Face the Music Launches 2011-12 Concert Season

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Face the Music to Launch 2011-12 Concert Season on November 20 at Hudson View Gardens

NYC’s Only Teen “Alt-Classical” Ensemble to Perform Works by Philip Glass,
Steve Reich, Osvaldo Golijov and Others throughout the City

"...polished, exuberant..."    - The New York Times

Kaufman Center’s Face the Music ensemble launches its seventh concert season on November 20, 2011, at Hudson View Gardens, where they will perform works by Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aleksandra Vrebalov and Lev Zhurbin. The only student ensemble in New York City dedicated to performing music by living classical composers, the group has been praised by The New York Times for its “stunning performances” of music by contemporary composers such as Steve Reich, Nico Muhly and Terry Riley. Critics have hailed them as “polished, exuberant” (New York Times) and one of “New York’s favorite contemporary-classical ensembles” (Time Out New York).

During the 2011-12 concert season, Face the Music will perform across NYC at diverse venues including Merkin Concert Hall, the Queens Museum of Art and El Museo del Barrio as well Lincoln Center's David Rubenstein Atrium and public schools in Brooklyn and Queens. They will perform as part of Kaufman Center's Ecstatic Music Festival, the River to River Festival, Make Music New York, and the Neighborhood Classics series. 2011-12 series highlights include the world premiere of a new work by Puerto Rican composer Angélica Negrón at the Ecstatic Music Festival in Merkin Concert Hall.

Face the Music is an “alt-classical” ensemble of more than 60 astonishingly talented teenagers from in and around New York City. Founded by Kaufman Center’s Jenny Undercofler and composer Huang Ruo in 2005, Face the Music provides an unparalleled performance and education experience for the next generation of musical leaders. Recipients of the 2011 ASCAP Aaron Copland Award, they have been featured on WQXR’s “Young Artist Showcase” and National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

In residence at Kaufman Center, Face the Music features middle and high school students from over 20 different New York area schools. Many of the performers are students or alumni of Kaufman Center’s own Special Music School, the only public school in New York City that integrates pre-conservatory musical training with academic education.

2011-12 Concert Schedule:

Sun, 11/20/11, 2 pm
Concerts at the Gardens Series, Hudson View Gardens 
(116 Pinehurst Ave.)
Face the Music Quartet: Missy Mazzoli, Death Valley Junction; Gabriela Lena Frank, Leyendas
Pannonia Quartet: Aleksandra Vrebalov, Pannonia Boundless; Anna Clyne, Primula Vulgaris; Lev Zhurbin, Two Movements from Vjola Suite: Bagel on the Maleçon and Plume

Mon, 11/21/11, 7 PM
Music at St. Malachy’s Series, the Actor’s Chapel  (239 W. 49th St.)
Face the Music Quartet: Missy Mazzoli, Death Valley Junction; Gabriela Lena Frank, Leyendas
Pannonia Quartet: Aleksandra Vrebalov, Pannonia Boundless; Anna Clyne, Primula Vulgaris; Lev Zhurbin, Two Movements from Vjola Suite: Bagel on the Maleçon and Plume

Wed, 11/30/11
P.S. 69Q, Neighborhood Classics Series  (77-02 37th Ave., Jackson Heights)
Face the Music Quartet & Pannonia Quartet: selections from 11/20 and 11/21 above TBA

Sun, 12/4/11, 2 pm
P.S. 69Q, Neighborhood Classics series  (77-02 37th Ave., Jackson Heights)
Philip Glass, Glassworks (excerpt); Lev Zhurbin, Ori’s Fearful Symmetry (string ensemble); Zach Detrick, Blisters on My Fingers (WORLD PREMIERE)

Sun, 1/8/12, 2 & 3:30 pm
Queens Museum of Art, Target Family Sundays 
(Flushing Meadows Corona Park)
Philip Glass, Glassworks (excerpt); Osvaldo Golijov, Last Round; Lev Zhurbin, Ori’s Fearful Symmetry (string ensemble); Zach Detrick, Blisters on My Fingers; Kenji Bunch, String Circles (excerpt)

Thu, 1/26/12, 8:30 pm
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Target Free Thursdays
(Broadway & 63rd St.)
Philip Glass, Glassworks (excerpt); Zach Detrick, Blisters on My Fingers; Lev Zhurbin, Two Movements from Vjola Suite: Bagel on the Maleçon and Plume; Osvaldo Golijov, Last Round; Kenji Bunch, String Circles

Tue, 2/7/12, 7:30 pm
Merkin Concert Hall, Ecstatic Music Festival  (129 W, 67th St.,)
WORLD PREMIERE of Angélica Negrón’s El Gran Caleidoscopio

Mon, 3/5/12, 7 pm
SHARE Salon Series, University Settlement  (184 Eldrige St.)
Face the Music Quartet & Pannonia Quartet: program TBA; Steve Martland, Horses of Instruction

Sun, 3/11/12, 3:30 pm
Merkin Concert Hall, Contemporary Music Festival  (129 W. 67th St.)
Concert with students from Kaufman Center’s Special Music School and Lucy Moses School
Steve Reich, Movement of Double Sextet

Sun 3/25/12, 2:30 pm
Ann Goodman Recital Hall, Dalcroze School of New York workshop performance
Steve Reich, Double Sextet

Mon, 3/26/12, 7 pm
Concerts at St. Malachy’s, the Actor’s Chapel  (239 W. 49th St., )
Steve Martland, Horses of Instruction; Osvaldo Golijov, Last Round; Steve Reich, Double Sextet; string quartet selection TBA

Thu, 4/5/12, 730 pm
The Tank  (151 W. 46th St.)
Philip Glass, Glassworks; Robert Honstein, Night Mixes; Steve Reich, Double Sextet

Fri, 4/20/12, 7:30 pm
Music at First series, First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn
(124 Henry St.)
Angélica Negrón, El Gran Caleidoscopio; Robert Honstein, Night Mixes; Steve Reich, Double Sextet

Wed, 5/30/11, am time TBA
P.S. 321, Neighborhood Classics Series  (180 7th Ave., Park Slope, ps321.org)
Program TBA

Sun, 6/3/12, 3 pm
P.S. 321, Neighborhood Classics Series  (180 7th Ave., Park Slope, ps321.org)
Robert Honstein, Night Mixes; Osvaldo Golijov, Last Round, Steve Martland, Horses of Instruction

Sat, 6/16/12, time TBA
El Museo del Barrio  (1230 5th Ave.)
Angélica Negrón, El Gran Caleidoscopio; Osvaldo Golijov, Last Round

Thu, 6/21/12, time TBA
Make Music New York  (outside of Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W.67th St.)
Steve Martland, Horses of Instruction; Lev Zhurbin, Ori’s Fearful Symmetry and Crosstown; Philip Glass, Glassworks (excerpt)

Visit Face the Music's web site for more info, photos and videos.