music box - Metropolis Ensemble

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KATI AGÓCS: COMPOSER Composer Kati Agócs was born in Windsor, Canada, of Hungarian and American background, and has been on the composition faculty of the New England Conservatory in Boston since 2008. The Boston Globe recently praised the ”fluidity and austere beauty" of her music, while The New York Times has characterized it as "striking" and "filled with attractive ideas" and has described her vocal music as possessing "an almost 19th-century naturalness." A citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (for the 2008 Charles Ives Fellowship) noted the "melody, drama, and clear design" of her music, its "soulful directness", and its "naturalness of dissonance." Recent works include Vessel, on which she collaborated with Metropolis Ensemble as part of Meet the Composer’s Three-City Dash; Immutable Dreams, a Jerome Foundation commission which has been programmed by over eight different ensembles since its 2007 premiere, including a national tour by Eighth Blackbird; Elysium, commissioned by the National Arts Centre and performed as part of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver; Perpetual Summer, commissioned for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada's 50th Anniversary and awarded Special Distinction in ASCAP's 2011 Rudolph Nissim Prize (one of only three works selected by a jury of conductors out of over 260 anonymously-submitted new orchestral scores); and Supernatural Love, a violin-piano duet described by Fanfare Magazine as "serene and unworldly, exploring space with sound in a way that seems to evoke the time before the universe hosted life." Kati Agócs earned Doctoral and Masters degrees from The Juilliard School, where her principal teacher was Milton Babbitt, and was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center with the ASCAP Leonard Bernstein Fellowship. KINAN AZMEH: COMPOSER Hailed as a "virtuoso" by The New York Times and "Incredibly Rich sound" by the CBC, Kinan Azmeh is one of Syria's rising stars. His utterly distinctive sound across different musical genres is now fast gaining international recognition. Born in Damascus, Kinan was the first Arab to win the premier prize at the 1997 Nicolai Rubinstein International Competition, Moscow. A graduate of New York's Juilliard school as a student of Charles Neidich, and of both the Damascus High institute of Music where he studied with Shukry Sahwki, Nicolay Viovanof and Anatoly Moratof, and Damascus University's School of Electrical Engineering, Kinan is currently finishing his doctoral work at the City University of New York. Kinan has appeared worldwide as a soloist, composer and improviser. Notable appearances include: Opera Bastille, Paris; Tchaikovsky Grand Hall, Moscow; Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the UN's general assembly, New York; the Royal Albert hall, London; Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; der Philharmonie; Berlin; the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, Washington DC; the Mozarteum, Salzburg and the Damascus opera house for its opening concert in his native Syria. As classical Clarinetist, he has appeared as soloist with the Bavarian radio orchestra, the West-eastern Divan orchestra, the Kiev Camerata, the Corasara Orchestra, and the Syrian symphony Orchestra among others.; and has shared the stage with Marcel Khalife, Daniel Barenboim, Zakir Hussein Francois Rabbath, Solhi-al-Wadi, Manfred Leuchter, Kevork Mourad, and members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Compositions include several works for solo, orchestra, and chamber music; film, live illustration, and electronics. His discography include three albums with his ensemble HEWAR, several soundtracks for film and dance, and a duo album with pianist Dinuk Wijeratne. He serves as artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Music Ensemble, with whom he released an album of new contemporary Syrian chamber music written especially for the ensemble by various composers and is on the advisory board of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. DAVID BRUCE: COMPOSER Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1970, David Bruce grew up in England and now enjoys a growing reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, his third Carnegie Hall commission Steampunk (2011), follows Piosenki (2006), and Gumboots (2008) which have both gone on to be widely performed by leading ensembles around the world. His song-cycle The North Wind was a Woman was commissioned by the Lincoln Center for Dawn Upshaw for the gala opening of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center's 2009 season. In the UK, Bruce has a new chamber opera in development with the Opera Group and ROH2, based on Philip Pullman's story The Firework Maker's Daughter (for a planned UK tour in Winter/Spring 2012/13); a new commission from the London Philharmonic Orchestra for their BrightSparks series; and Fire, a new work for massed choir, horns and fire artist, one of 20 '20x12' commissions celebrating the Cultural Olympiad. In great demand as a composer, Bruce continues to work with some of the world's leading musicians. In August 2011 violinist Daniel Hope together with the David Orlowsky Trio and cellist Vincent Segal premiered his 45 minute chamber work The Given Note, co-commissioned by the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Germany and the Savannah Festival USA; and for 2012 Bruce is working on a new commission from Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. Bruce's music draws inspiration from folk-traditions from around the world. He particularly enjoys collaborating with musicians who have strong connections with both classical and folk/world traditions, such as accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman, mandolinist Avi Avital and clarinettist David Orlowsky. Bruce also enjoys close working relationships with some of the finest musicians of the younger generation including Ensemble ACJW; harpist Bridget Kibbey; the Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble in New York; Chroma in the UK; and Art of Elan in San Diego (whose commission The Eye of Night was premiered in Jan 2011 and will shortly be recorded). SUSIE IBARRA: COMPOSER Composer/Percussionist Susie Ibarra resides in New York and has performed as a soloist and collaborator in various configurations. Ibarra is a Vic Firth, Paiste and Yamaha Drum Artist. Ibarra composes and performs regularly with composer/percussionist Roberto Rodriguez in their eco-electronica duo Electric Kulintang, childrens world music with Mundo Niatos, and chamber jazz ensemble Susie Ibarra Quartet, as well as various interdisciplinary art collaborations with poet Yusef Komunyakaa and visual artist Makoto Fujimura. She has recorded numerous works as a leader and collaborator. Recent Works Include: Drum Sketches,solo percussion, Dialects by Electric Kulintang, Summer Fantasy and Folklore commissioned by MoMa Summergarden and Jazz at Lincoln Center, A Translation of Silk with Yusef Komunyakaa premiered at the Harlem Stage, Canciones de Cuna / Lullabies by Mundo Niatos, Madre Selva, a soundtrack video installation by Juan Sanchez in tribute to Ana Mendieta, Kit: Music for
SUSIE IBARRA: COMPOSER (CONTINUED) Four Pianists commissioned by Ars Nova Workshop, War Horses music by Electric Kulintang and poetry by Yusef Komunyakaa commissioned by Isamu Noguchi Museum, These Trees That Speak commissioned by Ethos Percussion Quartet, Pintados Dream/ The Painteds Dream a concerto for drums , visual art by Makoto Fujimura commissioned by American Composers Orchestra and premiered at Zankel Carnegie Hall. In 2004 Ibarra began work in cultural and environmental preservation with Indigenous and children’s groups in the Philippines, US, Asia/Pacific and co-founded in 2008 Song of the Bird King. She is honored to be a TED Fellow and Asia Society Young Leaders Delegate as she continues her documentary work and public service projects towards cultural innovation and preservation. Ibarra is currently working on several collaborations including a sound walk installation for lower Manhattan 2012 , Hidden Truths, with percussionist/composer Roberto Rodriguez and Makoto Fujimura. Hidden Truths are compositions by Electric Kulintang including recordings of guest Filipino traditional artists from seven Indigenous tribes in the Philippines. Another collaboration is with Lebanese electronic conceptual artist Tarek Atoui, Visiting Tarab , new compositions inspired by archival Arabic classical Tarab music, for mixed ensemble of oriental taq and contemporary musicians in Sharjah 2012. Electric Kulintang will release a new record, Drum Codes, beginning of 2012. PAQUITO D’RIVERA: COMPOSER Paquito D'Rivera defies categorization. The winner of nine Grammy Awards, he is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his achievements as a classical composer. Born in Havana, Cuba, he performed at age 10 with the National Theater Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music and, at 17, became a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony. As a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, he directed that group for two years, while at the same time playing both the clarinet and saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. He eventually went on to premier several works by notable Cuban composers with the same orchestra. Additionally, he was a founding member and co-director of the innovative musical ensemble Irakere. With its explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and traditional Cuban music never before heard, Irakere toured extensively throughout America and Europe, won several Grammy nominations (1979, 1980) and a Grammy (1979). His numerous recordings include more than 30 solo albums. In 1988, he was a founding member of the United Nation Orchestra, a 15-piece ensemble organized by Dizzy Gillespie to showcase the fusion of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. D'Rivera continues to appear as guest conductor of that group which features such artists as James Moody, Slide Hampton, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Jon Faddis, Steve Turre, and others. A Grammy was awarded the United Nation Orchestra in 1991, the same year D'Rivera received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Carnegie Hall for his contributions to Latin music. Additionally, D'Rivera's highly acclaimed ensembles- the Chamber Jazz Ensemble, the Paquito D'Rivera Big Band, and the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet are in great demand world wide. While Paquito D'Rivera's discography reflects a dedication and enthusiasm for Jazz, Bebop and Latin music, his contributions to classical music are impressive. They include solo performances with the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has also performed with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Costa Rica National Symphony, the SimoÌon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, and the St. Luke's Chamber Orchestra, among others. In 2005, he began touring with guitar duo Sergio and Odair Assad, in "Dances from the New World." In his passion to bring Latin repertoire to greater prominence, Mr. D'Rivera has successfully created, championed and promoted all types of classical compositions, including his three chamber compositions recorded live in concert with distinguished cellist Yo-Yo Ma in September 2003. The chamber work Merengue, from that live concert at Zankel Hall, was released by Sony Records and garnered Paquito his 7th Grammy as Best Instrumental Composition 2004. In addition to his extraordinary performing career as an instrumentalist, Mr. D'Rivera has rapidly gained a reputation as an accomplished composer. The prestigious music house, Boosey and Hawkes, is the exclusive publisher of Mr. D'Rivera's compositions. Recent recognition of his compositional skills came with the award of a 2007 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition, and the 2007-2008 appointment as Composer-In-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. As part of the Caramoor Latin American music initiative, Sonidos Latinos, D'Rivera's new concerto for double bass and clarinet/saxophone, Conversations with Cachao, pays tribute to Cuba's legendary bass player, Israel “Cachao” Lopez. D'Rivera's works often reveal his widespread and eclectic musical interests, which range from Afro-Cuban rhythms and melodies, including influences encountered in his many travels, and back to his classical origins. Inspiration for another recent composition, The Cape Cod Files, comes from such disparate sources as Benny Goodman's intro to the Eubie Blake popular song Memories of You, Argentinean Milonga, improvisations on the music of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, and North American boogie-woogie. His numerous commissions include compositions for Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, the National Symphony Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic, the May, 2010 Turtle Island String Quartet, Ying String Quartet, the International Double Reed Society, Syracuse University, Montreal's Gerald Danovich Saxophone Quartet, and the Grant Park Music Festival. RICARDO ROMANEIRO: COMPOSER Composer Ricardo Romaneiro synthesizes his interest in electronic music with his background in classical composition, he earned a Master Degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor from Manhattan School of Music. His music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles and institutions such as the Metropolis Ensemble, the Museum of Modern Art's Summergarden Series, Wordless Music, the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, the New Juilliard Ensemble, Quintet of the Americas, the Colorado Ballet, and the Sacramento Ballet. In 2010 his composition Sombras was featured in the American Composers Orchestra's Underwood New Music Readings, where he was the recipient of the People's Choice Award. Romaneiro's composition process and music was featured in Esquire Magazine's 2007 "Best & Brightest" issue. His work with Metropolis Ensemble includes The Rite: Remixed, a re-imagination of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for brass ensemble, percussion, and live electronics, and Two-Part Belief, featuring Grammy Award-winning soprano Hila Plitmann. Presented by Wordless Music Series as part of Celebrate Brooklyn! summer concerts, both were premiered in Prospect Park Bandshell for an audience of 10,000 and nationally broadcast live on NPR. Hallucinations his most recent project with Metropolis was an adaptation of selections from composer John Corigliano's Academy Award-nominated iconic film score Altered States, re-imagined for chamber orchestra and live electronics. Surrealistic instrumental and electronic effects are combined with frenetic orchestral textures and sparse, eerie melodies to create a 5.1 surround-sound cinematic
Page 1 and 2: metropolis ensemble RESIDENT ARTIST
Page 3: WELCOME NOTE FROM ANDREW CYR Artist
Page 7 and 8: ABOUT METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE Metropoli
Page 9 and 10: SUPPORTERS 2011/2012 Metropolis Ens

music box - Metropolis Ensemble

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