Miller Theatre to Continue 'Composer Portrait' Series with Francesca Verunelli

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts continues its Composer Portraits series with Francesca Verunelli, featuring International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE, David Fulmer, conductor) on Thursday, April 21, 2016, 8:00 p.m. at Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th Street).

Tickets: $20-$30; Students with valid ID: $7-$18. Visit www.millertheatre.com/events/francesca-verunelli for more information.

From Miller Theatre Executive Director Melissa Smey: "Francesca Verunelli's work is largely unknown in the United States and I can't wait to introduce her music to New York audiences. Her program features three pieces never before heard in the U.S., including a world premiere commissioned by our longtime collaborators, the International Contemporary Ensemble. This is an incredible chance to hear the work of a composer in the midst of breaking onto the scene in this country, and the inimitable musicians of ICE will be your guides."

A cornerstone of Miller's programming, these "endlessly important" (The New York Times) and "indispensable" (The New Yorker) evening-length musical profiles explore the work of a single composer in depth, offering contemporary artists a space to explore, experiment, and make significant contributions to the field. Many composers participate in onstage discussions as part of their Portrait concert, offering the audience unique insight into their inspiration behind the notes. Zachary Woolfe writes in The New York Times: "Miller Theater's marquee series offers immersions into a single composer's work at a time. Melissa Smey, the theater's executive director, gives all-too-rare attention to female artists."

An electroacoustic composer based in Paris, Verunelli is quietly becoming an artist to watch, with commissions from many of Europe's top ensembles. In this Portrait, Miller Theatre will introduce her music to the United States, featuring the fruits of her close collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble. A highlight of the program is a new piece for flute and electronics, composed especially for Claire Chase.

PROGRAM:
New work (2015) world premiere
Déshabillage impossible (2015) U.S. premiere
Cinemaolio (2014) U.S. premiere

ARTISTS:
Francesca Verunelli, composer
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
David Fulmer, conductor

About Francesca Verunelli (www.francescaverunelli.com) - Francesca Verunelli studied composition with Rosario Mirigliano and piano with Stefano Fiuzzi at the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence where she earned both diplomas summa cum laude. She concluded her studies at the Accademia Santa Cecilia, with Azio Corghi.

Verunelli went on to attend IRCAM's cursus in Composition and Computer Music, her work there culminating in the creation of Interno rosso con figure for accordion and electronics, performed by Anthony Millet and Play-written for the Ensemble Intercontemporain conducted by Susanna Mälkki-performed in October 2010 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The same year, at La Biennale di Venezia, she was awarded the "Leone d'argento" prize.

Verunelli has received commissions from important musical institutions and festivals such as IRCAM, NeueVocalsolisten Stuttgart, La Biennale di Venezia, Orchestre Philarmonique de Radio France, Milano Musica, Accentus Chamber Choir, Lucerne Symphonic Orchestra, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, Court-Circuit, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, GMEM de Marseille, CIRM de Nice, the French State, and the FACE Foundation. She was the composer in residence at GMEM of Marseille during the 2014/2015 season.

Upcoming projects include the world premiere in New York of a new piece written for Claire Chase (solo flute and electronics); an ensemble piece Canzoniere elettrico-co-commission of the International Contemporary Ensemble of New York and GMEM (to be premiered in April 2016 at Miller Theatre, New York).

The ECHO Rising Star program commissioned from Verunelli a new string quartet (Secondo Quartetto) for the Zaïde Quartet: their tour will bring this piece to Köln, Luxembourg, Baden Baden, Barcelone, Paris, Budapest, Vienne, Hambourg, Bruxelles, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Londres, Lisbonne, Stockholm, Porto.

Francesca Verunelli is currently artist in residence at Casa Velasquez (Académie de France à Madrid).

About International Contemporary Ensemble - The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), described by The New York Times as "one of the most accomplished and adventurous groups in new music," is dedicated to reshaping the way music is created and experienced. With a modular makeup of 35 leading instrumentalists, performing in forces ranging from solos to large ensembles, ICE functions as performer, presenter, and educator, advancing the music of our time by developing innovative new works and new strategies for audience engagement. ICE redefines concert music as it brings together new work and new listeners in the 21st century.

Since its founding in 2001, ICE has premiered over 500 compositions-the majority of these new works by emerging composers-in venues spanning from alternative spaces to concert halls around the world. The ensemble has received the American Music Center's Trailblazer Award for its contributions to the field, the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, and was most recently named Musical America Worldwide's Ensemble of the Year in 2013. From 2008 to 2013 ICE was Ensemble-in- Residence at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. In 2014 ICE began a partnership with the Illinois Humanities Council, the Hideout in Chicago, and the Abrons Art Center in New York to support the OpenICE initiative.

ICE has released acclaimed albums on the Nonesuch, Kairos, Bridge, Naxos, Tzadik, New Focus, New Amsterdam and Mode labels. ICE has worked closely with conductors Ludovic Morlot, Matthias Pintscher, John Adams and Susanna Mälkki. Since 2012, conductor and percussion soloist Steven Schick has served as ICE's Artist-in-Residence.

In 2011, with lead support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, ICE created the ICElab program to place teams of ICE musicians in close collaboration with emerging composers to develop works that push the boundaries of musical exploration.

About David Fulmer - A leader in his generation of composer-performers, David Fulmer has garnered numerous international accolades for his bold compositional aesthetic combined with his thrilling performances. The success of his Violin Concerto at Lincoln Center in 2010 earned international attention and resulted in immediate engagement to perform the work with major orchestras and at festivals in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, and Australia. Fulmer made his European debut performing and recording his concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Matthias Pintscher in 2011.

A surge of new commissions and recent performances include the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic Biennial, Slovenian Philharmonic, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Salzburg Foundation, BMI Foundation, Concert Artists Guild, Washington Performing Arts, and the Fromm Music Foundation. He recently led the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, NFM Wroc?aw Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Elision Ensemble, and numerous ensembles and orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia. Next season marks important debuts leading the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Szczecin Philharmonic, and South Netherlands Philharmonic.

Recent appearances also include the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Green Umbrella series at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Chamber Music Northwest Festival, and Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival. Fulmer was recently the recipient of both the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Carlos Surinach Commissioning Award from BMI. He is the first and only American recipient of the Grand Prize of the International Edvard Grieg Competition. He graduated from The Juilliard School.