The Tank Presents THE YELLOW WALLPAPER 3/28

The Tank presents The Yellow Wallpaper: A new opera by composer Whitney George on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 7:30pm. Tickets go for $10, and the show is located at The Tank at 354 W. 45th Street, New York, NY 10036.

To get there take the A, C, E, to 42nd Street; 1, 2, 3, S, 7 to Time Square

‘The Yellow Wallpaper is a strange and thrilling work. The music is elegant, and simultaneously engages and surprises the listener, in every way heightening the already quite eerie text.' - Ursula Oppens, pianist

Composer Whitney George brings her exciting one-act opera ‘The Yellow Wallpaper' to stage with a large chamber ensemble of rising NYC performers. Based on the proto-feminist short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper' tells the story of a woman's descent to madness through her obsession with a wallpaper and an oppressive husband. George's setting mirrors the conflict between the man and woman by employing a divided chamber ensemble utilizing an extraordinary palette of tone colors, musical styles and composition techniques.

‘The Yellow Wallpaper' was developed by George as part of her residency with CUNY's Contemporary Music Ensemble, directed by pianist Ursula Oppens. George adapted the libretto herself, and was intimately involved in all aspects of the production. Working with a tight-knit group of dedicated performers, George was able to draw on her experience as a composer, producer and visual artist to create a truly interdisciplinary work where the tones, text and set design work together and inform and enhance each other. George's panache for eclectic mixed ensembles is evident in the unusual instrumentation supporting a single female singer and single male actor. Utilizing flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, bass, celeste, harpsichord, vibraphone, crotales and percussion, George uses the ensemble deftly, creating a myriad of textures out of the infinite combination it allows for. The result is a truly unique piece of contemporary music that harkens back to her influences- who include Bartok, John Corigliano and Danny Elfman- while pushing bravely forward.

Composer Biography:
Whitney George, composer, was first introduced to music through instrumental performance on flute at age 10. Her focus shifted to composition after taking a music theory course at age 16. For her first two years of Undergraduate study at California State University: Chico, her focus was on instrumental performance. CSU: Chico commissioned two original works for wind ensemble before she continued her Undergraduate study at the California Institute of the Arts. While there, George focused on interdisciplinary collaboration: fusing music and other fine arts in an effort to more clearly communicate with an audience. Such goals led to the self-production of a full-length opera titled "Alphabephobia: Something Goes Wrong Everyday", which includes animation, dance and theater alongside music. Her music, performance art, and installations have had both international and domestic premieres, primarily in England and the East and West coasts of the US. This academic year, George's works will be premiered at Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music where she is currently working towards her Master's degree, studying with Jason Eckardt and Tania Leon. Her current interdisciplinary projects set to premiere in the spring of 2010 include "The Yellow Wallpaper", an opera based on the short story of the same title, and an original score for the 1928 American silent film "The Tell-Tale Heart", based on the Poe short story.

$5 student tickets will be available at the door.

Presale tickets:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/100834

About The Tank
Founded in 2003, The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter whose mission is to provide a welcoming, creative, collaborative, and affordable environment for artists and activists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas. Through a wide range of low-cost, high-concept arts and public affairs programming, The Tank seeks to cultivate a new generation of audience for live performance, civic discourse, and the work of emerging artists.

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