Miller Theater At Columbia University Presents Two World Premiere Commissions In Its Composer Portraits Series

MILLER THEATRE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY offers two world premiere commissions in its Composer Portraits series:

Benet Casablancas
Thursday, February 25, 8:00PM
Miller introduces the shimmering, whimsical music of the young Catalan composer

Sebastian Currier
Friday, March 5, 8:00PM
Featuring pianist Christopher Taylor and the Argento Chamber Ensemble

Tickets: $25 • Students: $15

In the words of Melissa Smey, Miller's "ambitious" (The New York Times) new director:
"One of Miller Theatre's most important roles is as a supporter of new work. I am delighted to present two new Miller commissions, performed by two of our favorite ensembles. In February, the Perspectives Ensemble will bring to life composer Benet Casablancas's Rothko-inspired Four Darks in Red, and in March the Argento Chamber Ensemble will premiere Body Music by Sebastian Currier."

Composer Portraits
BENET CASABLANCAS (b. 1956)
Thursday, February 25, 8:00PM
Onstage discussion with Benet Casablancas and Paul Griffiths
Catalan composer Benet Casablancas seeks personal and aesthetic independence in his work. Marked by a rhythmic spirit, his music moves with shimmering harmonic language often at a whimsical register. This Portrait includes his acclaimed Seven Scenes from Hamlet, for narrator and ensemble, along with a world premiere Miller Theatre commission, Four Darks in Red. The commission was inspired by Mark Rothko's painting of the same name, which hangs in the Whitney Museum. The date of this concert falls on exactly the 40th anniversary of Rothko's death on February 25, 1970.

PROGRAM: New Epigrams (1997)
Little Night Music (1992)
Four Darks in Red (2010) (World premiere, Miller Theatre commission)
Seven Scenes from Hamlet (1988-1989)

ARTISTS: Perspectives Ensemble
Sato Moughalian, artistic director
Angel Gil-Ordóñez, conductor

Special Note:
"Little Night Music": A Composer's Salon with Benet Casablancas
Wednesday, February 24, at 7:00PM
New York University, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò (24 West 12th Street)

On the night before the Benet Casablancas Composer Portrait, The Catalan Center at New York University will host "Little Night Music": A Composer's Salon with composer Benet Casablancas; CUNY musicologist Antoni Pizà; flutist and artistic director of Perspectives Ensemble Sato Moughalian; and Melissa Smey, director of Miller Theatre. The salon will feature a performance of Casablancas's Petita Música Nocturna by the Perspectives Ensemble, and a conversation among all the participants in which Casablancas's musical oeuvre will be discussed in the context of the European and North American modernist traditions.

FREE; no tickets required. For more info, call 212-998-8255 or email mll53@nyu.edu.

Composer Portraits
SEBASTIAN CURRIER (b. 1959)
Friday, March 5, 8:00PM
Onstage discussion with Sebastian Currier and John Schaefer, host of WNYC's Soundcheck
Grawemeyer-award winning composer Sebastian Currier creates music that is "lyrical, colorful, firmly rooted in tradition, but absolutely new," says The Washington Post. His ability to evoke an array of emotions and instrumental colors are his stylistic trademarks. This Portrait includes a world premiere Miller Theatre commission, along with an encore performance of a 2006 Miller "Pocket Concerto" commission played by the brilliant pianist Christopher Taylor.

PROGRAM: Night Time (1998)
Body Music (2009) (world premiere, Miller Theatre commission)
Piano Concerto (2006) (Miller Theatre commission)

ARTISTS: Christopher Taylor, piano
Argento Chamber Ensemble
Michel Galante, conductor

Columbia University's Miller Theatre is located north of the Main Campus Gate
at 116th St. & Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall.

For tickets, the public should call the Miller Theatre Box Office at 212/854-7799, M-F, 12-6PM.
Tickets can also be purchased online at www.millertheatre.com.