music box - Metropolis Ensemble

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NOTES FROM THE COMPOSERS (CONTINUED) Du Yun The Ocean Within I open my gaze and saw nothing. I close my eyes and sit still. Should you look closer, you will see how old that feeling is, how loud the sound is. As old as the world, as loud as the ocean. Ricardo Romaneiro “Glitch” is a term used to describe a genre of electronic music that emerged in the late 1990’s. In Glitch Box, a piece for amplified harp and live electronics, the acoustic harp is processed through computer software as well as audio hardware to "glitch" the live sound, creating a tapestry of cascading rhythmic counterpoint. The most common "glitch" technique is similar to the sound of a skipping CD, except here the effect is notated into rhythmic patterns that correspond to certain musical material and forms, transforming the sounds associated with digital reading errors into something aesthetic. In Glitch Box, I have also created a live electronic element in which dozens of musical cells, modular pre-composed musical material that can be activated spontaneously, combined with the texture, and manipulated at will. This allows for live improvisation within predetermined parameters when ‘played’ by the laptop performer throughout the piece. The combined results mix the dry amplified signal from the harp with processed and pre-generated sounds to create the impression that the acoustic harp and electronics sound as a single instrument. Susie Ibarra Las Pequenas Flores Lloran Little Flowers Cry, is a reflection on the delicate dance of nature and urbanization. It is a metaphor I've felt while working in heritage sites and homelands with traditional Indigenous artists in the Philippines. It is a spiritual, a lament and a reverence for fragile beauty. Las Pequenas Flores is composed with a section for the soloist to improvise on. The intention to compose this piece for solo harp was to capture it's delicacy and power, as well as am homage to music for plucked strings in traditional and contemporary music. Kinan Azmeh “It's about time" for solo harp was commissioned by American Harpist Bridget Kibbey in 2011. My original plan was to draw elements from my Syrian roots and traditional Arabic music vocabulary as many of my earlier works did. However, the end product ended up borrowing elements from New York City’s electronic music scene, a genre that I have been fascinated by for many years. The piece plays around the very subtle difference between a steady 4/4 meter and that of a 17/16 meter when played in a fast tempo. This extra sixteenth note adds some sort of anxiety to the mix that makes one look for other “downbeats” to relate to. In this piece, one can find elements of American minimalism, in which apparently-distant rhythmical elements can actually groove together in a unifying larger cycle, as well as one of the most used motifs in club music: the never-ending triplets against a steady beat. Elements of Indian rhythms techniques are equally found in the middle transition section, which uses time compression that leads the piece to the end of the “party”. In short, it is all about time and groove, using an instrument that is not known for its club-capacity! David Bruce I wrote Caja de Música for Bridget Kibbey's Weill Hall recital debut in 2009 on a commission from the Concert Artists Guild. Around that time I had come across the wonderful Joropo music from Venezuela, which is usually written for a trio of harp, Cuatro (a guitar-like instrument) and shakers, with the harp taking a central melodic role. I was immediately taken with the use of the harp as a raw, vibrant and above all, rhythmic instrument and this piece is a kind of homage to the Venezuelan tradition. Of course, being a solo harp piece, the soloist needs to be both lead and rhythm section - making for a pretty challenging piece - the third movement in particular is packed with fiendish cross-rhythms which no mortal harpist should be able to play. Composers often struggle to write for the harp, not just because of the technical difficulties of the instrument, but also, I think, because everything sounds so beautiful - it can be hard to get variety when even the harshest dissonance sounds so sweet. But my instinct was to embrace this sweetness rather than deny it and I was struck by the fact that what came out as I started writing the piece reminded me of the sound of the old wind-up music boxes we've all seen lying around our relatives houses. “Caja de Música” - Spanish for “music box” - seemed an appropritate title, and the resulting piece, in three movements, is a strange hybrid of these two totally unconnected traditions. There are strong hints of Joropo throughout – including a 3-beats-to-a-bar time signature at the start of all three movements; but there is also something of that music box naivety here too. It has been my great pleasure to get to know and work with Bridget Kibbey these last couple of years, who is deservedly gaining a reputation as one of the finest harpists of her generation. Her commitment to my new piece from the earliest sketches to the finishing touches has been a model that I only wish other players would follow and it is an infinitely richer piece thanks to her thoughtful contributions and suggestions during the process of our transatlantic collaborations. It is also a pleasure to work again with Metropolis Ensemble, a group of extraordinarily talented and spirited musicians I have had the pleasure to write music for on many occasions.
SUPPORTERS 2011/2012 Metropolis Ensemble would like to thank the following individuals, foundations and corporations for their generous support for the 2011/2012 programming year. DONORS up to $200 Timothy Andres Josh Atkins John & Nancy Austin Michael Bacon Brad Balliett Katie Banser-Whittle Louise Barder Patricia Berg Charles Boudreau & Vivian Fung Robert & Joellen Carlson Midwin Charles Amy Chen Pauline Chiou Portia Chiou Michael Clarke Jakub Ciupinski Brian Cohen Bradley & Charlotte Detrick Kiera Duffy Ryan Francis Bowie Fu Merwin Geffen Myriam Ghazi Jeff Guida Conor Hanick Umi Hashitsume Olga Jobe Bridget Kibbey Takayuki Kigawa Edward Klorman Kristin Lee Sean Lee Henry Lin Frank David & Julie Lin Raymond Lustig and Ana Berlin Sarina Mahasiri Marino & Associates, PC Yeou Cheng Ma Suzanne McClellan Laura Melnyczenko Abigail Mohlin Emily Moqtaderi Jenna Mulberry John Mulliken Bruce Rabb Richard Raymond Gabrielle Rieckhof Gary Rosenberg Isabel Sadumi The Samuel Lawrence Foundation Emily Smith Norman Solomon Janet Stradley Lance Suzuki Rachel Teoh Mary Thibeault Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir Pamela Grau Twena Jennifer Undercofler Vienne Vincent Andrew Vogelman Stephanie Wang Tema Watstein Jacob Werner Kevin Winther Francine Wolterbeek Anthony Webb Eric Wolff Jeffrey Zerba & Linda Jeo $200+ Louise Barder Mandy Berman David Bruce Robert Cerutti & Caroline Hancock Kitty Chou Christina Dalle Pezze Catherine Fukushima Alice Dubois Anne Dunning Evanne Gargiulo David Hsia Deutsche Bank Peter Knell Edward Lai Winsome Lee Mateo Paiva & Lily Lim Tom & Imre Lendvai Marie Lewis Edmond Loedy Ronald Ma Jane McIntosh Leila Mureebe Russell Savage Jocelyn Stone Hamburg & Kelly Tang Miranda Wong Tang Michael Vitale John Voiklis & Charlotte Jones Janet Wang Erin Wiley $500+ Anonymous AJ Bocchino & Phoebe Washburn Jeremy Barbera & Charise Beckett Carrie Chiang Andrew Cyr & Kate Gilmore Michael & Louise Cyr Jack & Lillian Davidson Joe Fig and Rosie Walker Bard Geesaman Richard & Judith Gilmore Drew Helmer Michael Hessol & Stephanie Amarnick David and Sandra Joys Chloe Almour-Kramer Sophie Lee Christiane Lemos Jeffrey Leung & Selina Poon Benjamin Lillie Michael Lin Candice Madey Nanette Po New York City, Department of Cultural Affairs Johanna Roman Jonathan Schorr Stax Inc. & Rafi Musher Who’s In My Fund? Flora Wong David Wu $1000+ John Avery & Elisabeth Bell Avery Richard & Greta Conway Florence De Rosa Memorial Fund David Deforest Keys Allan & Joan Fisch Maura Fitzpatrick Kenneth Greif Irene Ho Allen & Valerie Hyman Rhiannon Kubicka Eduardo & Jennifer Loja Rodney McDaniel Christie Salomon Eriberto & Marguerite Scocimara Roxann Taylor Roy & Diana Vagelos Thomas & Caroline White Cynthia Wilcox Clyde Wu Roger Wu $2,500+ Miranda Chiu Meet the Composer Foundation Josephine Jones Sandra and David Joys Anke Nolting Trip & Allyson Samson Andrew Schorr Edward Sien Jonathan & Tania Wilcox Carol Wu Con Edison $5,000+ American Chai Trust / Cohn Family The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Scott & Ksenija Belsley Alex & Irene Chu Christopher & Sarah Cox Steve & Jill Lampe Mikhail Iliev NYSCA New York City Department of Cultural Affairs David Pong Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall Jennifer Salomon Richard Salomon Thomas Wu $10,000+ Robert Bielecki Crosswicks Foundation / Jones Family Akarin Gaw & Mali Sananikone Gaw $15,000+ The Augustine Foundation The van Otterloo Family Foundation $25,000+ The Richard Salomon Family Foundation Gordon & Ivy Wu In Memory of James M. H. & Esther F. C. Wu $50,000+ June Wu CORPORATE and IN-KIND DONATIONS Blue Ribbon Sushi & Bowie Fu Buffalo Trace Con Edison City Winery Zipora Fried Stanley James Dan Lerner The Looking Glass Candice Madey Jennifer McCrae Sara Menker Miro Cellars On Stellar Rays Paul Hastings & Friedemann Thomma (le) Poisson Rouge Rayogram Riverpark Glenn Schoenfeld Andrew Schorr Jonathan Schorr Stax Inc. & Rafi Musher Who’s In My Fund? ‘wichcraft Jeffrey Zurofsky & Satya Twena MEMBERS 2010–2012 Clay Andres John Austin Na Young Baek Jerome & Jodie Basdevant Astrid Baumgardner Armistead Booker Melissa Bito Charles Boudreau & Vivian Fung John Childs & Peggy Fogelman Dominic Carbone Coralie Carlson Nicholas Cohn Glenn Cornett Paul Corrigan Conrad Cummings Witney Earle Rochelle Feinstein Carl Fisher Lori Fox Lilah Gaw Umi Hashitsume Tom Healy Nancy Hubbard Thomas Jackson Jerry Katz Mindy Kaufman Catherine Lee Ray Lustig & Ana Berlin Britton Matthews Merrill Matthews Anne Meyers Laura Moore Jenna Mulberry Sarah Murkett Alexis Neophytides Vladimir Nicenko Kate Oberjat Arienne Orozco Renata Parras Alixandra Pearlstein and Patricia Pinto Christopher Reiger Asher Remy-Toledo Dennis & Andrea Roberts Carin Roman Rachel Rauch Penelope Rowlands Colin Ryan & Kaitlin Collins Rachel Salomon Daniel Schofield Jonathan Schorr Noah Smith Cara Starke Susan Steiner Matthew Strassler Lisa Switkin Kim Van Atta Jack & Linda Viertel Anthony Webb Carol Wernick Francine Wolterbeek Paul Young Jiayun Zhong Andrew & Abigail Zimmerman Adam & Ariel Zurofsky
Page 1 and 2: metropolis ensemble RESIDENT ARTIST
Page 3 and 4: WELCOME NOTE FROM ANDREW CYR Artist
Page 5 and 6: SUSIE IBARRA: COMPOSER (CONTINUED)
Page 7: ABOUT METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE Metropoli

music box - Metropolis Ensemble

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