http://kaufman-center.org/news/ Kaufman Center News and Articles from the In Harmony Newsletter en info@kaufman-center.org Copyright 2010 2010-02-08T15:06:36+00:00 http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/presidents-day-weekend-closing/ http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/presidents-day-weekend-closing/#When:15:06:36Z Lucy Moses School will be closed, and there will be no classes or lessons from February 14-February 19th. The office will be closed on President’s Day, Monday, February 15th, but will remain open February 14 and February 16-19. If you are interested in arts activities during President’s Week, consider our Winter Arts Camp! From Tuesday, February 16-Friday, February 19, children 6-11 can sing, act, dance and make art together, culminating in an informal performance. From 8:30 am- 3 pm, $330. Call 212-501-3360 to register. What's New at Kaufman Center, Home Page Headlines, News Blog, Lucy Moses School News 2010-02-08T15:06:36+00:00 http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/photos-from-the-concerto-competition-winners-concert/ http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/photos-from-the-concerto-competition-winners-concert/#When:15:27:28Z What's New at Kaufman Center, Home Page Headlines, News Blog, Lucy Moses School News 2010-02-04T15:27:28+00:00 #When:19:30:49Z For more information, please call the individual contacts for each concert. Box Office: 212 501 3330 Hours: Sun.–Thu., 12 noon–7 pm; Fri., 12 noon–4 pm; (November 1–January 12, 12 noon–3 pm) Sat., 7–9 pm (performance days only) http://www.kaufman-center.org 2010-02-03T19:30:49+00:00 http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/lms-2010-concerto-competition-winners-concert-in-merkin-this-sunday/ http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/lms-2010-concerto-competition-winners-concert-in-merkin-this-sunday/#When:20:47:27Z Performers include: Dena Li, violin – 10 years old – Lucy Moses School Moshe Stein, cello – 11 years old – Lucy Moses School Luke Murray, piano – 14 years old – Lucy Moses School Haley Gillia, 14 years old, violin – Young Artist Program Honorable mention: Akira Baruah, violin – 15 years old Aurora Celestin, piano – 11 years old Tickets: $10. Free for LMS/SMS students and faculty with ID. What's New at Kaufman Center, Home Page Headlines, News Blog, Lucy Moses School News 2010-01-27T20:47:27+00:00 #When:16:37:11Z Menken, Multiple Academy Award and Grammy Winning Composer of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, to Join Broadway Playhouse Cast at Merkin Concert HallJanuary 26, 2010, New York—A generation of Americans has grown up singing Alan Menken’s songs from such animated Disney films as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. His Broadway triumphs include stage adaptations of Mermaid and Beauty, plus Little Shop of Horrors and the upcoming Sister Act. Mr. Menken—the recipient of eight Academy Awards (including four for best song), 10 Grammy Awards, two Tony Award nominations, two Drama Desk Award nominations and a BMI Career Achievement Award—will be present at the February 7 concert to give the inside scoop on the production of his hit musicals. Directed by Sean Hartley, the Broadway Playhouse concerts introduce children ages 4-11 to classic musicals through captivating medleys, rousing sing-alongs, lively games in which audience members participate, and mini-musicals. Children and their families can sing along to well-known songs and hear the stories behind the making of some of the greatest musicals of all time. The February 7 concert will feature songs and scenes telling the story of Beauty and the Beast as well as a game show in which young volunteers from the audience will guess which Alan Menken characters the actors are portraying. Broadway Playhouse musical revues are fun for adults too! Past seasons have featured Frank Loesser, Jerry Herman, Cole Porter, Ahrens & Flaherty, Bock & Harnick and Lerner & Loewe. The cast includes Jason Robinson, Kathryn Markey, Steve Pacek and Christina Bianco as well as Mr. Hartley, who will host. For information about special Monday morning Broadway Playhouse performances for school groups, please call Faye Menken Schneier at 212 501 3357. Merkin Concert Hall's 2010 Broadway Playhouse series continues on March 7 with Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story, On the Town, Candide). Listing Information: Merking Concert Hall at Kaufman Center Presents BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE: Alan Menken Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 11 am Single Tickets: $20 Merkin Concert Hall 129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam) Tickets at 212 501 3330 or www.kaufman-center.org Press Only: Hi-res photos for download at http://kaufman-center.org/press/image-library Kaufman Center: New York’s creative home for listeners, learners and performers Kaufman Center is one of New York City's most vibrant cultural organizations, combining the finest in music education for all ages with world class performance in the acoustically superior Merkin Concert Hall. Founded in 1952 as a community school for preconservatory music training, today's Kaufman Center provides entertainment, education and inspiration for more than 75,000 New Yorkers each year. In addition to Merkin Concert Hall, it is home to Lucy Moses School, New York’s largest community arts school, and the Special Music School, New York’s only public school for musically gifted children. Broadway Playhouse presentations are made possible, in part, by The Fink Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Edith Meiser Foundation in memory of Irving Cheskin, The Janis and Alan Menken Foundation and The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation. Additional support for Merkin Hall presentations is provided by Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Herman Goldman Foundation, and The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. These programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation through the good offices of Senator Tom Duane. Merkin Concert Hall has been awarded support from the National Endowment for the Arts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Special thanks to Helene Blue, Andrea Brown, Roy Neiderhoffer and Kara Unterberg, and David Shaw and Beth Kobliner Shaw. 2010-01-27T16:37:11+00:00 http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/alan-menken-added-to-merkin-concert-halls-broadway-playhouse-series/ http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/alan-menken-added-to-merkin-concert-halls-broadway-playhouse-series/#When:16:00:00Z Alan Menken, Multiple Academy Award and Grammy Winning Composer of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, to Join Broadway Playhouse Cast at Merkin Concert HallJanuary 26, 2010, New York—A generation of Americans has grown up singing Alan Menken’s songs from such animated Disney films as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. His Broadway triumphs include stage adaptations of Mermaid and Beauty, plus Little Shop of Horrors and the upcoming Sister Act. Mr. Menken—the recipient of eight Academy Awards (including four for best song), 10 Grammy Awards, two Tony Award nominations, two Drama Desk Award nominations and a BMI Career Achievement Award—will be present at the February 7 concert to give the inside scoop on the production of his hit musicals. News Blog, Merkin Concert Hall News 2010-01-27T16:00:00+00:00 #When:21:49:00Z Featuring World Premieres by composers Nik Bärtsch, Oscar Bettison, David Longstreth and Christine Southworth plus performances of a recently commissioned work by Michael Nyman New York, January 20, 2010—On February 24, New York's electric ensemble Bang on a Can will present the annual People’s Commissioning Fund (PCF) concert at Merkin Concert Hall featuring four WORLD PREMIERE commissions by composers Nik Bärtsch, Oscar Bettison, David Longstreth and Christine Southworth plus performances of a recently commissioned work by Michael Nyman for a film by the celebrated 1920s New York photographer Paul Strand along with a selection from the group’s acclaimed live arrangement of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports. The Bang on a Can All-Stars will perform all four world premieres, and John Schaefer of WNYC will host the evening for future radio broadcast on his program “New Sounds Live.” With a program featuring music as wide-ranging as audio-sculpture, electronica, indie rock, cinematic, ambient and more, this will inevitably be a very exciting evening of new music. The PCF was established in 1997 and has become one of Bang on a Can’s most rewarding and unique programs. Each year, Bang on a Can pools the contributions of hundreds of individuals to commission works from new and adventurous composers. Donations range from $5 to $5,000. Over the past 12 years, hundreds of people have joined together to commission music by dozens of composers. Through the PCF, Bang on a Can has put the power to change musical culture in the hands of its audience. Past PCF commissions have been awarded to Virgil Moorefield, Dan Plonsey, Pamela Z, Toby Twining, Miya Masaoka, Edward Ruchalski, Marc Mellits, Keeril Makan, James Fei, Sussan Deyhim, Jeffrey Brooks, Matthew Shipp, John King, Eve Beglarian, Thurston Moore, Ingram Marshall, Annea Lockwood, Jim Thirlwell, Carla Kilhstedt, Cynthia Hopkins, Annie Gosfield, John Hollenbeck, Yoav Gal, Lukas Ligeti, Joshua Penman, Stefan Weisman, Tristan Perich, Ken Thomson, Erdem Helvaciaglu, Kate Moore and Lok Yin Tang. The Composers Nik Bärtsch is a pianist and composer born in Zurich in 1971. After instruction in piano and percussion, especially in jazz, from age eight, he studied classical piano and graduated from the Musikhochschule Zurich in 1997. From 1989 to 2001 he studied philosophy, linguistics and musicology at the University of Zurich. Ongoing projects include his "ritual groove music," the acoustic group Mobile (formed in 1997 with Kaspar Rast, Mats Eser and Sha) and the zen-funk quintet Ronin (formed in 2001 with Kaspar Rast, Björn Meyer, Andi Pupato and Sha). Bärtsch was instructor for Practical Aesthetics at the Musikhochschule Zrich/Winterthur from 2000 to 2003 and co-founded of the music club EXIL in Zurich in 2009. He developed a special interest in body movement techniques, especially in Aikido, Feldenkrais and Gyrotonic, and gives workshops combining musical and body movement training. Since 2005 Bärtsch has recorded exclusively for ECM records. Oscar Bettison's work demonstrates a willingness to work within and outside the confines of concert music. He likes to work with what he calls "Cinderella instruments," either by making percussion instruments (in the case of Junk) or by re-imagining other instruments (Krank, Cibola) as well as writing for instruments more common in rock music. More recent pieces have featured some electro-acoustic elements. His recent evening-long work O Death is concerned with bringing all these strands together. Bettison was born in Jersey, UK. After studying in London with Simon Bainbridge and Robert Saxton, he went to the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, where he studied with Louis Andriessen. He was awarded a fellowship to attend Tanglewood in summer 2001 and holds Ph.D. from Princeton University. His work Cadence is available on NMC Records. Upcoming projects include a new work for the combined forces of the Percussion Group of The Hague and the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet. A recording of O Death by Ensemble Klang is due to be released in early 2010. Christine Southworth, through her work with robots and automated music systems as co-founder and Director of Ensemble Robot, is making groundbreaking music based on the interaction between technology and creativity. Compared to Thurston Moore (Boston Phoenix) and Laurie Anderson (Boston Globe), Southworth is introducing a brand new genre of music to Boston, born out of the area’s complex community of scientists and artists. Her 2005 and 2007 performances of Zap! filled the Boston Museum of Science’s Theater of Electricity with energized crowds of students, professors, artists, children and adults. Southworth received a B.S. from MIT in 2002 in mathematics and music and an M.A. in Computer Music & Multimedia Composition from Brown University in 2006. She composes for Western ensembles, Balinese gamelan and mixed ensembles of gamelan, western instruments, electronics and robots. Currently, she is writing for string quartet and tesla coils, just intonation gamelan and rock band, and working on a new Gamelan Galak Tika album featuring her Heavy Metal. Dirty Projectors is the alias for singer/songwriter Dave Longstreth, who had debuted under his own name with the home-made The Graceful Fallen Mango (This Heart Plays Records, 2002). The lo-fi feeling was still prevalent on The Glad Fact (Western Vinyl, 2003) which ranged from the cacophonous overture to out-of-tune accompaniments to neoclassical ballads sung in operatic and punkish registers (Ground Underfoot, Glad Fact, Off Science Hill, My Offwhite Flag, Like Fake Blood in Crisp October), far away from the center of mass of lo-fi songwriters of the 1990s. Proud of his vocal skills, Longstreth howled his compositions rather than whispering them. Facing up to his inner ghosts, he let his voice waver and crack, rise and soar. The spare Unmoved, Because Your Light Turns Green and Obscure Wisdom focus on his lyrical side and complement the turbulent bard of the first half. All in all, Longstreth comes through as a hybrid being, like a cross between Andrew Bird and Sufjan Stevens, capable of vocal gymnastics that challenge the dogmas of singing. Bang on a Can All-Stars Called “A fiercely aggressive group, combining the power and punch of a rock band with the precision and clarity of a chamber ensemble” in The New York Times, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are Ashley Bathgate, cello; Robert Black, bass; Vicky Chow, piano and keyboards; David Cossin, percussion; Mark Stewart, electric guitar and Evan Ziporyn, clarinets. The Bang on a Can All-Stars have gained an international reputation for their virtuosity and utterly unique sound, powered by the unusual combination of clarinet, electric guitar, cello, bass keyboards and percussion. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, the six-member ensemble is constantly exploring new and innovative ways to present music. Founded in 1992 by Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe, the Bang on a Can All-Stars quickly forged a distinct identity and have come to be known worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. The group’s celebrated projects and collaborations include their landmark recordings of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports and Terry Riley’s In C, as well as live performances with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Don Byron, Iva Bittova, Thurston Moore and others. The group recently opened the 2009 Manchester Festival with the world premiere of Steve Reich’s 2x5, and new projects in 2009/2010 include Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer; an evening-length staged concert with Trio Mediaeval; Evan Ziporyn’s A House in Bali; a new dance-opera featuring the All-Stars with Balinese Gamelan; and commissions from Louis Andriessen, Bill Frisell, Ryuichi Sakamoto and more. With occasional homages to existing music by living masters, the heart of the repertoire is genre-defying music written specifically for the group. The All-Stars now record on Cantaloupe Music and have released past recordings on Sony, Universal and Nonesuch. For up-to-date information about Bang on a Can programs, events and CD releases, please visit www.bangonacan.org. About Bang on a Can Formed in 1987 by composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe, Bang on a Can is dedicated to commissioning, performing, creating, presenting and recording contemporary music. With an ear for the new, the unknown and the unconventional, Bang on a Can strives to expose new audiences to exciting and innovative music as broadly and accessibly as possible worldwide. Through its Summer Festival, Bang on a Can hopes to bring this energy and passion for innovation to a younger generation of composers and players. The San Francisco Chronicle has called Bang on a Can "the country's most important vehicle for contemporary music." Over the years, Bang on a Can has grown from a one-day festival to a multi-faceted organization. Projects include festival concerts and the annual Bang on a Can Marathon; The People's Commissioning Fund, a membership program to commission emerging composers; the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who tour to major festivals and concert venues around the world every year; recording projects; the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival & Institute, a professional development program for young composers and performers; and cross-disciplinary collaborations and projects with DJs, visual artists, choreographers, filmmakers and more. Bang on a Can’s innovative and aggressive approach to programming and presentation has created a large and vibrant international audience made up of people of all ages who are rediscovering the value of contemporary music. Listings Information: Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center Presents Bang on a Can All-Stars 2010 People's Commissioning Fund Concert New Sounds Live series Thursday February 24, 2010 at 7:30 pm Ticket Information: New Sounds Live series subscription: $60 Single tickets: $25 / $30 premium seating 129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam) Tickets at 212 501 3330 or www.kaufman-center.org Press Only: Hi-res photos for download at http://kaufman-center.org/press/image-library 2010-01-25T21:49:00+00:00 http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/young-artist-program-student-yurie-mitsuhashi-to-appear-on-npr-show-from-th/ http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/young-artist-program-student-yurie-mitsuhashi-to-appear-on-npr-show-from-th/#When:21:04:00Z From the Top, the non-profit organization best known for its NPR and PBS programs featuring America's best young classical musicians, has awarded Yurie Mitsuhashi, an 18-year-old violinist in Kaufman Center’s Young Artist Program, with a $10,000 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. She will be heard on a radio episode of “From the Top,” broadcasting nationally on NPR stations the week of February 1 and heard locally on WQXR Sunday, February 7, at 10 pm. The broadcast can also be heard at http://www.fromthetop.org/ that same week and will remain in the online archive.On the broadcast Yurie performs “Danse Hongroise” by Sergei Rachmaninoff with host Christopher O’Riley. The episode was recorded before a live audience at Baylor University in Waco, Texas on November 11, 2009, and also includes a 17-year-old organist from College Station, Texas, an 18-year-old violinist from New Jersey, a 15-year-old cellist from Brandon, Mississippi and a 16-year-old fiddler from Lorena, Texas. For the past decade, “From the Top” has been the preeminent showcase for America’s best young musicians. Through award-winning NPR and PBS programs, online media, a national tour of live events and education programs, “From the Top” shares the stories and performances of pre-collegiate musicians with millions each week. Originally from Japan, Yurie moved to the U.S. at age six to expand her studies in music and eventually came to study as a scholarship student at Kaufman Center’s Young Artists Program. In 2007 she won the Kaufman Center Concerto Competition and had the opportunity to perform as a soloist with an orchestra in Merkin Hall. Now a senior at Fort Lee High School in New Jersey, Yurie has been part of a trio selected to perform at the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society's Young Musician's Concert for the past three years. Kaufman Center’s Young Artists Program is a comprehensive music program for teens in grades 9-12. Click here for more information: http://kaufman-center.org/special-music-school/young-artist-program What's New at Kaufman Center, Home Page Headlines, News Blog, Lucy Moses School News 2010-01-25T21:04:00+00:00 http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/roni-ben-hurs-new-cd-hits-2-on-the-jazz-charts/ http://kaufman-center.org/news/blog/roni-ben-hurs-new-cd-hits-2-on-the-jazz-charts/#When:20:33:28Z "Fortuna," the new CD by jazz guitarist and Director of LMS’s Jazz Program Roni Ben-Hur, is now # 2 on the jazz radio charts, making it the second most played jazz CD in the country! Ben-Hur’s seventh recording as a leader, "Fortuna" follows up on his critically-acclaimed recordings "Smile" (Motema, 2008), recorded with fellow guitar great Gene Bertoncini, and "Keepin’ It Open," his 2007 Motema debut. Ben-Hur’s signature sound subtly infuses jazz with melodies and rhythms from romantic cultures. On "Fortuna" he finesses two lovely songs from Antonio Carlos Jobim, “So Tinha de ser Com Voce” and “Modinha,” both drawn from a Brazilian jazz repertoire that Ben-Hur has explored in depth with his frequent duo partners, bassists Santi Debriano and Nilson Matta. Find out more at http://www.ronibenhur.com/ or http://www.motema.com/artist/roni-ben-hur. What's New at Kaufman Center, Home Page Headlines, News Blog, Lucy Moses School News 2010-01-25T20:33:28+00:00 #When:18:13:21Z Featuring Premieres by Nico Muhly, David Longstreth, Paul Moravec, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, JacobTV, Elizabeth & the Catapult, Nik Bärtsch, Oscar Bettison and Christine Southworth Performers include Bang on a Can All-Stars, ETHEL, Lark Chamber Artists, SIGNAL, Jeremy Denk, Ed Pastorini, Elizabeth & the Catapult and Face the MusicNew York, January 25, 2010—In 2010 Merkin Concert Hall gives audiences a special opportunity to be the first to hear new work by some of the strongest and most original voices in 21st century music. Continuing its commitment to showcasing adventurous and inspiring new work by critically acclaimed composers, Merkin presents seven WORLD PREMIERES and three U.S. PREMIERES as its Contemporary Contexts series and New Sounds Live series hosted by WNYC’s John Schaefer continue. Upcoming concerts: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 7:30 pm Bang on a Can All-Stars The 2010 People’s Commissioning Fund (PCF) Concert A special edition of WNYC’s New Sounds Live with host John Schaefer FOUR WORLD PREMIERES commissioned by the people! New York’s electric chamber ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars take on new works by Swiss ambient-funk-pianist-composer Nik Bärtsch, the innovative UK electro-acoustic composer Oscar Bettison, Boston composer-inventor Christine Southworth and New York’s David Longstreth, also known widely for his ground-breaking indie rock band Dirty Projectors. PLUS, a recently commissioned work by Michael Nyman for film by the celebrated 1920s New York photographer Paul Strand and a selection from the group’s acclaimed live arrangement of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports. The PCF is a radical partnership between artists and audiences to commission works from adventurous composers. Called “A fiercely aggressive group, combining the power and punch of a rock band with the precision and clarity of a chamber ensemble” in The New York Times, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are Ashley Bathgate (cello), Robert Black (bass), Vicky Chow (piano and keyboards), David Cossin (percussion), Mark Stewart (electric guitar) and Evan Ziporyn (clarinets).   Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 7:30 pm ETHEL Plays JacobTV A special edition of WNYC’s New Sounds Live with host John Schaefer New York's high-octane string quartet ETHEL teams up with Dutch “avant-pop” composer JacobTV (Jacob Ter Veldhuis) for an adventurous evening that includes U.S. premieres of Low Angle Close Up Dolly Shot Highway and Syracuse Blues + soundtrack. "One of the most intriguing and engaging European composers of today" (Allmusic.com), JacobTV is quickly gaining renown outside his native Netherlands. He draws raw material for his multi-media compositions from American media and world events, creating work possessing an explosive strength and raw energy combined with extraordinarily intricate architectural design. Acclaimed as the nation's premier postclassical string quartet, ETHEL boldly infuses contemporary concert music with fierce intensity, questioning the boundaries between performer and audience, tradition and technology. Formed in 1998, ETHEL comprises Juilliard-trained composer/performers Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Ralph Farris (viola), Dorothy Lawson (cello) and Mary Rowell (violin).   Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm Lark Portraits in 4x5 Part of Merkin's Contemporary Contexts series The boldly brilliant Lark Chamber Artists and piano virtuoso Jeremy Denk perform the WORLD PREMIERE of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Piano Quintet. The program also includes Jennifer Higdon’s Exaltation of Larks; Felix Mendelssohn’s Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op.81; and Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat Major, Op. 44. "A polished and warmly communicative ensemble [that delivers] a performance of grace, proportion and burnished brilliance" (The Washington Post), Lark Chamber Artists takes a global perspective, encompassing a variety of musical genres spanning world music from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East as well as jazz, minimalism, traditional Western chamber music and the baroque. Lark Chamber Artists are Deborah Buck and Harumi Rhodes (violin), Kathryn Lockwood (viola) and Caroline Stinson (cello). The New York Times calls the playing of pianist Jeremy Denk, who will join them as guest artist, "bracing, effortlessly virtuosic and utterly joyous." Denk has garnered critical acclaim for his engagements with leading orchestras and presenters nationwide, including appearances as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and many others.   Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 7:30 pm New Songs: Elizabeth and the Catapult and Ed Pastorini A special edition of WNYC’s New Sounds Live with host John Schaefer This program explores new approaches to the art song, a form perfected by Schubert and usually restricted to piano and voice. Today, the art song is being stretched and reshaped by rock, jazz and minimalism. The concert features a commissioned work from Elizabeth and the Catapult (pianist Elizabeth Ziman, guitarist Pete Lalish and drummer Danny Molad). The threesome's unique blend of pop playfulness and grown-up introspection along with their energetic, surprise-filled live shows have made them a favorite on New York's downtown club scene. The program also includes a set by singer/pianist Ed Pastorini.   Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 7:30 pm SIGNAL Brad Lubman, Conductor Part of Merkin's Contemporary Contexts series SIGNAL, a large ensemble comprised of some of New York’s most gifted and innovative musicians, will perform the WORLD PREMIERE of a new work by the brilliant young composer Nico Muhly—celebrated as “one of the next great hopes for the future of classical music” by New York Magazine—commissioned by Merkin Concert Hall. Muhly has worked with Philip Glass, Björk and Antony and the Johnsons and composed the score for the 2008 film The Reader. The program also includes the U.S. PREMIERE of The Corridor by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, one of the most prominent figures in European contemporary music. This piece for two singers and an ensemble explores the climax of the Orpheus myth: his fatal glance back at Eurydice. Face the Music, Kaufman Center's critically acclaimed teen ensemble, will give a pre-concert performance of Nico Muhly's Honest Music (2006) for violin and pre-recorded CD and How About Now (2006) for small ensemble in Merkin Hall's Upper Lobby at 6:30 pm. Listings Information: Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam) Tickets at 212 501 3330 or http://www.kaufman-center.org Single Tickets: $25, $30 premium seating 3-concert New Sounds Live series subscription: $60 Subscribers to the New Sounds Live series can purchase $20 tickets to the Contemporary Contexts series concerts on April 22 and May 27. 2010-01-25T18:13:21+00:00