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American cellist Ashley Bathgate has been described as an “eloquent new music interpreter” (New York Times) and “a glorious cellist” (Washington Post) who combines “bittersweet lyricism along with ferocious chops” (New York Magazine). Her “impish ferocity”, “rich tone” and “imaginative phrasing” (New York Times) have made her one of the most sought after performers of her time. The desire to create a dynamic energy exchange with her audience and build upon the ensuing chemistry is a pillar of Bathgate’s philosophy as a performer. Her affinity to dynamism drives Bathgate to venture into previously uncharted areas of ground-breaking sounds and techniques, breaking the mold of a cello’s traditionally perceived voice. Collaborators and fans alike describe her vitality as nothing short of remarkable and magical for all who are involved. Bathgate is a member of the award winning, internationally acclaimed sextet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, the chamber music group HOWL and is also a founding member of TwoSense, a duo with pianist Lisa Moore, and Bonjour, a low-strung, percussive quintet. In 2014 Bathgate premiered a new Cello Concerto by Australian composer Kate Moore with the ASKO|Schönberg ensemble at the Gaudeamus Festival in Utrecht, NL. Subsequently she recorded an album of Moore’s works for solo cello, entitled Stories For Ocean Shells, which was released as her debut solo album on Cantaloupe Music. In 2015 she also gave the world premiere of What Moves You, a collaborative performance project with jookin’ dance sensation Lil Buck at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, NC. Most recently, Bathgate commissioned the composer collective Sleeping Giant to write her a six-movement suite for solo cello entitled “ASH”, which was premiered in 2016. Both ASH and her latest album, 8 Track, featuring new multitrack works by Alex Weiser and Emily Cooley as well as a new version of Steve Reich’s Cello Counterpoint, will be commercially released this coming season. Bathgate’s radio/television appearances include performances on BBC Radio 3, WKCR, WMHT, WQXR’s Meet the Composer podcast with Nadia Sirota, NPR’s Performance Today, WYNC’s New Sounds Live, SiriusXM, Late Night and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Her recorded work can be found on Albany Records, Cantaloupe Music, Innova Recordings, La-La Land Records, Naxos, Nonesuch, Starkland and Uffda Records. Originally from Saratoga Springs, NY, Bathgate began her cello studies with the late Rudolf Doblin, principal cellist and assistant music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic in the 1950’s. After his passing, she resumed her tutelage with Ann Alton at Skidmore College. From there she continued on to study at Bard College with Luis Garcia-Renart (B.M.) and then at the Yale University School of Music with renowned cellist, Aldo Parisot (M.M. & A.D). Bathgate resides in New York City. (www.ashleybathgate.com)

Sleeping Giant is a collective of six young American composers (Timo Andres, Andrew Norman, Jacob Cooper, Christopher Cerrone, Robert Honstein, and Ted Hearne). These “talented guys” (The New Yorker), who are “rapidly gaining notice for their daring innovations, stylistic range and acute attention to instrumental nuance” (WQXR) have composed a diverse body of music that prizes vitality and diversity over a rigid aesthetic. Their works have appeared in concert halls and clubs throughout the US and Europe, from Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center to Wigmore Hall and the Concertgebouw in performances by the Berlin Philharmonic Foundation, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York City Opera, the Jack Quartet, and the New York Youth Symphony.
 
Current projects include a new evening-length work foreighth blackbird, a two-year Music Alive residency with the Albany Symphony, and a collaborative work for cellist Ashley Bathgate. They have presented sold-out concerts at New York’s (Le) Poisson Rouge, Brooklyn’s Littlefield, and at John Zorn’s The Stone. In 2011, they collaborated on Histories, a Stravinsky-inspired work for Ensemble ACJW and the Deviant Septet commissioned by Carnegie Hall.
 
Sleeping Giant official site
 
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About METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE
More than an ensemble, Metropolis is a flexible performing and presenting organization dedicated to classical music in its most contemporary forms. Founded in 2006 by Grammy-nominated conductor Andrew Cyr, Metropolis Ensemble performs as a chamber orchestra or as smaller ensembles and soloists. In whatever configuration, Metropolis gathers today’s most outstanding emerging composers and young artists to produce unique musical experiences.
 
For nearly a decade Metropolis has served as an incubator for outstanding emerging composers and performers. The organization has commissioned over 110 works of music from a dynamic mix of emerging composers. New music has been presented by Creative Time, Lincoln Center “Out of Doors” and “American Songbook” series, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, BAM’s Opera House, (Le) Poisson Rouge, The Wordless Music Series, The Public Theater, The Phillips Collection, and Celebrate Brooklyn.  In 2013, Metropolis made its Off-Broadway debut with a new children’s opera by David Bruce at New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street, produced in collaboration with The Royal Opera House of London II and The Opera Group. Through these performances Metropolis has garnered a reputation for presenting “new music played with the same kind of panache and bravura we usually experience only in performances of standard repertoire” (Esa-Pekka Salonen).
 
But commissioning and performing new work is only part of the story. By bringing together young composers and instrumentalists through its Resident Artist Program, Metropolis aims to help forge relationships that will last young artists a lifetime. A sustainable career depends on a strong network of support and collaborative spirit. Through this model of foundational support, Metropolis is investing in the present and future vibrancy of classical music. In recent seasons, Metropolis-affiliated artists have received some of the highest accolades, including The Guggenheim Fellowship, The Pulitzer Prize, The Rome Prize, The Avery Fisher Career Grant, Grammy Awards and Nominations, and many of the top competition prizes world-wide.
 
2015-16 season highlights include the performance-art project S.S. Hangover by artist Ragnar Kjartansson, music by Sigur Ros composer Kjartan Sveinsson), presented by Creative Time and seen by over 100,000 people in Central Park, an upcoming second tour of Metropolis’ innovative “Brownstone” project (called “half-concert and half art installation” by The Wall Street Journal) to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., as well as Resident Artist projects with bassoonist Brad Balliett (with composers Nina Young, Bora Yoon, and Brad and Doug Balliett). Upcoming Resident Artist projects include concerts featuring pianist Conor Hanick (with composer Elliot Cole), violinist Rachel Lee Priday (with composer Matthew Aucoin) and percussionist Ian Rosenbaum (with composer Chris Cerrone).
 
Metropolis Ensemble has also won national and international recognition for its three studio recordings, including winning Canada’s prestigious Juno Award for Best Classical Composition in 2013 for Vivian Fung’s Violin Concerto (Kristin Lee, solo violin). In 2010, Metropolis Ensemble received its first Classical Nomination Grammy Award for Avner Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto, with soloist Avi Avital. And in 2014, producer David Frost received a Classical Producer of the Year Grammy Award for work that included Metropolis Ensemble’s recording of the music of Brooklyn-based composer Timo Andres, recorded at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall and released on Nonesuch Records.
 
Embodying the fluidity of today’s music scene, Metropolis Ensemble has collaborated with a wide-array of artists who defy classification, including several large-scale concert productions with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, presented at BAM and Philadelphia’s Verizon Center. Metropolis has also performed with artists such as Deerhoof, San Fermin, BabX, Emily Wells, Sonnymoon, Tom Krell and How to Dress Well, David Murray, Jeremy Ellis, Razel, and DD Jackson. In 2014, Metropolis performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon alongside the Grammy-winning hip-hop group The Roots. Metropolis Ensemble also appeared with The Roots on their critically acclaimed 2014 album on Def Jam Records “and then you shoot your cousin”.
 
Metropolis Ensemble is also equally dedicated to making a difference in its local community via its education program for underserved children called Youth Works. The program teaches music composition to over 400 students across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx in collaboration with organizations such as the Young Composers and Improvisors Workshop and ComposerCraft.
 
About ANDREW CYR, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Grammy-nominated conductor Andrew Cyr is a leader in the rapidly growing contemporary music scene. His passion for creating new platforms for outstanding emerging composers and performing artists to collaborate and present new work led him to found Metropolis Ensemble in 2006.
 
In addition championing new work from the next generation of composers, Cyr has also led performances and recordings with a broad range of artists including Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Deerhoof, and the Paris band BabX, among others. Recent engagements include his Radio City Music Hall debut as part of Dave Chappelle’s much-heralded comedy show, and his debut with NYU’s Symphony Orchestra at The Skirball Center for Performing Arts, conducting Tan Dun’s “The Map”, as well as his first appearance conducting Metropolis Ensemble on The Tonight Show. In 2013, Cyr made conducting debuts with The Colorado Symphony (along with mandolinist Avi Avital) and led the American Premiere of a new opera by David Bruce at New Victory Theatre, co-produced by The Royal Opera House II and The Opera Group.
 
Cyr’s work as a recording artist leading Metropolis Ensemble in their first studio album, which featured Avner Dorman’s Concertos, earned him a Classical Nomination in the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In 2013, a work commissioned and recorded with Metropolis Ensemble, Vivian Fung’s Violin Concerto, was the winner of Canada’s prestigious Juno Award for Best Classical Composition (Naxos).
 
Cyr is a native of Fort Kent, Maine, and holds music degrees from Bates College, the French National Conservatory (Etudes Supérieures), and Westminster Choir College. His primary musical mentors include conductors Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, Kenneth Kiesler, and Kyan Johns, and organists Pierre Grandmaison, Marion Anderson, and Harvey Burgett. Cyr’s work as conductor has been described by Esa-Pekka Salonen as “…precise, rhythmically incisive and fluid. He made complex new pieces sound natural and organic.”