Miller Theatre Opens 2016-17 Composer Portraits with JOHN ZORN

As prolific as he is provocative, John Zorn returns to Composer Portraits with five new works, all slated to receive their world premiere performances. A dream team of new music superstars comes together to give voice to Zorn's newest creations, affirming once more the depth and breadth of his musical palette, which draws on punk, jazz, klezmer, classical, and other genres-spanning continents and centuries.

PROGRAM:
The 36 Strategems (2016) - world premiere
Candlemas Eve (2016) - world premiere
Diableries (2016) - world premiere
Freud (2016) - world premiere
Obscure Objects of Desire (2016) - world premiere
Cagliostro (2016)
Il n'y a plus de firmament (2014)

ARTISTS:
John Zorn, composer
American Brass Quintet
JACK Quartet
Talea Ensemble
Jay Campbell, cello
Michael Nicolas, cello
David Fulmer, viola
Kim Cass, bass
Stephen Gosling, piano
Tyshawn Sorey, drums
James Baker, conductor

John Zorn

Drawing upon his experience in classical, jazz, rock, hardcore punk, klezmer, film, cartoon, popular, world and improvised music, John Zorn has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. Born and raised in New York City, he is a central figure in the Downtown Scene, incorporating a wide variety of creative musicians into various compositional formats. His work is remarkably diverse and eclectic, drawing inspiration from Art, Literature, Film, Theatre, Philosophy, Alchemy and Mysticism as well as Music. He founded the Tzadik label in 1995, runs the East Village performance space The Stone and has edited/published five volumes of musician's writings under the title ARCANA.

American Brass Quintet

www.americanbrassquintet.org

The American Brass Quintet is internationally recognized as a premier chamber music ensemble, celebrated for peerless leadership in the brass world. As 2013 recipient of Chamber Music America's highest honor, the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award for significant and lasting contributions to the field, ABQ's rich history includes performances in Asia, Australia, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and all fifty of the United States; a discography of nearly sixty recordings; and the premieres of over one hundred fifty contemporary brass works.

ABQ commissions by Robert Beaser, William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, Eric Ewazen, Anthony Plog, Huang Ruo, David Sampson, Gunther Schuller, William Schuman, Joan Tower, and Charles Whittenberg, among many others, are considered significant contributions to contemporary chamber music and the foundation of the modern brass quintet repertoire. The ABQ's Emerging Composer Commissioning program has brought forth brass quintets by Gordon Beeferman, Jay Greenberg, Trevor Gureckis, and Shafer Mahoney. Among the quintet's recordings are eleven CDs for Summit Records since 1992 including the ABQ's 50th release State of the Art-The ABQ at 50 featuring recent works written for them.

JACK Quartet

jackquartet.com

JACK Quartet is "the go-to quartet for contemporary music, tying impeccable musicianship to intellectual ferocity and a take-no-prisoners sense of commitment." (Washington Post) The recipient of Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, New Music USA's Trailblazer Award, and the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, JACK has performed to critical acclaim at Carnegie Hall (USA), Lincoln Center (USA), Miller Theatre (USA), Wigmore Hall (United Kingdom), Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (Netherlands), IRCAM (France), Kölner Philharmonie (Germany), the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), La Biennale di Venezia (Italy), Suntory Hall (Japan), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Festival Internacional Cervatino (Mexico), and Teatro Colón (Argentina).

Comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell, JACK is focused on new work, leading them to collaborate with composers John Luther Adams, Chaya Czernowin, Simon Steen-Andersen, Caroline Shaw, Helmut Lachenmann, Steve Reich, Matthias Pintscher, and John Zorn. Upcoming and recent premieres include works by Derek Bermel, Cenk Ergün, Roger Reynolds, Toby Twining, and Georg Friedrich Haas.

Talea Ensemble

taleaensemble.org

The Talea Ensemble has been labeled "...a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere" by The New York Times. Recipient of the 2014 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the ensemble has given many important world and US premieres of new works by composers including Pierre Boulez, Tristan Murail, Olga Neuwirth, John Zorn, Unsuk Chin, Rand Steiger, Beat Furrer, and Fausto Romitelli. Talea has performed at Lincoln Center Festival, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, Warsaw Autumn, Wien Modern, Contempuls, Newport Jazz Festival, La Ciudad de las Ideas (Mexico), Art Summit Indonesia (Jakarta), and the International Contemporary Music Festival (Peru). Radio broadcasts of performances have been heard on ORF (Austria), HRF (Germany), and WQXR's Q2.

As an active collaborator of new music Talea has joined forces with the Austrian Cultural Forum, Consulate General of Denmark, Korean Cultural Service NY, Italian Cultural Institute, and the Ukrainian Institute. Assuming an ongoing role in supporting and collaborating with student composers, Talea is currently ensemble in residence at Columbia University and has been a guest ensemble at Harvard University, Stanford University, Ithaca College, Cornell University and New York University. Talea has recorded works on the Living Artists Label, Gravina Musica, Tzadik, Innova, Wergo, and New World Records.

Jay Campbell, cello

Jay Campbell, cello: Armed with a diverse spectrum of repertoire and eclectic musical interests, cellist Jay Campbell has been recognized for approaching both old and new works with the same probing curiosity and emotional commitment. Campbell made his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 2013 and has soloed in major venues around the globe including Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, Avery Fisher Hall, Lucerne's KKL, as well as recitals in Carnegie's Weill Hall, the Kennedy, Mondavi, and Krannert centers. Dedicated to introducing audiences to the music of our time, Campbell has worked closely with some of today's most creative musicians including Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, Matthias Pintscher, John Adams, Kaija Saariaho, and countless others from his own generation. His close association with John Zorn resulted in the 2015 release of Hen to Pan(Tzadik) featuring all works written for Campbell, and was listed in the New York Timesyear-end Best Recordings of 2015.

Michael Nicolas, cello

Michael Nicolas, cello: Hailed by critics from The New York Times and The Washington Post, "brilliantly assured" cellist Michael Nicolas is one of the rising stars of his generation and a dynamic performer on the classical and contemporary music scene. After graduating from The Juilliard School, Nicolas was appointed Associate Principal Cellist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, with which he played over the course of four seasons. Nicolas is currently a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), and has worked with many distinguished composers-Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, Mario Davidovsky, Steve Reich, Kaija Saariaho, Charles Wuorinen, John Zorn-as well as countless others of his own generation. His many festival appearances around the world include the Bridgehampton, Chamber Music Northwest, Huddersfield Contemporary Music, Iceland Airwaves, Lincoln Center White Light, Marlboro Music, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, and Wien Modern festivals. Nicolas is also a member of Ensemble Ditto, a chamber music group based in South Korea.

David Fulmer, viola

David Fulmer, viola: 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. 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. 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.

Kim Cass, bass

Kim Cass, bass: Kim Cass is from an island off the coast of Maine, where he was introduced to bass playing at age 10. He quickly developed a unique style on the electric bass and began playing the upright bass at age 13. Developing this instrument in a jazz context became Kim's passion, as well as composing music featuring his upright playing. When studying at the New England Conservatory of Music, Cass received personalized instruction from several virtuoso musicians including George Garzone, Ran Blake, Joe Morris and Joe Maneri. Cass currently resides in New York City. He has been featured in a wide variety of ensembles, executing music that is ever challenging and beautifully mysterious. Cass has performed with the likes of Matt Mitchell, Tyshawn Sorey, John Zorn and Bill McHenry. The solo album KIM CASS, released on Table and Chairs, is a showcase of Kim's upright bass playing and compositions. He is currently composing and practicing material for his next recording project, scheduled for 2018.

Stephen Gosling, piano

Stephen Gosling, piano: Pianist Stephen Gosling enjoys a varied career as soloist and chamber musician with a particular focus on the music of our time. He earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees at The Juilliard School, where he was awarded the Mennin Prize and Sony Elevated Standards Fellowship, and appeared as concerto soloist on an unprecedented four occasions. He is a member of New York New Music Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Orchestra of the League of Composers, Perspectives Ensemble, and Ne(x)tworks, and has appeared as guest artist with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus, Orchestra of St. Luke's, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, eighth blackbird, American Composers Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, among many others. He frequently performs in the Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart, and June in Buffalo festivals. Gosling has collaborated with composers including Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, Brian Ferneyhough, Oliver Knussen, Steve Reich, Poul Ruders, Charles Wuorinen, and John Zorn, with whom he has performed worldwide over the past two seasons and released several recent recordings (including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-nominatedHexentarot).

Tyshawn Sorey, drums

Tyshawn Sorey, drums: Tyshawn Sorey is an active composer, performer, educator, and scholar who works across an extensive range of musical idioms. As a percussionist, trombonist, and pianist, Tyshawn has performed and/or recorded nationally and internationally with his own ensembles and with artists such as MuhAl Richard Abrams, Steve Coleman, Butch Morris, Peter Evans, Misha Mengelberg, John Zorn, Vijay Iyer, Wadada Leo Smith, Dave Douglas, Anthony Braxton, Steve Lehman, and Tim Berne, among many others. Tyshawn's work has been favorably reviewed in Traps, National Public Radio, JazzTimes, The Village Voice, The Wire, The New York Times, Modern Drummer, The Wall Street Journal, and Downbeat Magazine. As a composer, Tyshawn has composed over 160 works of all genres to date and received commissions from Van Lier Fellowship, Roulette, and the International Contemporary Ensemble.

James Baker, conductor

James Baker, conductor: James Baker is principal percussionist of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. He is music director and conductor of the Composers Conference at Wellesley College and director of the Percussion Ensemble at the Mannes College of Music. He was conductor of the New York New Music Ensemble and is conductor of the Talea Ensemble, and guest conductor of the Slee Sinfonietta at the Institute for 21st Century Music in Buffalo. He has led the Orchestra of the League of Composers, Speculum Musicae, Ensemble ACJW, including at Carnegie Hall, the Cygnus Ensemble, the ensemble Tactus at the Manhattan School of Music, Ensemble 21 and the DaCapo Chamber players, among many others. As a percussionist he appears often with Orpheus, was a member of the American Composers Orchestra and the Eos Orchestra and has played with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Paris Opéra, Royal Danish and Czech Philharmonic.