Miller Theatre to Present CAGE100 PARTY PIECES, 10/17

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts presents the world premiere of a very special project featuring one composition by more than 100 international composers: CAGE100 PARTY PIECES, featuring Either/Or and Richard Carrick, conductor on Thursday, October 17, 2013, 8:00 p.m.

The Miller Theatre is located at 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, NYC. Tickets: $20-$30; Students with valid ID: $12-$18.

From Miller Theatre Executive Director Melissa Smey:
"I am thrilled to present the world premiere of the Cage100 Project's epic finale. I am so excited for our audience to have the opportunity to hear contributions from 125 of the finest international composers in one extravagant musical work on our stage, performed by the incredible musicians of Either/Or. The culmination of many months of experimentation and collaboration will surely be an evening to remember."

This new, evening-length work brings together 125 short compositions by 125 different composers, written according to a compositional model created by Cage in 1945. An adaptation of a parlor game popular with Surrealist artists, Cage's rules are fairly simple: each participant receives a small portion of blank manuscript paper, along with the final few notes of the composition that will precede theirs in performance. Within the given space, the composers-among them William Bolcolm, Jason Eckardt, Kamran Ince, Lei Liang, David T. Little, and Keeril Makan-write whatever they please, passing their final measure on to the next composer in line. Assembled for the first time in performance, the resulting piece is an incredible amalgam of different styles, influences, methods, and perspectives-a whole that is, without a doubt, greater than the sum of its parts. See the complete list of all the composers involved.

This concert is presented as part of CAGE100, a project of the Forum of Contemporary Music Leipzig.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Either/Or

Either/Or is a cutting-edge contemporary music ensemble based in New York City. Founded in 2004 by pianist/composer Richard Carrick and percussionist David Shively, Either/Or focuses on compelling new and recent works for unconventional ensemble formations rarely heard elsewhere. The group draws upon its roster, featuring some of New York's leading interpreters, to present intense chamber music alongside larger ensemble works. E/O has performed to critical acclaim at Miller Theatre, Merkin Concert Hall, The Kitchen, MATA Festival, the Austrian Cultural Forum, and ICA:Boston, in addition to frequent appearances at experimental music venues such as The Stone, Roulette, and Issue Project Room. Programs have included numerous world, U.S., and New York premieres; these range from major works of American experimental music to rarely heard classics from the dynamic margins of the European avant-garde. In addition to its ongoing collaborations with emerging artists, Either/Or has brought distinguished composers such as Helmut Lachenmann (2008), Paolo Aralla (2009), and Chaya Czernowin (2010, 2011) to New York for concerts and lectures.

Richard Carrick, conductor

Richard Carrick, born in Paris of French-Algerian and British decent, is a composer, pianist and conductor. His music, described as "charming, with exoticism and sheer infectiousness" by Allan Kozinn of The New York Times, has been performed internationally by the New York Philharmonic (Ensemble Series), Vienna's Konzerthaus, ISCM World Music Days-Switzerland, Darmstadt Summer Festival, Tokyo International House, Merkin Hall, Nieuw Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, soloists Tony Arnold, Magnus Andersson, Carin Levine, Rohan de Saram, David Shively, and others. Recent awards include a Fromm Foundation Commission from Harvard University for his second string quartet, and recent works include the hour-long Flow Cycle for Strings(released on New World Records in 2011), Harmonixity for saxophone quartet, Adagios for Strings, and Find the Devil's Lead for large ensemble. He also writes large-scale multi-media works including the "operatically ambitious" (The Village Voice) Cosmicomics, based on stories by Italo Calvino and combining video, electronics and live musicians. Carrick is currently Visiting Professor of Composition at Columbia University and Adjunct Professor at New York University. He has given master-classes and guest lectured about his music at universities in Tokyo, Seoul, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris, Darmstadt, and New York City where he was Visiting Artist-in-Residence at the New School in 2010. Carrick is founder/co-artistic director of the New York-based experimental music ensemble Either/Or. As pianist and conductor he regularly premieres diverse works by leading composers including Lachenmann, Czernowin, Radulescu, and Greenwood, as well as performing in improvising ensembles. He received his BA from Columbia University, a master's and doctorate from the University of California-San Diego with Brian Ferneyhough, and pursued further studies at IRCAM and the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. A number of his recent works are published by Project Schott New York.

Columbia University's Miller Theatre is located north of the Main Campus Gate at 116th St. & Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall. Directions and information is available online at www.millertheatre.com or via the Miller Theatre Box Office, at 212.854.7799.