.” An accomplished harpist, Lash will play her own work alongside the JACK Quartet. The night also includes two world premieres, one of them a new piece for the chamber group loadbang, which has the unique lung-powered instrumentation of trumpet, trombone, bass clarinet, and baritone voice.


    France's exquisite early music group Le Poème Harmonique returns to Academy of Arts & Letters 4/3 with AIRS DE COUR

    March 3, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    A celebrated fixture of Miller’s early music series, the beguiling French ensemble Le Poème Harmonique first came to international attention over a decade ago with their performances of airs de cour, lauded as “more than a beautiful anthology, a journey into history” (Le Monde). These songs of passion and unrequited love captured the delicate beauty idealized by the French aristocracy and are a perfect fit for the ensemble’s impassioned performance style—and for the acoustically lush Academy of Arts & Letters, where this performance is presented.


    Apollo Theater & World Music Institute present "Africa Now!" featuring Bombino & Mokoomba, March 26

    March 2, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The Apollo Theater in partnership with World Music Institute presents what has become an annual highlight, AFRICA NOW!. The celebrated event returns to the historic Apollo Theater on Saturday, March 26, at 8:00 p.m. for its fourth year spotlighting emerging and established artists of today's African music scene. Drawing upon roots in Niger, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Ghana for inspiration, each of this year's artists brings a unique sound, experience and energy to the stage, integrating African identity with a cosmopolitan spirit and urban vigor.


    NYFOS "Gilbert & Sullivan" Gala to star David Hyde Pierce, Lauren Worsham, Bryce Pinkham, Hal Cazalet 4/5

    March 2, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    On Tuesday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York Festival of Song—the pioneering arts organization that continues to reinvent the song recital—presents an exhilarating 2016 spring gala entitled Topsy Turvy: The NYFOS Guide to Gilbert & Sullivan. NYFOS founders, artistic directors and pianists Steven Blier and Michael Barrett play host to an evening of songs and scenes from the Gilbert & Sullivan canon, operettas that combine the wit of Oscar Wilde with the delicacy of Mendelssohn. Dinner at the ‘21’ Club with additional performances will follow.


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of HANS ABRAHAMSEN, featuring his cult classic "Schnee" 3/24

    February 22, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s magnum opus Schnee ("Snow”) is a wealth of delicate sounds, pristine yet colorful. “Snow can transform a familiar landscape in a couple of minutes and it dampens all the usual noises,” says Abrahamsen. “It allows us to imagine something different.” Schnee brings out the many shades and moods that Abrahamsen sees behind winter’s whiteness, while its ever-shifting rhythms, tempos, and tunings demands nothing less than brilliance from the members of Ensemble Signal. Abrahamsen was recently announced as winner of the 2016 Grawemeyer Award for let me tell you, his song cycle for soprano and orchestra with text by Paul Griffiths.


    World Music Institute announces the return of its Flamenco dance festival, 3/3-3/6

    February 10, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute has long been heralded for its spectacular flamenco presentations that showcase the form's essence and authenticity. After a three-year hiatus, flamenco makes a triumphant return to World Music Institute with Festival Ay! Más Flamenco—four wide-ranging evenings of world-class dance featuring the avant-garde flair of Quebec's La Otra Orilla, the purity of Spain's eminent solo traditionalists La Lupi and Joaquin Grilo, and the exciting and renowned dancer-singer duo of wife-and-husband Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández. Symphony Space hosts the first three nights, and the final performance is held at La Nacional - Spanish Benevolent Society, which has supported the cultural enrichment of the Spanish-American and Spanish-speaking community in New York City since 1868.


    Miller Theatre presents Composer Portrait of Romanian spectralist IANCU DUMITRESCU, 3/5

    February 4, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Iancu Dumitrescu stands at the forefront of one of the 20th century’s most invisible avant-gardes: the spectral composers of Romania. Operating on the margins of a regime committed to Socialist Realism, his microscopic explorations of acoustics draw on both Western techniques and local traditions: the folk music research of Béla Bartók, Eastern Orthodox chant, and Byzantine mysticism. The resulting compositions break apart sonic conventions. They reflect, in Dumitrescu’s words, “the attempt to release or unveil the god that is living in every piece of base matter.”


    Miller Theatre's Composer Portraits series welcomes ALEX MINCEK, 2/25

    January 26, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Heralded as the “new garde of the New York avant-garde” by The New York Times, Alex Mincek draws on diverse textures, sources, and traditions; listeners might encounter echoes of anything from Morton Feldman to Stravinsky to jazz. With two world premieres—including a Miller Theatre commissioned octet for the piano and percussion quartet Yarn/Wire and the Mivos Quartet—this Portrait presents the freshest sounds from New York’s cutting-edge musicians.


    Miller Theatre's Jazz series concludes with MIGUEL ZENÓN QUARTET, 2/20

    January 25, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Pairing his love for the folk music of his native Puerto Rico with a strong, innovative style, saxophonist Miguel Zenón was awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant for “at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century.” Zenón is an artist who thinks and listens. The voice of his sax—soaring over the band’s rhythmic pulses—tells a musical story that resonates with all jazz-lovers.


    World Music Institute and Town Hall welcome LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO from South Africa, 2/19

    January 18, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute concludes the inaugural season of its Masters of African Music series on Friday, February 19 at 8:00 p.m. with South Africa’s legendary all-male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, marking the group's first Town Hall performance in nearly a decade. Just nominated for its 16th Grammy Award for Best World Music Album of 2015 for the CD Music From Inala (the group won its fourth Grammy in 2013 with the CD Singing For Peace Around The World), Ladysmith Black Mambazo also celebrates the 30th anniversary of being introduced to a worldwide audience as part of the 1986 Paul Simon album Graceland.


    Miller Theatre presents Belgian vocal ensemble VOX LUMINIS in "The Bach Dynasty" 2/13

    January 14, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    The Belgian vocal ensemble Vox Luminis—acclaimed for their “profound, rewarding, and intoxicating” (Gramophone) performances—makes their series debut with motets from one of music’s most illustrious families. Over the generations, the Bach family set the standard for German Lutheran church music: rich, warm, and powerful, the work fits its transcendent subject matter. Culminating in J.S. Bach’s dramatic Jesu meine Freude, this program lets the splendid works of Johann’s predecessors (and cousins) ring out.


    Miller Theatre's 2016 Composer Portraits series opens with ASHLEY FURE, Feb. 4

    January 6, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    Young American composer Ashley Fure is attracting international attention—and for good reason. Growing up in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula, Fure starting writing early. “I was composing out of a renegade spirit,” she says, “wildly, and without rules.” Since then, she has studied with Helmut Lachenmann, Chaya Czernowin, Brian Ferneyhough, and others, but she has retained her independent voice and energetic style. The winner of the coveted top prize at the 2014 Darmstadt festival, Fure is working on a multimedia opera, excerpts of which will have their first hearing in this Portrait.


    "NYFOS Next," the February festival of new songs, announces casts and programs (Feb 4, 11, 18)

    January 5, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song's contemporary song series NYFOS Next—dubbed "invaluable" by The New Yorker and The New York Times—enters its sixth season and continues its new format: a three-concert February mini-festival in the intimate state-of-the-art recital hall at OPERA America’s National Opera Center. The Thursday concerts take place February 4, 11, and 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.


    World Music Institute and 92Y present the extraordinary Indian violinist L. SUBRAMANIAM, Feb. 5

    January 4, 2016 — For Immediate Release

    For the first time in its distinguished history, the World Music Institute’s Masters of Indian Music series presents India’s violin icon L. SUBRAMANIAM, revered around the world as “The Paganini of Indian Classical music.” Co-presented with 92Y, the concert takes place on Friday, February 5 at 8:00 p.m. at 92nd Street Y.


    NYFOS and Juilliard present “Harry, Hoagy, and Harold” on 1/13 and 1/17

    December 10, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The New York Festival of Song marks its eleventh annual co-presentation with Juilliard’s Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts with a new program titled HARRY, HOAGY, and HAROLD. Two performances take place in January: the first on Wednesday, January 13, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School; the second presented by the Five Boroughs Music Festival on Sunday, January 17, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. at Flushing Town Hall in Queens.


    Miller Theatre announces winter Pop-Up Concerts, January 26-March 3

    December 8, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Bring a friend, grab a drink, and join some of today’s most interesting performers onstage at Miller Theatre on select Tuesday evenings. Pop-Up Concerts have become a beloved mainstay at Miller, providing free, informal performances in the early evening. The unique format allows the theater to test out new ideas, giving established ensembles the chance to experiment and introducing new performers before they hit the Miller mainstage. Free libations contribute to the laid-back ambiance. All concerts start at 6 p.m. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis, and doors open at 5:30 p.m.


    35 cities (& counting) announced for Unsilent Night 2015; Norfolk VA kicks it off tonight

    December 2, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    This December, Phil Kline’s luminous and shimmering mobile sound-sculpture UNSILENT NIGHT returns for a 24th edition in cities across the United States and abroad. Since its debut on the streets of Greenwich Village in 1992, Unsilent Night has grown organically as a true word-of-mouth phenomenon; it is now a worldwide annual holiday event and has been presented in over 100 cities and on five continents.


    The hilarious “A Goyishe Christmas To You!” with Lauren Worsham returns to HENRY's on UWS, 12/14

    November 23, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song brings back its much-anticipated program “A Goyishe Christmas to You!” on Monday, December 14, 2015 at 10:00 p.m. at HENRY's Restaurant as part of NYFOS's "After Hours" cabaret series. An instant classic, the program—devised and premiered by Steven Blier at HENRY’s in 2010, where it provoked a delirium of excitement—consists of Yuletide songs entirely written by Jewish composers, from the wickedly funny to the meltingly beautiful.


    Miller Theatre launches new family holiday tradition: "Carnival of the Animals" 12/19 (3pm and 7pm)

    November 17, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Miller Theatre inaugurates a new holiday tradition, a playful production that brings to life Saint-Saëns’ musical “salute to feathers, fur, and fins”—Carnival of the Animals. A modern twist on Victorian toy theater, this imaginative staging combines music, scenic elements, puppetry, and movement, plus the clever verses of Ogden Nash. Curtain-raisers from the 16th Century to present-day set the stage and kindle the spirit of the holidays. Just about an hour in length, this family-friendly presentation is the perfect December treat to delight imaginative audiences of all ages.


    Miller Theatre's Jazz series presents Rudresh Mahanthappa in "Bird Calls" 12/12

    November 12, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Rudresh Mahanthappa has made a name for himself with his intoxicating blend of jazz and Southern Indian music and the “bladelike articulation” (The New York Times) of his sax. This performance weaves in a new component: the elegant and electrifying influences of Charlie Parker. In keeping with the free spirit of jazz, Mahanthappa lets Bird’s style inspire him to new compositions, and the result is music that swings, trills, and trembles in turns.


    Miller Theatre welcomes THE TALLIS SCHOLARS in "Christmas Across Centuries," from Tallis to Pärt, 12/5

    November 6, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The peerless Tallis Scholars return to the picturesque sanctuary of St. Mary’s with a celebration of Christmas. The holiday mass Puer natus est nobis captures Renaissance master Thomas Tallis at his most splendid and complex, perfectly paired with celebratory works by his contemporary John Sheppard. The program also includes a pair of works by Arvo Pärt, whose crystal clear counterpoint is a perfect fit for The Tallis Scholars. Pärt’s love of polyphony, and his respect for his 16th-century forebears, shines in these graceful works.


    Bagpipes, gamelan, opera & surf rock: it's a Matthew Welch Residency at The Stone, December 8-13

    November 5, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Experiments in Opera co-founder MATTHEW WELCH launches his first residency at the East Village avant-garde haven The Stone from December 8-13, 2015—a jam-packed premiere-filled series of 13 concerts over 6 days. Concerts take place daily at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (except 12/13) with tickets ($15-$20 general admission) at the door.


    NYFOS premieres "Schubert|Beatles" with Paul Appleby on anniversary of Lennon's death, Dec 8, Merkin Hall

    November 3, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song premieres SCHUBERT|BEATLES on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. at Merkin Concert Hall, as part of NYFOS's classic long-running Mainstage series. The concert interweaves two meteoric musical careers that captured the ethos of their era, a dual repertoire of songs so iconic as to have assumed the status of folk music: Franz Schubert and the team of Paul McCartney and John Lennon (with contributions from bandmate George Harrison).


    Cuban trumpet legend ARTURO SANDOVAL comes to NY for special tribute to mentor Dizzy Gillespie, 12/2

    October 29, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    On the heels of Chucho Valdés' Irakere 40 show at Town Hall on November 10, the World Music Institute’s inaugural Masters of Cuban Music series culminates on Wednesday, December 2 at 8:00 p.m. with a performance by one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of our time, ARTURO SANDOVAL. Co-presented by 92Y and World Music Institute, the concert is a special tribute to Sandoval's teacher and mentor Dizzy Gillespie. A protégé of the legendary jazz master, his 2012 album Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You) earned Sandoval his 10th Grammy Award.


    Budapest's Modern Art Orchestra to play 3 generations of Hungarian composers in NY (11/11) and DC (11/8)

    October 20, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Hungary's internationally renowned MODERN ART ORCHESTRA performs a pair of concerts on November 9 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and November 11 at Symphony Space in New York City, presented by the adventurous Balassi Institute, Hungarian Cultural Center New York. The performances herald the return of the ensemble to the U.S. following their 2014 outing, which saw MAO triumph on both the West and East Coast. The New York show will feature as special guest the jazz saxophone legend Dave Liebman.


    Miller Theatre's Early Music series welcomes back NEW YORK POLYPHONY on 11/14

    October 14, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    New York’s hometown heroes of early music have garnered international acclaim as “singers of superb musicianship and vocal allure” (The New Yorker). In this program, the twice Grammy-nominated male quartet performs an array of elegiac sacred works from across the centuries. From Renaissance Spain and Revolutionary Russia to modern day Norway, these works of longing and despair are transformed into soaring, sonorous illustrations of light in darkness through New York Polyphony’s impassioned singing.


    Awesome Tapes From Africa and Gato Loco kick off WMI "Global/Local" initiative at BAMcafé 11/20-21 (free)

    October 13, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute launches GLOBAL/LOCAL, a new element of WMI programs dedicated to celebrating and supporting the rich diversity of the world music and dance artists living in and coming from the New York area. In addition to this dedicated weekend at BAMcafé in November, numerous local artists appear throughout the season as opening acts, giving them exposure to a much larger audience than they would normally have, and simultaneously exposing WMI's audience to genres that they might not discover on their own. Examples include the local Cape Verdean singer Fantcha (who opened for Brazilian star Ana Carolina at Town Hall 9/17) and the local Afrobeat group Underground System (who opened for Afrobeat legend Orlando Julius at Le Poisson Rouge 9/25).


    Miller Theatre's Jazz series opens with Anat Cohen and her Quartet in "Celebrando Brasil" 11/7

    October 8, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Dynamic bandleader Anat Cohen’s clarinet sings out with the many musical voices of Brazil. Voted "Clarinetist of the Year" for the past eight years by the Jazz Journalists Association, Cohen’s lyricism and versatility have helped to re-introduce the clarinet as a powerful jazz instrument. “When I play the clarinet I am 100 percent myself. It is as if it is part of my body,” she said. “Let me just read a melody and make it as sweet as I can.”


    WMI presents CHUCHO VALDÉS in a tribute to his groundbreaking Afro-Cuban group Irakere, 11/10 Town Hall

    October 7, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Bringing Bach to unexpected places is nothing new for Matt Haimovitz. In Manhattan alone, his performances have taken him from the High Line to Carnegie Hall to CBGB. Now, through a special partnership with Miller Theatre, he will animate the Columbia campus with spontaneous performances (20-45 minutes) during a multi-day residency, combining the music of Bach with six new overtures by living composers commissioned by Haimovitz for each suite. These new works will be presented alongside the complete cello suites of Bach over the course of a two-night concert series at Miller Theatre.


    NYFOS season opener: "From Russia to Riverside Drive: Rachmaninoff & Friends" 11/10 NYC, 11/8 Boston

    October 5, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Before leaving his homeland, Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote some of the most ravishing songs in the repertoire—the last hurrah of the Romantic era. When he came to America he never again turned his hand to voice-and-piano music. But from his perch in the 1920's at 33 Riverside Drive and later 505 West End Avenue, he found himself surrounded by a new, modern spirit: the driving rhythms of the machine age and the irresistible appeal of jazz. NYFOS delves into the soulful cry of Rachmaninoff's Russian songs and also samples the music he heard during his years in the States.


    Cellist Matt Haimovitz to pair Bach with 6 new solo cello pieces at Miller Theatre & around Columbia's campus 10/21-24

    September 24, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Bringing Bach to unexpected places is nothing new for Matt Haimovitz. In Manhattan alone, his performances have taken him from the High Line to Carnegie Hall to CBGB. Now, through a special partnership with Miller Theatre, he will animate the Columbia campus with spontaneous performances (20-45 minutes) during a multi-day residency, combining the music of Bach with six new overtures by living composers commissioned by Haimovitz for each suite. These new works will be presented alongside the complete cello suites of Bach over the course of a two-night concert series at Miller Theatre.


    Orlando Consort premieres medieval score for Dreyer's film "The Passion of Joan of Arc" 10/14 & 10/16

    September 16, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The trial of Joan of Arc was immortalized in Carl Theodor Dreyer’s cinematic masterpiece La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, widely considered one of the greatest films of all time. Maria Falconetti gives a mesmerizing performance as the Maid of Orleans, captured in expressive close-ups that invite the audience into the whirling passion of her final defense.

    In this performance, marking the North American debut of the project, the Orlando Consort breathes new life into this classic silent film with an original medieval score, a creative compilation of pieces composed during Joan’s 15th-century lifetime. Cascading polyphony captures her suffering and transcendence, and the unaccompanied voices of the Orlando Consort fittingly evoke the voices of the saints who first called Joan to her cause.


    William Burroughs' "Cut-Up" experiments inspire 11 composers' new vocal works, 10/16 at The Stone

    September 15, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Experiments in Opera—the composer-driven collective with an air of mad scientists in the lab—opens its 2015-16 season with the premiere of 11 new commissions for ensemble and voice in The Travel Agency is On Fire: Burroughs Cuts Up the Great Bards, presented Friday, October 16, 2015 at the East Village avant-garde haven The Stone. Two sets take place at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Each set features different songs.


    Miller Theatre, ICE, JACK and Schick celebrate John Luther Adams with 3 large-scale NY premieres Oct 7, 9, 10

    September 10, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    American composer John Luther Adams has always forged his own path. From his small cabin in Alaska, he has written works of great beauty and depth, ultimately earning him the Pulitzer Prize. Listeners will dive deep into Adams’ music with this trilogy of unforgettable large-scale memorial works—none of them previously played in New York—composed in honor of those who influenced him most: his mother, father, and friend and mentor Lou Harrison.


    Two African legends come to NY: Orlando Julius at LPR 9/25; Kassé Mady Diabaté at Met Museum 10/1

    August 25, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute debuts its brand-new series Masters of African Music with two legends, Orlando Julius & the Afro Soundz at LPR and Kassé Mady Diabaté, featuring Ballaké Sissoko at the Met Museum. “We are very excited to bring these artists to New York,” says artistic director Par Neiburger. “Orlando Julius is a true legend and was one of the original Afrobeat artists, dating back to the 1960's. His music was very ahead of its time and he is considered to have been a big influence on the funk movement that later developed in America. Kassé Mady Diabaté is one of the most widely celebrated singers in Mali, but he has never had a solo tour of the United States. This is the first time that he will ever perform a solo show in New York, and he will be backed by an incredible group of musicians including Ballaké Sissoko on the kora.”


    Experiments in Opera announces 2015-16 season at The Stone and Anthology Film Archives

    August 24, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    While the world is awash in new opera ventures, Experiments in Opera stands out from the crowd. A composer-driven collective with an air of mad scientists in the lab, EiO is interested in new formulas, not traditional ones, questioning what opera really can be in the 21st Century. The company was founded in 2010 by a trio of “talented, fearless, and congenial” (The Brooklyn Rail) composer-performers in Brooklyn: Matthew Welch, Jason Cady, and Aaron Siegel. In the personalities of these three creators, there's a certain amount of anarchy, wit, and invention that guarantees though they may be dead serious, it will be a fun ride.


    MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS 2015 to illuminate Morningside Heights, Sept. 19-26

    August 20, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The 4th annual MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS, presented by the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University, kicks off on Saturday, September 19 with the theme NEW YORK NOCTURNE. Free lantern-making workshops, open to all, will be hosted daily at Miller Theatre from September 19–25. The week culminates in an illuminated parade of community creations that will light up Morningside Park on Saturday, September 26. All are welcome to participate; information and sign-ups are available at www.morningside-lights.com.


    Miller Theatre announces fall Pop-Up Concerts, September 29–December 8

    August 17, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    “For me, there’s no better way to spend Tuesday evening than on our stage at a Pop-Up Concert,” says executive director Melissa Smey. “Our fall lineup features a series of performances that spotlight the solo talents of the incredible musicians who perform with Ensemble Signal. We’ll also welcome Brooklyn’s TILT Brass and young musicians from the Curtis Institute of Music to our stage. I look forward to gathering onstage with our audience to raise a glass to these amazing artists.”


    Ambitious 4-night LUSOPHONE FESTIVAL opens 9/15 with Os Mutantes, the kings of Brazilian psychedelia

    August 11, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute opens its spectacular 30th Anniversary Season with a four-night cross-cultural Lusophone Festival, featuring music from the Portuguese-speaking world with artists from Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, Angola, and Mozambique. From September 15-18, back-to-back concerts take place at venues around town including Le Poisson Rouge, Drom NYC, and The Town Hall.


    Gaby Sappington named Executive Director of World Music Institute

    August 6, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    World Music Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Gaby Sappington as Executive Director. Gaby brings substantial experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors to her new role at the start of WMI's upcoming 30th Anniversary Season. “I’m excited about the opportunity to combine my passion for music and dance from around the world with my leadership experience in the non-profit and corporate world,” says Sappington. “I look forward to applying what I’ve learned towards increasing the visibility, funding and relevance of WMI in New York City’s diverse communities.


    Opening Night at Miller Theatre: RUN TIME ERROR, featuring Simon Steen-Andersen and JACK Quartet, 9/17

    August 4, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    What if music wasn’t just heard, but seen? Simon Steen-Andersen’s innovative compositions blur the line between contemporary music and performance art. In his video work Run Time Error, he blazes a musical trail through the theater’s backstage spaces, making the building itself sing by playing the furniture, walls, plumbing—whatever crosses his path. (He’ll create a new version during his residency at Miller, and remix it live in performance.)


    World Music Institute announces an adventurous 30th Anniversary season

    July 22 2015 — For Immediate Release

    “I'm truly ecstatic about our 30th Anniversary season,” says artistic director Par Neiburger. “We have the opportunity to bring legendary artists to New York City, such as Chucho Valdes, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Buena Vista Social Club, Amjad Ali Khan, and Arturo Sandoval in celebration of this historic season. It is also of paramount importance for us to push the envelope of what World Music means by bringing over such avant-garde legends as Os Mutantes, and highlighting contemporary artists such as Bombino, Ana Carolina, and Awesome Tapes from Africa. We will also bring luminaries such as L. Subramaniam, Afro-beat legend Orlando Julius, and artists such as Kasse Mady Diabate for his first ever solo tour of the United States. The latter is in keeping with our tradition of bringing artists to New York that may otherwise not have the opportunity to perform here.”


    Neuroscientist and musical polymath DAVE SOLDIER releases 2 major recordings

    June 30 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Neuroscientist/composer/inventor of the cross-genre string quartet DAVE SOLDIER releases two epic collections on Mulatta Records that span 30 years of solo piano and string quartet music: In Black and White Steven Beck performs nearly all of Soldier’s solo piano music on a double CD; and In Four Color PUBLIQuartet performs Soldier’s three string quartets and Soldier String Quartet performs his shorter quartet pieces on a triple CD. Soldier lives a double life as a composer and neuroscientist. As Dr. David Sulzer, his Sulzer Lab at Columbia University Medical Center is known for its research into Parkinson's Disease, schizophrenia, and drug addiction. His team made international news (including the front page of The New York Times) in August 2014 with a groundbreaking discovery for the possible cause of autism.


    New York Festival of Song announces 2015-16 season, from Schubert & the Beatles to Latina & contemporary composers

    June 4, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    New York Festival of Song, the only New York organization devoted solely to the astonishing variety and power of song, announces its 2015-16 season, including four brand new Mainstage programs from Schubert and the Beatles to rarely-heard Latina composers, a collaboration with The New York Philharmonic's Rachmaninoff festival, the recital debut of two rising vocalists Soprano María Valdés and baritone Efraín Solís and the return of NYFOS favorites Paul Appleby, Dina Kuznetsova, Sari Gruber, Andrew Garland.


    Miller Theatre announces 2015-2016, a premiere-filled season of new music, early music and jazz

    May 7, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    “The 2015-2016 season at Miller Theatre brings together an amazing lineup of performances, celebrating music from Romania to Renaissance England to Brazil,” says executive director Melissa Smey. “We’ll welcome back many of our favorite artists, including John Luther Adams, Michael Gordon, Le Poème Harmonique, and Stefon Harris, as well as highlight some of America’s brightest emerging composers. We’ll explore old music in new contexts, from cellist Matt Haimovitz’s spontaneous performances of Bach across the Columbia University campus to a special project with the Orlando Consort: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s iconic silent film, La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, accompanied by live music from Joan’s own era. Plus, we’re expanding our lineup of community events with a theatrical performance of Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals inspired by Victorian toy theatre. It promises to be an exceptional season.”


    Hungarian Cultural Center announces rare double-bill: Glass House Orchestra & Muzsikás; 3 shows in NYC, DC, Ottawa June 15, 17, 18

    May 6, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Following last year's thrilling debut at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Kennedy Center, the Hungarian Cultural Center New York is pleased to announce the return of the international supergroup Glass House Orchestra, led by Grammy Award winning trumpeter Frank London. This time they are joined by the legendary Hungarian folk music group Muzsikás for a trio of concerts in New York City, Washington, D.C and Ottawa, Canada.


    Update: R. B. SCHLATHER's exhibition of Handel's opera ORLANDO has begun at Whitebox Art Center, with live streaming; performances April 26/27

    April 10, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    New details announced for the latest opera/gallery installation from the young visionary director R. B. Schlather—And update to the original press release, includes ‘10 Things To Know’ about R. B. Schlather's Orlando.


    Miller Theatre's "Bach, Revisited" series finale: SOFIA GUBAIDULINA + BACH, 5/8

    April 7, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Sofia Gubaidulina shares a special affinity with Bach: both artists’ music is influenced by their faith, and they share a unique blend of emotional transcendence and compositional rigor. Gubaidulina’s Chaconne for piano directly reflects her interest in Baroque forms, while her Meditation is both literally based on a Bach cantata tune and formally inspired by numerology, the practice of using spiritually or otherwise significant numbers – a technique Bach himself employed. Signal will be joined by the “vigorously intelligent” harpsichordist Kristian Bezuidenhout, praised for his “extraordinary new ideas about old music” (Boston Globe).


    NYFOS concludes Mainstage series with "Letters From Spain: A World of Song in Spanish Poetry" – 4/28 in NYC, 4/30 in DC

    April 2, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    “There are plenty of musical surprises in Letters from Spain,” says NYFOS artistic director Steven Blier. “Wolf and Schumann sung in Spanish, haunting Iberian folk songs sung in Russian, the pristine beauty of Carlos Guastavino's music, and extended excerpts from Bolcom's Lorca Songs (a New York premiere). This cycle contains some of Bill's most dazzling music, and I've become obsessed with Lorca—a fascinating artist, an extraordinary life. This beautiful cast is primed to take on the duende (soul) and salero (spice) of Spain: amazing voices, deep souls. Don't miss this one!”


    Miller Theatre launches innovative new series CANINE COMPOSERS on April 16

    April 1, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Man’s best friend takes the stage this spring, as Miller Theatre opens the doors to a brand new audience with Canine Composers. These musical mammals have built up refined auditory senses through years of intensive whistle trainings and study with verbal commands, as well as centuries of breeding. They have unlocked previously underexplored sonic registers, a skill matched by a happy-go-lucky attitude in tackling the most complex music. Plus, they’re dogs.


    World Music Institute presents 4th annual "Dancing the Gods" Festival of Indian Classical Dance, April 25-26

    March 26, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The World Music Institute is proud to present the fourth annual DANCING THE GODS festival, to be held April 25 and April 26 at NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place). This festival unites some of the world's most talented Indian classical dancers with live musicians for two spectacular nights of performances and free activities that bring the audience closer to the artists. Featuring Rama Vaidyanathan, Dakshina Vaidyanathan, Prashant Shah, and the Parul Shah Company.


    Miller Theatre presents the season finale of Composer Portraits: ANNA CLYNE on April 23

    March 23, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Though her earliest published pieces are still little more than a decade old, Anna Clyne is quickly becoming one of the most sought after electro-acoustic composers active today. Since 2009, she has been Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, whose music director, Riccardo Muti, praised her as “an artist who writes from the heart, who defies categorization.” Clyne frequently collaborates with filmmakers, visual artists, and choreographers to transform her “dazzlingly inventive” (Time Out New York) compositions into multi-sensory experiences.


    World Music Institute & 92Y announce rare show by Nigeria’s legendary KING SUNNY ADÉ on 6/26, launching WMI's 2015-16 season

    March 19, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The World Music Institute and 92nd Street Y announce a rare U.S. appearance by Nigerian superstar King Sunny Adé & His African Beats on Friday, June 26, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. at 92Y, to kick off WMI's 30th Anniversary Season, the first curated by recently appointed artistic director Par Neiburger.


    Opera director R. B. SCHLATHER brings mischief & magic to the Bowery with Handel's ORLANDO, 4/8-4/27

    March 9, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The Lower East Side is witnessing the emergence of a startling talent—opera director R. B. Schlather. Following his critically acclaimed opera installation of Alcina last year, Schlather returns to Whitebox Art Center from April 8-27, 2015 with ORLANDO, the second in his trilogy of Handel operas that connect his passions for site-specific staging, baroque opera, and performance art.


    Miller Theatre's "Bach, Revisited" series continues with HELMUT LACHENMANN + BACH, 4/9

    March 4, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    It would be difficult to overstate the influence of Bach’s works for solo strings, which raised the bar on what could be achieved with a single instrument, both musically and technically. More recently, Helmut Lachenmann has embarked on a similar quest to expand performers’ sonic palettes, exploring nontraditional techniques and sounds. This program creates an eye-opening dialogue between the two, featuring Bach and Lachenmann works for solo violin and cello, an early Lachenmann trio, plus a unique collaboration across the centuries: a contemporary third part written as a companion to Bach’s Two-Part Invention.


    Miller Theatre announces spring Pop-Up Concerts, April 14-June 3

    March 3, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    “It is a delight to announce the third (and final) installment of Pop-Up Concerts this season,” says executive director Melissa Smey. “These concerts will feature a diverse range of works, from modern master Elliott Carter to rising star Timo Andres to the Soviet composer Mieczysław Weinberg. This vibrant series is an integral part of our season, and I can’t wait to hear these next several programs.”


    Miller Theatre concludes 2014-15 Early Music series with Cleveland's LES DÉLICES in "Myths & Allegories," 3/28

    February 17, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The shipwrecked hero Ulysses is the inspiration for this encore performance by the Cleveland-based Les Délices, with special guest soprano Clara Rottsolk. Selections from Jean-Féry Rebel’s little-known opera Ulysse provide the centerpiece, with a focus on a love triangle between the witch Circe, Ulysses, and his wife Penelope. Works by Thomas-Louis Bourgeois and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre—a child prodigy, and the first French woman ever to compose an opera—allow Les Délices to showcase a range of styles, as well as their own far-reaching talents.


    New York Festival of Song's 2015 Gala honors its rising stars, with Paul Appleby, Julia Bullock, John Brancy & more, March 30

    February 17, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG announces its 2015 spring gala, Cream of the Crop, celebrating NYFOS’ commitment to emerging artists. The concert takes place Monday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, followed by supper at the ‘21’ Club. NYFOS founders, artistic directors and pianists Steven Blier and Michael Barrett play host to an exciting line-up of rising stars, all whom have grown up in the NYFOS family of emerging artist programs and residencies. They include soprano Julia Bullock, mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen, tenors Paul Appleby and Theo Lebow, and baritone John Brancy.


    WMI presents Colombia to Brooklyn: GREGORIO URIBE BIG BAND in "World to Brooklyn" dance-party series at Roulette, 3/14

    February 11, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Led by the Colombian-born charismatic singer and accordionist Gregorio Uribe, this 16-piece orchestra blends cumbia and other Colombian rhythms with powerful big band arrangements. Joining the group for the evening as a guest artist is singer and violinist Mireya Ramos.


    NYFOS presents an Italian songfest: "BEL CANTO/CAN BELTO" with Caramoor's Vocal Rising Stars at Merkin Concert Hall, 3/17

    February 11, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Five young artists will take the audience on an exploration of Italian song, from the lyricism of the Romantic era into the sophisticated tone poems of the verismo era, paired with a wide array of music by Italian-Americans. The program includes songs, arias, and ensemble pieces by Giuseppe Verdi, Gioacchino Rossini, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Ferruccio Busoni, Alfredo Catalani, John Musto, John Corigliano, Dominick Argento, and Harry Warren (the composer of 42nd Street, born Salvatore Guaragna).


    WMI presents the 30th Anniversary Concert of CHERISH THE LADIES, the all-female Irish music group, 3/7

    February 9, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The all-female Irish-American ensemble returns to their New York home for a one-night anniversary concert that reunites them with former members and longtime collaborators. What began as a concert series organized by folklorist/musician Mick Moloney in 1985 has developed into one of the most successful touring ensembles in Celtic music, renowned for its virtuoso instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step-dancing.


    Miller Theatre opens the 2015 Bach, Revisited series with MICHAEL GORDON + BACH, 3/12

    February 9, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon blends "the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism" (The New York Times). He is constantly staking out new territory—a quest exemplified by Hyper, his musical manifestation of a never-ending staircase that, curiously, delivers the climber back to the point where they began. This same inquisitiveness draws him to Bach, a harmonic and structural innovator. The program pairs Gordon’s chamber pieces with two of Bach’s concertos.


    Miller Theatre's Jazz series presents Aaron Diehl Quartet, 3/7

    February 4, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Two of last season's biggest successes reunite for this performance, as electrifying vibraphonist Warren Wolf joins the Aaron Diehl Trio. Diehl's passion, technical mastery, and love of both jazz and classical music find a partner in Wolf, his friend and a fellow young bandleader with "firecracker assurance" (The New York Times). The quartet's dynamic sounds draws inspiration from John Lewis' Modern Jazz Quartet with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, an appreciation jazz lovers will recognize in the quartet's captivating mix of bebop and hard-swing with melodic precision.


    Miller Theatre presents a premiere-filled Composer Portrait of AUGUSTA READ THOMAS, March 5

    February 3, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Augusta Read Thomas wowed audiences and critics at her first Miller Portrait a decade ago, and she remains among the most prominent composers of her generation. Now she returns with a program including Resounding Earth, a percussion tour-de-force that brings together bells from around the world to create a “transfixing shimmer” (The New York Times). Another highlight is the world premiere of an octet composed especially for the occasion.


    WMI's Global Salon series continues with powerhouse Jewish female voices: Galeet Dardashti & Muhabbat Shamayeva, 2/25

    February 2, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    This program showcases two powerhouse voices: Bukharian Jewish singer Muhabbat Shamayeva, one of Uzbekistan's leading vocalists; and Middle Eastern singer and composer Galeet Dardashti, heir to a family tradition of distinguished Persian and Jewish musicians including her grandfather, the renowned classical singer, Yona Dardashti.


    Miller Theatre presents London's Renaissance vocal ensemble STILE ANTICO in "From the Imperial Court," 2/28

    January 22, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Whether they’re performing at the BBC Proms or alongside rock icon Sting, the members of Stile Antico fuse rich expressivity with technical prowess that “never disappoints” (The Guardian). These masterful interpreters of Renaissance choral music return to Miller with a program that captures triumphs and tragedies from the Imperial courts of the Hapsburgs. Across the generations, in times of peace, victory, and sorrow, the era’s finest composers echoed the majesty of royal life with elegant and richly textured works.


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of STEFANO GERVASONI, 2/19

    January 20, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Italian composer Stefano Gervasoni studied composition with European masters such as Luigi Nono, Helmut Lachenmann, Brian Ferneyhough, and György Ligeti; his work reflects these influences, as well as his time spent at IRCAM. “Yet despite this range of international influences, something identifiably Italianate has persisted in his music,” claims The Guardian’s Andrew Clements, “whether in its moments of playful allusion or expansive lyricism, its disorienting changes of direction or its Sciarrino-like scurries and whispering asides.”


    PRISM Quartet's 1st CD of 2015: "Heritage/Evolution" on Innova (street date: January 27)

    January 14, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Constantly in search of new musical terrain, the PRISM Quartet (Timothy McAllister, Taimur Sullivan, Matthew Levy, and Zachary Shemon)—“one of America’s finest saxophone quartets for three decades” (The New Yorker)—celebrates its 30th anniversary with a groundbreaking recording: Heritage/Evolution, Volume 1. This 2-CD set features world premiere recordings of new works—all commissioned by the classical PRISM Quartet—composed and performed by six jazz saxophonists who defy convention: Steve Lehman, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Tim Ries, Miguel Zenón, Dave Liebman and Greg Osby. Each sax player performs his piece alongside PRISM.


    NYFOS Next" Feb fest to debut songs by Adam Guettel, George Steel, Gabriel Kahane, arias from new operas by Paul Moravec & Bright Sheng

    January 9, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    The New York Festival of Song's “invaluable contemporary-music series” (The New Yorker) NYFOS Next enters its fifth season and shifts to a new format—a three-concert mini-festival during the month of February. The series is set to showcase new works from a host of composers including Adam Guettel, Gabriel Kahane, George Steel, and a preview of a pair of highly anticipated new operas: Paul Moravec's The Shining and Bright Sheng's The Dream of Red Chamber.


    Cuba to Brooklyn: vocal sensation PEPITO GOMEZ opens WMI's "World to Brooklyn" series at Roulette, 2/7

    January 8, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    José “Pepito” Gómez’s “beneficent alarm” (The New York Times) of a voice has carried him on a fast track from playing with local bands in his hometown of Camagüey, Cuba to becoming lead singer of Maravilla de Florida, Charanga Latina Orchestra, and Habana Ensemble, respectively. He has toured with the late Compay Segundo of the Buena Vista Social Club, and was a lead singer of the Cuban mega-band, Pupy y Los Que Son Son before moving to the U.S. Backed by a powerhouse ensemble of NYC’s Cuban all-stars, he moves from heart-wrenching romantic ballads to high-octane timba arrangements, replete with torrents of improvisations and frenzy-inducing call-and-response.


    Columbia presents John Luther Adams with William Schuman Award; 3-night tribute concert to take place at Miller Theatre, Oct. 2015

    January 8, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Columbia University School of the Arts is pleased to announce that John Luther Adams is the newest recipient of the William Schuman Award, a major recognition given periodically over the past three decades. Named for its first recipient, the award, in the form of a direct, unrestricted grant of $50,000, is one of the largest given to an American composer.


    Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of MISSY MAZZOLI with world premiere commission for ETHEL, 2/5

    January 6, 2015 — For Immediate Release

    Versatile and dynamic, American composer Missy Mazzoli has been called “Brooklyn’s post-millennial Mozart” (Time Out New York). Her work includes commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Kronos Quartet, the LA Phil, and the Whitney Museum of Art, as well as a co-commission from Miller Theatre—Quartet for Queen Mab—that will have its world premiere as part of her Composer Portrait, performed by ETHEL. This concert highlights Mazzoli’s diverse works for strings, from solo pieces for cello and violin to works such as Harp and Altar, a love song to the Brooklyn Bridge that fuses string quartet with pre-recorded electronics and the poetry of Hart Crane.