Composer Debra Kaye's IKARUS to Premiere in New York Next Month

Composer Debra Kaye will celebrate the New York premiere of Ikarus-Duo for Binya performed by violinist Eriko Sato and violist Lois Martin on The National Association of Composers, USA "Spring Serenade" concert on Monday, May 9 at 8pm. The program features chamber music by living American composers and also includes works by Allen Brings, Dinos Constantinides, Edward Dulaney, Maz Lifchitz, Patricia Morehead and Betty Whishart. Additional artists include violinist Debra Wong, cellist Marisol Espada, flutist Orlando Cela, and pianists Jery-Mae Astolfi, Allen Brings and Max Lifchitz. The concert will take place at Christ and St. Stephen's Church located at 120 West 69th Street (between Broadway and Columbus) in Manhattan. Admission is free.

Ikarus - Duo for Binya was commissioned to honor the memory of Binyamin Yaphet Klatchko, a boy of brilliance who died tragically at the age of 17. Says Kaye, "I have been getting to know him through videos of his classical performances on viola and violin, and the brilliant rap songs that he wrote, sang and recorded. Two of his beats and melodies are woven into this duo."

Debra Kaye is hailed as "a unique voice in American music," for her "transcendent, witty, colorful and profound" works blending her deep classical roots with a wide range of influences including jazz, world music, folk, experimental improvisation, world events and sounds of daily life. With a catalogue of close to 40 works, chamber and orchestral music, art songs, choral and theatrical compositions, her work has been honored with multiple ASCAP Plus Awards for her "creative contributions to American music." Her debut CD, And So It Begins, (Ravello), produced by Grammy winner Judith Sherman, was included on Ted Gioia's list of top 100 CD's and recognized as "an album that will surely stand the test of time." Last fall, German publisher Bellmann Musik included her solo harpsichord composition Buscando, commissioned by Arthur Haas of Yale University, in The Contemporary Harpsichordist. Other season highlights include the premiere of five compositions, a choral work, Hey Yud Yud - Parallel Universes, the Andante Appassionato movement from her String Quartet No. 1, and Dance to Unknowing--a Klezmer Prelude. Ikarus--Duo for Binya, for violin and viola, commissioned by the Community Music Center, saw its world premiere on April 10 in Portland, Oregon and Freedom and Truth for violin and voice to commemorate pioneering women's rights activist Margaret Fuller commissioned by Beacon Arts also premieres this spring. Currently Kaye is at work on an orchestral work for the Portland Youth Philharmonic that will premiere in the 2016-17 season.

For more information and hi-res images visit www.debrakayecomposer.com