John Zorn News

Violinist, composer and educator Elektra Kurtis has an expansive multi-cultural background. Of Greek origin, she was raised in Poland and graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory at Miodowa, prior to completing her studies in Finland at the Sibelius Academy of Music in Helsinki. As a NYC resident for over twenty years, Elektra and her own group, Ensemble Elektra (featuring violinist Curtis Stewart; clarinetist Lefteris Bournias; drummer Reggie Nicholson; and bassist Kenny Davis), is dedicated to bridging cultural borders and genres of music, using the essence of Mediterranean music, spiced with Polish, Greek and Arabic flavor, based in contemporary jazz and classical music forms.

Summer is just around the corner, and we are looking ahead in anticipation to the start of Carnegie Hall's 2014-2015 season! Listed below are classical music highlights at Carnegie Hall, including details on UBUNTU: Music and Arts of South Africa, a three-week festival from October 10 to November 5, featuring an exciting array of events to be presented at Carnegie Hall and partner venues throughout New York City, inviting audiences to explore the incredibly dynamic and diverse culture of South Africa.

The Jewish Museum and Bang on a Can are launching a new partnership to produce a series of dynamic musical performances at the Museum from June 2014 to May 2015. Inspired by the Jewish Museum's diverse slate of exhibitions, the five programs will take place throughout the year across the Museum at Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, Manhattan. The partnership kicks off with Asphalt Orchestra performing during the Museum Mile Festival on June 10, followed by a July 10 concert featuring works by Minimalist composers such as Philip Glass and Louis Andriessen in conjunction with Other Primary Structures, an exhibition of global sculpture from the 1960s.

John Zorn's renowned THE STONE presents a weeklong residency performed and curated by mesmerizing guitarist and composer Eyal Maoz. A mainstay of the NYC downtown music scene, Maoz is notoriously known as the bad (and crazy) boy of the progressive jazz guitar world. For six nights, he brings his new works evoking both cutting edge rock-jazz-Jewish extravaganza noise and chamber grace.

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its lineup now through June 8. Details below!

In the history of the Holocaust, the fate of Hungarian Jews stands out due to the exceptional speed with which their deportation was carried out by the Hungarian authorities cooperating with the Eichmann bureau very late in the war, in summer 1944. Almost half a million people were deported in less than three months, and over half a million were murdered in the course of World War II in forced labour units, in labor and death camps and in various pogroms conducted by Arrowcross men.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association announces the 2014/15 season programming for its acclaimed MusicNOW contemporary music series—dedicated to showcasing contemporary music through an innovative concert experience. Uniquely curated by CSO Mead Composers-In-Residence Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, the annual, four-concert series in 2014/15 presents a range of work from major musical figures such as Pierre Boulez and established contemporary talents such as John Luther Adams and Michael Gordon. Programs are performed by members of the CSO and guest artists led by MusicNOW principal conductor Cliff Colnot and guest conductors, which this year includes James Feddeck, winner of the 2013 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its upcoming shows, today, May 21 through June 1, 2014. Details below!

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its upcoming shows, May 21 through June 1, 2014. Details below!

Joe's Pub at The Public is known for the most eclectic and diverse programming in New York City. Coming up at the Pub is a slate of extraordinary women performers and artists that span the gambit of genre and style - from the irreverent and explosive alt-cabaret star Bridget Everett to the visionary jazz vocalist and composer Kavita Shah to the prolific and singular singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier. See below for a full list of their leading ladies through June 2014.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is more than just a splendid showcase of brilliant artifacts; it is home to a broad range of ideas and personal narratives from every civilization. The 2014–15 season of Met Museum Presents brings these stories to life through theater, performance, and discussions that celebrate the enormous breadth, depth—and surprising relevance—of these narratives.

Violinist Jennifer Koh, known for her commanding, laser-focused performances and commitment to new repertoire, plays the New York premiere of Jennifer Higdon's The Singing Rooms, a large scale work for violin, chorus and orchestra with the New York Choral Society and Orchestra conducted by David Hayes at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium tonight, April 29, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

In the history of the Holocaust, the fate of Hungarian Jews stands out due to the exceptional speed with which their deportation was carried out by the Hungarian authorities cooperating with the Eichmann bureau very late in the war, in summer 1944. Almost half a million people were deported in less than three months, and over half a million were murdered in the course of World War II in forced labour units, in labor and death camps and in various pogroms conducted by Arrowcross men.

Bang on a Can and The Noguchi Museum partner for the fourth summer in presenting Music in the Garden, an innovative performance series held in the Museum's celebrated sculpture garden on Sunday afternoons at 3pm. All concerts are free with Museum admission.

As announced last week, Incubator Arts Project is closing its doors. Before the organization leaves St. Mark's, the group is presenting WSB 100 by William S Burroughs as part of its final lineup of artists.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for April 28 - May 4, featuring the Steve Kuhn Trio, Broadway Sings Their Favorites - Celebrating the Tenth Season of Broadway Artists Alliance, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more!

Columbia University's Italian Academy for Advanced Studies presents the adventurous young cellist Jay Campbell, First Prize Winner of the 2012 Concert Artists Guild (CAG) Victor Elmaleh Competition, on its Spring 2014 concert series Wednesday evening, May 7th at 7:00 p.m. in the Teatro of the Italian Academy, 1161 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY. Mr. Campbell is joined by soprano Sharon Harms, pianist Stephen Gosling, and flutist Eric Lamb for an all-contemporary program of works by Salvatore Sciarrino, Jason Eckhardt, and a world premiere by American composer Jonathan Dawe. The complete program follows:

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its May 2014 schedule, featuring Steve Kuhn Trio, Joey DeFrancesco Organ Quartet, Karrin Allyson, BOSSABRASIL Festival, and more.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Derek Bermel and Music Director George Manahan, American Composers Orchestra's (ACO) 2014-2015 season strengthens the orchestra's commitment to serve as a catalyst for the creation of new orchestral music, providing unprecedented opportunities for American composers to create new work and for audiences to discover it. Now in its 11th year at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, Orchestra Underground continues as ACO's subversive and entrepreneurial redefinition of the orchestra as an elastic ensemble, and this year features the rarely performed orchestral music of pioneering composer and performer Meredith Monk, holder of the 2014-2015 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall (Monk's Sphere, November 21). Orchestra Underground brings cabaret, pop, and jazz traditions into the concert hall in a program featuring Kurt Weill's cabaret cult classic The Seven Deadly Sins sung by Shara Worden (Sin & Songs, February 27). For the first time in several seasons, ACO returns to performing with full symphonic forces outside of Carnegie Hall - the orchestra's April concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center will showcase the New York premiere ofWynton Marsalis' Blues Symphony.

On April 27, 2014, the Skidmore College Orchestra will present the world premiere of Double Concerto for Clarinet and Guitar, composed by the internationally acclaimed guitarist James Emery for his daughter Hannah and featuring the two of them, respectively, as the guitar and clarinet soloists. This concert will mark their public debut playing together in an orchestral setting.