Meredith Monk News

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe present Verdi's mammoth Requiem April 3-6 in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown with soprano Marianne Fiset, mezzo-soprano Janara Kellerman, tenor Russell Thomas, bass Peter Volpe and the Montclair State University Chorale. Thomas returns to NJSO stages after his performance of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Orchestra in January. The April 5 performance at the State Theatre in New Brunswick is the NJSO's third College Night event of the season.

Performance Space 122, an East Village contemporary performance hub, announces the co-chairs of their Give Performance Space campaign, which coincides with the renovation of their over 30-year home at 150 1st Avenue. Give Performance Space is a capacity campaign to launch Performance Space 122's growth as an organization with the goal of better serving the artists and audiences of New York City. The co-chairs are acclaimed actor, photographer and activist Alan Cumming; producer, writer and director Stella Schnabel and PS122 Board Vice President Charles L. Kerr, partner at international law office Morrison & Foerster.

Indian classical mantras, American blues and jazz, and hints of Balkan brass and American hip-hop converge on Bringi's new album, Incantations, focusing ancient musical traditions and Hindu mythology on modern spaces like yoga studios and dance clubs.

Marsyas Productions honors master composer Chou Wen-chung with a very special 90th birthday tribute concert featuring Boston Musica Viva, Talujon, flutist Jayn Rosenfeld and pianist Christopher Oldfather tonight, February 20th at 8pm.

After performing nationwide in 2012-13 throughout the U.S. and Canada, LIAISONS: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano featuring internationally renowned contemporary pianist Anthony de Mare comes to the Mondavi Center for two nights only March 29 (8:00om) and 30 (2:00pm). Based on the music of the legendary composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, LIAISONS is an intrepid program of new, solo piano works by some of the world's foremost contemporary composers - this marks the first time that Sondheim songs have ever been re-imagined for solo piano. Commissioned purely for this landmark project, composers from the realms of classical, jazz, film, pop, musical theater, opera and avant-garde music have come together to pay homage to Sondheim, whose music has dominated American musical theater for the past four decades. LIAISONS' 2012-13 nationwide tour has made stops in San Francisco, New York City, Fort Worth, and Hudson Opera House, to name a few, and will continue throughout 2014. A full recording of the project is also underway, produced by Judith Sherman, for release in 2015. Tickets are $19-$42. To purchase, contact Mondavi Arts at 530-754-2787 or visit mondaviarts.org.

After performing nationwide in 2012-13 throughout the U.S. and Canada, LIAISONS: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano featuring internationally renowned contemporary pianist Anthony de Mare comes to the Mondavi Center for two nights only MAR 29-30. Based on the music of the legendary composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, LIAISONS is an intrepid program of new, solo piano works by some of the world's foremost contemporary composers - this marks the first time that Sondheim songs have ever been re-imagined for solo piano. Commissioned purely for this landmark project, composers from the realms of classical, jazz, film, pop, musical theater, opera and avant-garde music have come together to pay homage to Sondheim, whose music has dominated American musical theater for the past four decades. LIAISONS' 2012-13 nationwide tour has made stops in San Francisco, New York City, Fort Worth, and Hudson Opera House, to name a few, and will continue throughout 2014. A full recording of the project is also underway, produced by Judith Sherman, for release in 2015.

Five decades later and still blazing new trails, Meredith Monk began preparation for her Fiftieth Year celebration with the January 29 announcement of her appointment as the 2014/15 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall. Her spring calendar, a prelude to her 50th anniversary events, is crammed with New York, national and international performances, record and CD releases, workshops and residencies designed to showcase Monk's groundbreaking work past and present.

'Conversations with Chevaliers: Meredith Monk with Adam Gopnik' is set for tonight, February 12, 2014 at 8:15 pm at the 92Y, Buttenwieser Hall.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts announced today that AXIS Dance Company, one of the world's most acclaimed and innovative ensembles, will perform one night only on Friday, March 21 at 7:30 pm at the Ordway. Under the artistic direction of Judith Smith, the company of seven dancers-with and without disabilities-challenges the possibilities of movement, expanding and enriching the art form itself.

In the spring of 2014, Kent Tritle leads the forces of his various organizations in music ranging from that of Renaissance Spain, to the choral masterpieces of J.S. Bach, to Honegger's King David, to a program with the voice pioneer Meredith Monk and the New York premiere of a work by Jocelyn Hagen.

The Village Voice, the nation's first and largest alternative weekly newspaper, announced today that esteemed critic and longtime judge of the awards, Michael Feingold, will serve as Obie Chairman for the 59th Annual Village Voice OBIE Awards, to be presented Monday, May 19, at Webster Hall.

Marsyas Productions honors master composer Chou Wen-chung with a very special 90th birthday tribute concert featuring Boston Musica Viva, Talujon, flutist Jayn Rosenfeld and pianist Christopher Oldfather on Thursday, February 20th at 8pm.

Musica Sacra, the longest continuously-performing professional chorus in New York City, will present a performance in honor of Women's History Month featuring works by acclaimed composers Meredith Monk and Jocelyn Hagen at New York's Alice Tully Hall on Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.

'Conversations with Chevaliers: Meredith Monk with Adam Gopnik' is set for February 12, 2014 at 8:15 pm at the 92Y, Buttenwieser Hall.

The Bang on a Can All-Stars, known for combining 'the power and punch of a rock band with the precision and clarity of a chamber ensemble' (New York Times), will give a Carnegie Hall Family Concert tonight, February 1, 2014 at 1pm at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, complementing Bang on a Can co-founder David Lang's season-long curation as the holder of the 2013-2014 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall.

Today, February 1 (2 - 11 pm), Symphony Space will present The Music of Now Marathon: Rapid Ear Movement (REM), centering on the rich theme of sleep and dreams. Now in its fifth year, The Music of Now Marathon brings together a characteristically diverse group of artists, headlined by Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble. The Music of Now Marathon kicks off Symphony Space's two-month The Music of Now Series, which continues with seven additional concerts through March 27.

The Rachel Rosenthal Company (RRC) presents Instant Fairy Tales, a brand new series of original fairy tales for the 21st century at Espace DbD in Los Angeles. Instant Fairy Tales: The Longest Winter, the series' inaugural offering, which features an allegorical tale about learning to care for the environment, will be held on Saturdays, January 25 and February 8, as well as Sundays, January 26 and February 9, 2014. The performances, by Rachel Rosenthal Company's TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theatre Ensemble, begin at 4:00pm and 7:00pm on Saturdays, as well as at 2:00pm and 5:00pm on Sundays. Instant Fairy Tales are particularly well suited for children and families. Seating in the intimate performance space is limited to 35 patrons per show. Tickets cost $5. Reservations are necessary to insure seats and can be made online via Brown Paper Tickets at instantfairytales.brownpapertickets.com. The Rachel Rosenthal Company's venue, Espace DbD, is located at 2847 South Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034 (310-839-0661). Street parking is available. For more information, please see www.rachelrosenthal.org.

Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, today announced Carnegie Hall's 2014-2015 season made up of over 170 concerts plus extensive education and community programs created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. The new season will feature a remarkable range of performances by many of the world's greatest artists and ensembles from the worlds of classical, pop, jazz, and world music, with events presented on Carnegie Hall's three stages and throughout New York City.

The 'relentlessly inventive' (New York magazine) new music collective Bang on a Can continues its mission to create an international community dedicated to innovative music in Moscow, Russia from February 23-27, 2014, when it partners with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for The Bang on a Can Music Institute at the National Center for Contemporary Arts (NCCA). The five-day, hands-on initiative brings together eleven Russian musicians with the renowned Bang on a Can All-Stars for an intense program dedicated entirely to the performance of adventurous contemporary music. The Institute kicks off and culminates with performances by the Bang on a Can All-Stars at Strasnoy Theater on February 23 and February 27. Additionally, the All-Stars will be performing a special, joint concert with PRO ARTE eNsemble in St. Petersburg at the Alexandrinsky Theatre on Saturday, March 1. This will be the third visit by the Bang on a Can All-Stars to Russia, where they last performed in March 2012.

Founded in 1973 by acclaimed choreographer Lin Hwai-min as the first contemporary dance company in any Chinese-speaking community, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan features a repertoire rooted in Asian mythology, folklore, and aesthetics with a modern sensibility. Returning to the Northwest for the first time since Vancouver's 2010 Cultural Olympiad, the company makes their Seattle debut with Songs of the Wanderers, a visually stunning work inspired by Siddhartha's quest for enlightenment and brought to life on an astonishing set of 3-1/2 tons of shimmering golden grains of rice. Lin Hwai-min will accompany Cloud Gate to Seattle for their UW World Series engagement.