Oct
06
Thu October 6th, 2016
7:00PM
Main Space
Minimum Age: All Ages
Doors Open: 6:00PM
Show Time: 7:00PM
Event Ticket: $15 / $20
Day of Show: $20 / $25
free for members
Table Seating: $20 advance, $25 day of show
Standing Room: $15 advance, $20 day of show
The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) performs music by Danish composers Frans Bak, Ejnar Kanding and MBD73 (aka Carsten Bo Eriksen). The three composers have chosen music for this concert that captures what they call the Nordic “dark sides” or Nordic Noir — music that captures a coolness, calmness, and a mindfulness.
The concert begins with “Memory Pieces” by Carsten Bo Eriksen (artist name MBD73 which is short for My Beautiful Decay 1973). This piece revolves around the theme of “lost memories and sounds” and will feature the world premiere of a new “memory piece” for string quartet and electronics, written for ACME, with video.
Inspired by his surroundings, Frans Bak is focusing his evocative powers on the wider elements of his home region. This program also features the US premiere of music from Bak’s latest album, “Sound of North,” performed by ACME with Frans at the piano. The album, which includes music from his score for the TV series “The Killing,” was released on June 17 on Mercury Classics/Universal Music and is partly inspired by his background as a jazz composer. The music meshes a string quartet with electronic loops, the ethereal vocals of singer Josefine Cronholm, and Bak’s own piano playing.
Ejnar Kanding’s music unites electronic and acoustic sound in complex textures, physical energy and delicate simplicity. According to Kanding, music should not embellish, but be a realm of fantasy – a sensuous voyage to the unknown areas of inner life. Kanding’s “Sensitive Shades” completes the program.
ACME musicians performing include Ben Russell, violin; Yuki Numata Resnick, violin; Caleb Burhans, viola; Clarice Jensen, cello and artistic director, plus Ejnar Kanding and Carsten Bo Eriksen, electronics and video; and Frans Bak, piano.
Program:
MBD73 aka Carsten Bo Eriksen: “Memory Pieces” (2011/2016, world premiere)
Frans Bak: “Sound of North” (2016)
Ejnar Kanding: ”Sensitive Shades” (2015)
EarUnit is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation & Danish Composers’ Society’s Production Pool and Koda’s Cultural Funds
Photo Credit: Mark Shelby Perry
Ticketing Policy
TABLE SEATING POLICY
Table seating for all seated shows is reserved exclusively for ticket holders who purchase “Table Seating” tickets. By purchasing a “Table Seating” ticket you agree to also purchase a minimum of two food and/or beverage items per person. Table seating is first come, first seated. Please arrive early for the best choice of available seats. Seating begins when doors open. Tables are communal so you may be seated with other patrons. We do not take table reservations.
A standing room area is available by the bar for all guests who purchase “Standing Room” tickets. Food and beverage can be purchased at the bar but there is no minimum purchase required in this area.
All tickets sales are final. No refund or credits.
ACME
The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), led by Artistic Director Clarice Jensen, is dedicated to the outstanding performance of masterworks from the 20th and 21st centuries, primarily the work of American composers. The flexible ensemble presents fresh work by living composers alongside the classics of the contemporary. ACME’s dedication to new music extends across genres, and has earned them a reputation among both classical and rock crowds. NPR calls them “contemporary music dynamos,” and Strings reports, “ACME’s absorbing playing pulsed with warm energy. . . Shared glances and inhales triggered transitions in a flow so seamless it seemed learned in a Jedi temple.” ACME was honored by ASCAP during its 10th anniversary season in 2015 for the “virtuosity, passion, and commitment with which it performs and champions American composers.”
ACME’s instrumentation is flexible, and includes some of New York’s most sought-after, engaging musicians. Notable highlights of ACME’s 2017-2018 season include a performance with Meredith Monk as part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival, a tour with Max Richter, and performances presented by the Festival of New American Music at Sacramento State, Kennesaw State’s Festival of New Music, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Kennedy Center.
ACME has performed at leading international venues including Carnegie Hall, BAM, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Kitchen, (Le) Poisson Rouge, National Sawdust, Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Symphony Space, The Morgan Library, The Stone, Joyce Theater, Montclair’s Peak Performances, Washington Performing Arts, UCLA’s Royce Hall, Stanford Live, Constellation Chicago, Chicago’s Millennium Park, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Jordan Hall in Boston, Harvard’s Sanders Theatre, The Library of Congress in DC, Virginia Tech, Newman Center at the University of Denver, Flynn Center, Duke Performances, South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center, The Satellite in Los Angeles, Triple Door in Seattle, Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Melbourne Recital Hall and Sydney Opera House in Australia, and at festivals including the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Poland, All Tomorrow’s Parties in England, and Big Ears in Knoxville, TN.
World premieres given by ACME include Ingram Marshall’s Psalmbook, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Drone Mass, Caroline Shaw’s Ritornello, Phil Kline’s Out Cold, William Brittelle’s Loving the Chambered Nautilus, Timo Andres’ Senior and Thrive on Routine, Caleb Burhans’ Jahrzeit, and many more. In 2016 at The Kitchen, ACME premiered Clarice Jensen’s transcription of Julius Eastman’s The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc for ten cellos, the score of which had been lost since the premiere in 1981. Jensen transcribed a recording of the work to re-create the score. ACME has since performed Joan at the Met Breuer and will perform it at The Kennedy Center in spring 2018.
ACME’s recordings appear on the Deutsche Grammophon, New World, Butterscotch, and New Amsterdam labels. ACME released its first portrait album on Sono Luminus in 2017, featuring music by members Caroline Shaw, Timo Andres, and Caleb Burhans, plus John Luther Adams. The Strad raved, “Warmth and care are fully evident in the ensemble’s immaculate, considered performances – the four composers could hardly wish for more committed, convincing accounts of their music.”
ACME’s many collaborators have included The Richard Alston Dance Company, Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance, Gibney Dance, Satellite Ballet, Jóhann Jóhannsson, actress Barbara Sukowa, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, Blonde Redhead, Grizzly Bear, Low, Matmos, Jeff Mangum, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Roomful of Teeth, Lionheart, and Theo Bleckmann.
Photo credit: Mark Shelby Perry