North/South Consonance, Inc. Continues Free Concert Series in March

North/South Consonance, Inc continues its series of free-admission concerts on Tuesday evening March 15 when members of the North/South Chamber Orchestra perform first performances of recent works by composers representing three generations and various aesthetic points of view. Benet Casablancas, Christopher Ha Chun, David Colson, Max Lifchitz and Carlos Rodriguez. The works by Chun and Rodriguez are being performed in collaboration with the Texas-based American Festival for the Arts (AFA). The event will be held at the auditorium of Christ & St Stephen's Church (120 West 69th Street) on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The free-admission concert will start at 8 PM and end around 9:30 PM. The auditorium is ADA accessible. No tickets or reservations needed.

The composers will introduce their works prior to being performed and will also meet with the public after the concert. Composers and performers are available for interviews and media events and may be contacted through our office at <ns.concerts@att.net>.

Since its inception in 1980, the North/South Chamber Orchestra has brought to the attention of the New York City public over 1,000 works by composers hailing from the Americas and elsewhere representing a wide spectrum of aesthetic views. Its activities are made possible in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs as well as grants from the Women's Philharmonic Advocacy and the Music Performance Trust Funds. Contributions by numerous individual donors are also gratefully acknowledged.

ABOUT THE COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC
Benet Casablancas (b. 1956, Catalunya) was awarded the 2013 Spanish National Music Prize granted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the most prestigious honour of its kind within Spain. His compositions have been performed throughout Europe, Japan and Latin America and are published by the London-based Music Sales Group. In 2014 he was appointed composer-in-residence with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. Also Active as musicologist and pedagogue, he has served as Academic Director at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona. His Sis Glosses (Six Glosses) is a collection of six pieces inspired by texts of the Dutch journalist and novelist Cees Nooteboom. While firmly rooted in the great modernist tradition, Casablancas' musical language is notable for its great individuality, structural complexity and extraordinary richness of textural detail. Christopher Ha Chun (b. 1997, San Antonio, TX) began his musical journey studying the piano and clarinet, until his discovery and fascination in composition bloomed in 2012. He studied with Aaron Alon while participating in the 2015 American Festival for the Arts (AFA) Young Composers Program. His Seven Stages of a Serial Killer is an attempt to describe musically the theories of psyschologist Joel Norris concerning the emotions experienced by a serial killer. The work's first section depicts the aura and trolling phase; the second section depicts the wooing, capture, and murder phase; then finally, the totem and depression phase.

Active as composer, conductor and percussionist, David Colson (b. 1957, Detroit) studied at the University of Michigan and Rice University where his mentors included Paul Cooper and William Bolcom. His works have been performed throughout the US and Europe and are published by Avera Music Press. He served as director of the Western Michigan University School of Music from 2007 - 2014. Inspired by the humming bird's ability to fly backwards, Colson's Flying Backwards is a single movement works where exciting musical figures seem to "hover" and move backwards from point to point.

Max Lifchitz (b. 1948, Mexico City) is active and composer and performer. Trained at The Juilliard School and Harvard University, his works have been performed throughout Latin America, Europe and the US. As ppianist and conductor, he has appeared on concert stages throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States and has recorded over 60 compact disc albums. His Yellow Ribbons No. 35 belongs to a series of works inspired by the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. These compositions represent a personal way of celebrating the artistic and political freedom so often taken for granted in the West. The single movement work is built around the opening melodic materials introduced by the flute and percussion. Carlos Rodriguez (b. 1996; Pasadena, TX) is currently a freshman studying composition and viola at Sam Houston State University. The first in his family to go to college, he attended the 2015 summer composition program sponsored by the American Festival for the Arts (AFA) where he studied with Aaron Alon. Inspired by the book of essays by Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude explores how one can escape solitude through love. The work's musical language incorporates faint elements of Mexican music.

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