Bang on a Can All-Stars Performs at Carnegie Hall Tonight

The Bang on a Can All-Stars, known for combining "the power and punch of a rock band with the precision and clarity of a chamber ensemble" (New York Times), will give a Carnegie Hall Family Concert tonight, February 1, 2014 at 1pm at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, complementing Bang on a Can co-founder David Lang's season-long curation as the holder of the 2013-2014 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall.

Lang will host the program, which includes Tan Dun's Concerto for Six (2000), Don Byron's Eugene with video of American TV iconoclast Ernie Kovacs (2000), and selections from David Lang's Cheating, Lying, Stealing (1995). Before the concert at 12pm, Bang on a Can's social engagement wing Found Sound Nation will host its mobile studio, equipped for concert goers to spontaneously create and record original music, in the Parterre Lobby of Zankel Hall.

This Bang on a Can concert for all ages showcases the amazing range of musical opportunities and possibilities that composers and performers address today. With the live music performance as a platform, Lang and the All-Stars will introduce families, particularly the younger set, to questions including: What is a composer? What does a composer do? What might a composer be asked to do? What surprising things might performers be asked to do with their instruments? How do some playing styles differ from the playing styles ordinarily taught in music lessons? The concert will explore a wide range of music, and the diverse ways of creating it that we encounter today.

About the Bang on a Can All-Stars:

ASHLEY BATHGATE, Cello
Robert Black, Bass
VICKY CHOW, Piano
DAVID COSSIN, Percussion
Mark Stewart, Electric Guitar
KEN THOMSON, Clarinets
Jody Elff, Sound Engineer

Formed in 1992 by New York's renowned new-music collective Bang on a Can, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today's most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, this six-member amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and internationally, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today.

Together, the All-Stars have worked in unprecedented close collaboration with some of the most important and inspiring musicians of our time, including Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, Burmese circle drum master Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Tan Dun, DJ Spooky, and many more. The group's celebrated projects include their landmark recordings of Brian Eno's ambient classic Music for Airports and Terry Riley's In C, as well as live performances with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Don Byron, Iva Bittova, Thurston Moore, Owen Pallett and others. The All-Stars were awarded Musical America's Ensemble of the Year in 2005 and have been heralded as "the country's most important vehicle for contemporary music" by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Recent project highlights include the world premiere, performances, and recording of Steve Reich's 2x5 including a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall; the group's recent tours to the Sydney Opera House in Australia and Beijing Music Festival in China; the US tour and Carnegie Hall performance of Julia Wolfe's Steel Hammer, an evening-length staged concert with Trio Mediaeval; commissioned works by Louis Andriessen, Bill Frisell, Ryuichi Sakamoto and more. With a massive repertoire of works written specifically for the group's distinctive instrumentation and style of performance, the All-Stars have become a genre in their own right. The All-Stars record on Cantaloupe Music (www.cantaloupemusic.com) and have released past recordings on Sony, Universal and Nonesuch.