International Contemporary Ensemble to Perform Dai Fujikura Composer Portrait at Miller Theatre

As one of the leading voices of his generation, composer Dai Fujikura's signature writing will be exhibited in a Miller Theatre Composer Portrait on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 8:00pm, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), longtime champions of and collaborators with Fujikura. ICE will be joined by soprano Alice Teyssier, guitarist Daniel Lippel, and conductor Daniela Candillari in an all-Fujikura program of chamber works. As a part of the New York Public Library and ICE series Collecting Composers, the Ensemble joins Dai Fujikura in a free, open conversation and workshop in advance of the performance on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 7:00pm at the New York Public Library.

A selection of chamber works written for and with members of the Ensemble provide a glimpse into Fujikura's unique sound world, including Minina (2013)-inspired by the birth of his daughter-and abandoned time (2004, rev. 2006), for electric guitar and ensemble. Dai Fujikura's new work, Gliding Wings, co-commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble and the Miller Theatre, receives its world premiere and will evolve from his keen awareness of the sonic landscape of his environment, including both natural and man-made worlds. The International Contemporary Ensemble performed the world premiere of Fujikura's Shamisen Concerto at the 2019 Mostly Mozart Festival, which Limelight Magazine called "spiky, yet tuneful... a brilliant new work that effortlessly combines an Eastern instrument with a traditional Western musical form." The relationship between ICE and Fujikura has, from the beginning, gone far beyond the traditional commissioning model, enabling composer and performer to work together (and at length) to share the possibilities and limitations of each instrument. This valuable relationship speaks to the core of the Ensemble's work - placing artists and composers directly in conversation with each other throughout the life of a new piece.

"The International Contemporary Ensemble's relationship to Dai Fujikura traces back to 2003, and it is a special one. Dai was one of the first winners of our Young Composer Call for Scores! In 2005, we learned that he had a piece for electric guitar and ensemble, abandoned time, that had yet to be performed in the United States. We performed the work the following year in Chicago with ICE guitarist Dan Lippel appearing as soloist. The program's opening work, Minina, dates back to our inaugural Japanese tour in 2014, where it was premiered in its original version for five soloists and orchestra with the incredible the Nagoya Philharmonic. Dai has become one of our most treasured collaborators, and a dear friend, and we are so excited to revisit these works, with the Ensemble members for whom they were written, at Miller Theatre in March," says Ensemble Co-Artistic Director and bassoonist Rebekah Heller.

This ethos can be witnessed with another special collaboration - one that dates back to 2015 between ICE, Pauline Oliveros, and Ione. The Nubian Word for Flowers: a phantom opera is the final work of iconic American composer Pauline Oliveros. At the time of her death in November 2016, the opera was only 75 percent complete. During the year that followed, Oliveros' wife, Ione, collaborated with ICE, Monica Duncan (video artist), Senem Pirler (sound artist), and Nick Demaison (conductor) to posthumously complete the work and give a full-scale world premiere at Roulette (Brooklyn, NY) on November 30, 2017, which was lauded as a "warmly felt haunting" by The New York Times. On Saturday, February 22 at 8pm, The Ensemble premieres the "pocket" chamber edition of The Nubian Word for Flowers at The New York Public Library Vincent Astor Gallery, utilizing live performance, electronics, and moving images to create a deep dream exploration of Nubian soul and colonial mind.

The Ensemble will present four concerts and two workshop sessions at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts this February. More information can be found below.

Program Information

Collecting Dai Fujikura

Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 7pm
New York Public Library Vincent Astor Gallery | 111 Amsterdam Avenue | New York, NY
Tickets: Free
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/openice-at-the-library-collecting-dai-fujikara-tickets-90022446561

Dai Fujikura Composer Portrait

Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 8pm
Miller Theatre | 2960 Broadway | New York, NY
Tickets: Tickets starting at $20
Link: https://www.millertheatre.com/events/dai-fujikura

Performers:

Alice Teyssier, soprano
Daniel Lippel, guitar
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
Daniela Candillari, conductor

Repertoire:

Dai Fujikura: Gliding Wings (2019) [World Premiere, Miller Theatre Co-Commission]
Dai Fujikura: Minina (2013)
Dai Fujikura: silence seeking solace (2013)
Dai Fujikura: secret forest (2008)
Dai Fujikura: abandoned time (2004, rev. 2006)

New York Public Library Series

ICEcommons AiR Workshops and Open Rehearsals
Friday, February 14, 2020 at 11am-1pm
New York Public Library Vincent Astor Gallery | 111 Amsterdam Avenue | New York, NY
Tickets: Free
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/icecommons-air-workshops-and-open-rehearsals-tickets-90025064391

Notations Book Club

Friday, February 14, 2020 at 4pm
New York Public Library Vincent Astor Gallery | 111 Amsterdam Avenue | New York, NY
Tickets: Free
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/notations-book-club-tickets-90025626071

Members of the International Contemporary host an exploration of the Library's collection of graphic scores, especially the John Cage, Alsion Knowles seminal anthology Notations.

ICEcommons AiR Workshops and Open Rehearsals

Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11am-1pm
New York Public Library Vincent Astor Gallery | 111 Amsterdam Avenue | New York, NY
Tickets: Free
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/icecommons-air-workshops-and-open-rehearsals-tickets-90025395381

Collecting Performers

Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 6pm
New York Public Library Vincent Astor Gallery | 111 Amsterdam Avenue | New York, NY
Tickets: Free
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/openice-at-the-library-collecting-performers-tickets-90023006235

Performers:

James Austin Smith, oboe
Eric Umble, clarinet
Ryan Muncy, saxophone
Nathan Davis, percussion
Levy Lorenzo, electronics
Ross Karre, projection assistance

Program:

New Works by Rebecka Ahvenniemi and Sigurd Rischer Olsen

The Nubian Word for Flowers: Pocket Edition

Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 8pm
New York Public Library Vincent Astor Gallery | 111 Amsterdam Avenue | New York, NY
Tickets: Free
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-nubian-word-for-flowers-tickets-90024147649

Performers:

Ione (text, direction, and performance)
Monica Duncan (visuals, performance)
Senem Pirler (sound, performance)

Program:

Oliveros: The Nubian Words for Flowers (Pocket Edition)

About Dai Fujikura

Born in 1977 in Osaka Japan, Dai Fujikura was 15 when he moved to the UK. The recipient of many composition prizes, he has received numerous international co-commissions from the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, BBC Proms, Bamberg Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and more. He has been Composer-in-Residence of Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra since 2014 and held the same post at the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France in 2017/18. Dai's first opera Solaris, co-commissioned by the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Opéra de Lausanne and the Opéra de Lille, had its world premiere in Paris in 2015 and has since gained worldwide reputation. A new production of Solaris was created and performed at the Theatre Augsburg in 2018, and the opera received a subsequent staging in 2020.

In 2017, Dai received the Silver Lion Award from the Venice Biennale. In the same year, he was named Artistic Director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater's Born Creative Festival. In 2019, his Shamisen Concerto was premiered at the Mostly Mozart festival at Lincoln Center and there have so far been nine performances of this work by various orchestras. In 2020, his fourth piano concerto, Akiko's Piano, is to be premiered by Martha Argerich and Dai is currently composing his third opera, which will be revealed to the public in the same year. His works are recorded by and released mainly on his own label Minabel Records in collaboration with SONY Music and his compositions are published by Ricordi Berlin. Learn more at www.daifujikura.com.

About the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)

The International Contemporary Ensemble is an artist collective that is transforming the way music is created and experienced. As performer, curator, and educator, the Ensemble explores how new music intersects with communities across the world. The Ensemble's 35 members are featured as soloists, chamber musicians, commissioners, and collaborators with the foremost musical artists of our time. Works by emerging composers have anchored the Ensemble's programming since its founding in 2001, and the group's recordings and digital platforms highlight the many voices that weave music's present.

A recipient of the American Music Center's Trailblazer Award and the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the International Contemporary Ensemble was also named the 2014 Musical America Ensemble of the Year. The group currently serves as artists-in-residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Mostly Mozart Festival, and previously led a five-year residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The International Contemporary Ensemble was featured at the Ojai Music Festival from 2015 to 2017, and at recent festivals abroad such as gmem-CNCM-marseille and Vértice at Cultura UNAM, Mexico City. Other performance stages have included the Park Avenue Armory, The Stone, ice floes at Greenland's Diskotek Sessions, and boats on the Amazon River.

OpenICE, made possible with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, offers free concerts and interactive, educational programming wherever the Ensemble performs. As the Ensemble in Residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology, the International Contemporary Ensemble advances music technology and digital communications as an empowering tool for artists from all backgrounds. Curricular activities include a residency and coursework at the New School College of Performing Arts, along with a summer intensive program, called Ensemble Evolution, where topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion build new bridges and pathways for the future of creative sound practices. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the Ensemble. Read more at www.iceorg.org and watch over 350 videos of live performances and documentaries at digitice.org.

About Miller Theatre Composer Portrait Series

A cornerstone of Miller's programming, these evening-length musical profiles explore the work of a single composer in depth, offering contemporary composers and performers a space to explore, experiment, and make significant contributions to the field. For twenty years, Miller's flagship series has exposed audiences to the boundary-breaking music of today. This season, Miller Theatre offers an in-depth look at seven composers in these evening-length immersions, including the chance to hear directly from the composers during onstage discussions.

Photo Credit: Chris Terry for Miller Theatre