New Music Concerts: January 2017 Seattle * Eastside * Tacoma

Posted on January 3, 2017 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project create a monthly calendar featuring contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in Seattle, the Eastside, Tacoma, and places in between!

Keep an eye out for our this flyer in concert programs and coffee shops around town. Feel free to download, print, and distribute it yourself! If you’d like to be included on this list, submit your event to the Live Music Project at least 6 weeks prior to the event and be sure to tag it with “new music.”

Racer Sessions
A weekly showcase of original music with a jam session based on the concepts in the opening presentation.
Every Sunday, 8-10pm, Cafe Racer | FREE
racersessions.com

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electronic/electroacoustic music, & more.
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15
waywardmusic.org (check website for complete listings)

6-8
The Esoterics: KAY: Ulysses Kay Centennial
The Esoterics will celebrate the centennial of African-American Neoclassic composer, conductor, and professor Ulysses Kay.
Fri, 1/6, 8pm, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church | $15-$25
Sat, 1/7, 8pm, Holy Rosary Catholic Church | $15-$25
Sun, 1/8, 7pm, Christ Episcopal Church, Tacoma | $15-$25
theesoterics.org

7
The Sound Ensemble: Life after Y2K
TSE shares 5 pieces written post-2000 from several different schools of composition, including a world premiere by Sarah Bassingthwaighte.
Sat, 1/7, 7pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $10 student/senior; $15 general
thesoundensemble.com/tour-dates

10
Meany Center Presents JACK Quartet
JACK Quartet, deemed “superheroes of the new music world,” performs Morton Feldman, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Derek Bermel, Julia Wolfe, & Iannis Xenakis.
Tue, 1/10, 7:30pm, Meany Theatre | $37-$42
meanycenter.org/events-tickets

11
whateverandeveramen: Second Annual Burns Night
w&ea. sings settings of Robert Burns’s texts and traditional drinking songs with an exclusive batch of Naked City’s “Scotch Wha Hae” Ale.
Wed, 1/11, 8pm, Naked City Brewery | $15 (includes a free drink ticket)
whateverchoir.org/burns

14
Chorosynthesis: Empowering Silenced Voices 2.0
A concert of new choral works on issues of social consciousness: technology, the environment, human & women’s rights, universal love, and perspectives on war & terrorism.
Sat, 1/14, 7:30pm, Nickerson Studios | $10 student/senior; $25 general
chorosynthesis.org/events

14
State of Mind
Susan Maughlin Wood and Michaud Savage premiere works for string sextet with the Skyros Quartet, Rose Gear, and Michaud Savage.
Sat, 1/14, 7pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15
waywardmusic.org

20
Russian Music of the 1960s
Pianist Dr. Brendan Kinsella & violinist Luke Fitzpatrick showcase elements of serialism & quotations in sonatas of Denisov, Shostakovich, & Schnittke.
Fri, 1/20, 7:30pm, Meany Studio Theatre | $10 student/senior; $20 general
music.washington.edu/events

21
Sumiko Sato: Sakaya Uta
Composer/pianist Sumiko Sato premieres a series of pieces for sextet based on very old and historic recordings of Sakaya Uta (sake-brewing work songs).
Sat, 1/21, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15
waywardmusic.org

20/21
Universal Language Project: concrete-lines-fluid-curves
Inspired by a recent trip to Brazil, Chris Stover presents five new compositions for chamber jazz ensemble, spoken word, found sounds, and dancer.
Fri, 1/20, 8pm, Resonance at SOMA Towers | $20
Sat, 1/21, 8pm, Cornish Playhouse – Alhadeff Studio | $20
commontonearts.com/projects/

27
Seattle Symphony: [untitled] 2
An exploration of three Soviet era composers (Rabinovitch-Barakovsky, Ustvolskaya, Karanov) who chart opposing paths during and after the Cold War.
Fri, 1/27, 10pm, Benaroya Hall Grand Lobby | $16
seattlesymphony.org

28
NUMUS Northwest
A day-long event dedicated to the creation, performance, and experience of new music in Seattle featuring performances, panels, workshops.
Sat, 1/28, 9am-10pm, Kerry Hall (Cornish) | $20 (students free)
numusnw.org

20-29
Seattle Chamber Music Society: Winter Festival
SCMS presents iconic 20th century new works on each 2017 Winter Festival performance.
Fri, 1/20, 7:30pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $52 John Corigliano: Violin Sonata
Sat, 1/21, 7:30pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $52 Jennifer Higdon: Piano Trio
Sun, 1/22, 3pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $52 Aaron Jay Kernis: Perpetual Chaconne
Fri, 1/27, 7:30pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $52 Steve Reich: Different Trains
Paul Schoenfield: Café Music: Sat, 1/28, 7:30pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $52
John Adams: Hallelujah Junction: Sun, 1/29, 3pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $52
seattlechambermusic.org/concerts/

Seattle New Music Concerts: January 2016

Posted on January 7, 2016 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project have teamed up to create a monthly, curated concert program insert featuring a list of upcoming contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in the Seattle area.

We’ve rallied Seattle-area musicians and presenters to include the sheet below (double-sided when printed) in their concert programs to raise awareness and support of other new music events. We hope this initiative will grow the audiences and create a more centralized network of support for contemporary classical music performed in the Northwest!

Keep an eye out for the inaugural insert in concert programs around Seattle this month. Big thanks to On the Boards, Seattle Pro Musica, The Esoterics, Inverted Space Ensemble, Racer Sessions, and many more for paying it forward last month in December to spread the word about these events taking place in January:

Are you interested in being a part of this initiative? Drop us a line! Full info below with links:

Seattle Composers’ Salon
Informal presentations of finished works, previews, and works in progress by regional composers and performers in a casual setting that allows for experimentation and discussion.
January 8, 8pm, Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center | $5-$15

whateverandeveramen: Burns Night and Drinking Songs
An evening celebrating the poetry of Robert Burns. We will also raise a glass and raise our voices with the singing of traditional drinking songs. Tickets include a free beer.
January 13, 8pm, Naked City Brewery | $10

Inverted Space Ensemble: Earle Brown – A Retrospective
A concert featuring works by American composer Earle Brown, each from each decade of his career including graphic score commissions.
January 19, 7:30pm, Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center | $5-$15

Universal Language Project: The Way West
An event with music, words, and smoke inspired by the optimism and grandeur of the West. Works by Brian Cobb, Karen Thomas, & a commissioned premiere by Tim Carey with guest performers from Inverted Space Ensemble.
Januay 22, 8pm, Resonance at SOMA Towers (Bellevue) | $10-$25
January 23, 8pm, Velocity Dance Center | $10-25

Racer Sessions: CRY & Roar VI
The 6th anniversary festival of the Racer Sessions, a weekly (Sundays, 8-10pm) experimental and improvised music showcase featuring a different artist or group performing original work, followed by a jam session based on the concepts in their opening presentation.
8-10pm, Cafe Racer | FREE

Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra: Four Great Composer-Conductors
Music by Leonard Bernstein and the Northwest premiere of the Symphony No. 1 by Antal Doráti bookend this program of music by composers who were also influential conductors.
2pm, Benaroya Hall

UW Modern Music Ensemble
A performance featuring the “classics” of the modern era and hot-off-the-presses works from the best of today’s composers, including UW faculty and students.
7:30pm, Meany Studio Theatre | $10

Auburn Symphony: A World-Premiere Tribute to Auburn
Hear a world premiere, commissioned by the Seattle Commissioning Club, by Daniel Ott, along with Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (Christina Siemens, piano).
1/30 at 7:30pm & 1/31 at 2:30pm
Auburn Performing Arts Center (Auburn) | $10-$35

Wayward Music Series
Each month, Nonsequitur and like-minded organizations and artists present 10 concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electronic/electroacoustic music, and sound art. Visit waywardmusic.org for dates, times, and artist info.
7:30 or 8pm, Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center | $5-$15

A WORLD PREMIERE FROM WHATEVERANDEVERAMEN.

Posted on May 5, 2014 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Stapleton

whateverandeveramen. is a project-based ensemble dedicated to the performance of high quality choral literature of varied styles from all musical eras (check out some examples!). They recently gave a world premiere performance of “Songs of Fatherhood.” This set of five pieces represents a collaboration between Southern California based composer David Montoya, poet William Wallis, and visual artist Lorato Mastebroek. The five songs in the set trace the relationship between a father and son over the course of their lives. This performance is from Friday, February 7 at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. Follow along with the poetry and imagery as you listen.

Brad Pierson, Founder and Artistic Director, was kind enough to give us some insight into the piece and premiere experience:

“Interacting with our community in ways outside of the traditional performer/audience dichotomy is one of the main goals of whateverandeveramen. While past events have led us to sing in bars, art galleries, restaurants, and parks, the “Songs of Fatherhood” lend themselves to the more traditional performance setting. With that said, I wanted to avoid presenting the music in a way that allowed for strictly passive listening. William Wallis’s text is so vivid and filled with imagery. The first two poems in particular filled my mind with pictures that reminded me of children’s story books. The idea to present the concert program in a poster form allowed us to connect artwork to the project in the hope that we could engage our audience to an even greater extent with the imagination behind the music.

It was a unique and fantastic experience for me as a conductor to collaborate on a project with this many levels. Emails flew between myself, David, William, and Lorato as details for the project began to take shape. We took the pieces into rehearsal and heard the music lifted from the page and sprung to life and found joy in the many subtleties that David connected to the text. I would then email David to discuss how things worked or were challenging. Small changes were made, and over the span of just five short rehearsals, we went through many drafts of music. David, meanwhile, was working diligently to capture the essence of William’s heartfelt and beautiful words. Meanwhile, Lorato was in London creating sketches that captured the “innocence and joy” found throughout the works.”

It’s a great collaborative project between the three disciplines. We look forward to hearing what’s next from whateverandeveramen.!