Metropolis Ensemble to Perform Live Score to METROPOLIS at National Sawdust

The Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble will make its debut performance at National Sawdust on March 10 for a special screening of the iconic film Metropolis set to the world premiere of original music by electronic artist/composer Ricardo Romaneiro, who is becoming known for his creative explorations harnessing the newest hardware and music software innovations in live performance.

The undertaking is due to more than its wordplay. Metropolis Ensemble founder, conductor, and Artistic Director Andrew Cyr explains:

"Working with an adventurous artist like Ricardo Romaneiro is the reason I started Metropolis Ensemble. The extraordinary new sound system at National Sawdust coupled with Ricardo's recent successes live-scoring films (such as Terrence Malick's A Voyage in Time at BAM) brought forth the perfect conditions for this project to be imagined. More importantly, this film is increasingly relevant now for the city that inspired it."

Metropolis is a silent 1927 German expressionist science-fiction film directed by Fritz Lang. Set in a futuristic urban dystopia (inspired by Lang's first visit to New York in 1924), wealthy industrialists and business magnates reign from high-rise towers, while underground-dwelling workers toil to operate the great machines that power the city. The film is viewed as an accusative warning about the "profound impact technological progress has...as a subjugating and corrupting" influence over human society (Lane Roth, Film Quarterly).

Metropolis Ensemble has been commissioning work from Romaneiro since collaborating on a remix of Rite of Spring at Celebrate Brooklyn! in 2008, a project that rode the bleeding edge of technology at that time. For this event, Romaneiro will take full advantage of the breakthroughs in acoustical science as realized by Meyer Sound's Constellation® acoustic system and its immersive component Spacemap®, newly installed at National Sawdust in 2019. This dynamic new auditory playground will allow Romaneiro to craft a sonic experience that places the listener/viewer directly within the myriad of illusory sets Metropolis features, ranging from a huge Gothic cathedral to futuristic cityscapes, mirroring in sound the stunning and pioneering visual innovations Lang created.

This collaboration reflects Metropolis Ensemble's process of forming highly supportive relationships with outstanding emerging artists to develop, create, and present large-scale projects over the span of several seasons. Through these collaborative, multi-year partnerships with artists and composers, Metropolis re-imagines what a classical music ensemble and community can be in the 21st century.

Performance Details

Metropolis
Featuring Metropolis Ensemble performing the world premiere of
a live score by Ricardo Romaneiro
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St / Brooklyn, NY)
Doors 7PM, show at 8PM
Tickets: $25 Advance; $30 door (plus fees)

More Info and Ticket Purchase

Artist Roster:

Jacqueline Kerrod, electric harp
Keita Ogawa, toy percussion
Narek Arutyunian, clarinets, violin, viola, cello
Immanuel Wilkins, saxophones
JK Kim, drum synth
Chris Fishman, synthesizers
Ricardo Romaneiro, composer/electronic artist
Leo Leite, sound engineer
Andrew Cyr, conductor