Mantra Percussion Program 2015

MANTRA PERCUSSION
The Opening Nights of the Ecstatic Music Festival
Produced and Presented by Arts Brookfield in partnership with the
Kaufman Music Center
Winter Garden at Brookfield Place
January 15-16 at 8:00pm
Running time: 1 hour, no pause or intermission
January 15
Public Transaction (World Premiere) by Ian Williams
Commissioned by Arts Brookfield
January 16
New works by Wet Ink composers
Commissioned by Arts Brookfield
Coalescent Interference (World Premiere) by Alex Mincek
Points of Focus (World Premiere) by Eric Wubbels
Four Sixes (World Premiere) by Sam Pluta
All works accompanied by Refract, a three-part dance work with film
by Deborah Lohse.
Mantra Percussion performers are Joe Bergen, Al Cerulo, Chris
Graham, Mike McCurdy, Jude Traxler and Owen Weaver.
The Ecstatic Music Festival returns for a fifth season of onenight-only performances bringing together artists from across the
sonic spectrum. For the first time, the Festival launches in Lower
Manhattan with two FREE World Premiere performances presented
by Arts Brookfield, showcasing new music, dance and film. The
festival will continue at Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Concert Hall
with even more collaborative works by nearly 100 composers and
performers. For more information, visit EcstaticMusicFestival.com.
JANUARY 15
PUBLIC TRANSACTION (World Premiere)
Music by Ian Williams in collaboration with Mantra Percussion
Performed by Mantra Percussion with Ian Williams, guitar and electronics
Lighting design by Robert W. Henderson, Jr.
This performance will be recorded by Q2 Music for on-demand
streaming at q2music.org.
JANUARY 16
COALESCENT INTERFERENCE (World Premiere)
Composed by Alex Mincek
Performed by Mantra Percussion
Choreography by Deborah Lohse featuring the Shakedown Dance
Collective dancers Roberta Alessandra, Jamie Benson, Guillaume
Debourayne, Jan Kliger, Midori Okuyama, Susanne Pichler, Mary Carney,
Lisa Chan, Elisa Decker, Sandra Levis, Janet O’Connell, Julie Conason,
Caitlin Boyle, Olivier Herbin, Yi Wu, Christine Dubov
Lighting design by Robert W. Henderson, Jr.
recall i (electronic interlude) by Sam Pluta
POINTS OF FOCUS (World Premiere)
Composed by Eric Wubbels
Performed by Mantra Percussion
Film by Deborah Lohse, edited by Courtney Boyd
Lighting design by Robert W. Henderson, Jr.
recall ii (electronic interlude) by Sam Pluta
FOUR SIXES (World Premiere)
Composed by Sam Pluta
Performed by Mantra Percussion
Choreography by Deborah Lohse
Featuring Andraé Gonzalo and Deborah Lohse
Lighting design by Robert W. Henderson, Jr.
All works accompanied by Refract, a three-part dance work with film
by Deborah Lohse.
The creation of Refract has been underwritten in part through an
artist residency at The Yard (Dancetheyard.org) in Chilmark, Martha’s
Vineyard, MA, an artist residency at Acadia Summer Arts Program,
generous support of Island Moving Company’s Open for Dancing,
and Arts Brookfield. Deborah Lohse gives a shimmering thanks to the
dancers of Shakedown, Jamie Benson, Courtney Boyd, Emily Sears
and Brandon Wolcott. A special thanks to Andraé for making the world
sparkle and this vision a reality. Big thanks to Mantra and the composers
of Wet Ink for inviting us to shine with you under the palm trees.
Mallets for this performance generously provided by Innovative Percussion.
MANTRA PERCUSSION
Committed to honoring the past and expanding the far-flung
future of percussion music, Mantra Percussion brings to life new
works for percussion by living composers, collaborates with artists
from diverse genres and styles, and questions what it means to
communicate by making music with and on percussive objects.
Mantra Percussion devotes their collective energy toward engaging
new audiences by challenging the standard concert format through
evening-length events that look toward a grander artistic vision.
IAN WILLIAMS (Guitarist/Composer)
Ian Williams is the founder of rock/electronic/experimental hybrid band
known as Battles who are putting out their 3rd LP on Warp Records
in 2015. He was also a member of Touch and Go Records recording
artists Don Caballero from 1992-2000 and the free form band Storm
and Stress during the same period. This past November, he debuted
a piece of orchestral music called Clear Image with the American
Composer’s Orchestra at Zankel Hall. He is also in the process of
completing a visual/sonic collaboration with artist Ron Amstutz.
ALEX MINCEK (Composer)
A New York-based composer and performer who has studied
composition with Tristan Murail and Fred Lerdahl at Columbia
University (DMA) and with Nils Vigeland at the Manhattan School
of Music (MA). He is currently the saxophonist, bass clarinetist,
and artistic director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, a group dedicated to
contemporary music, which he founded in 1998.
SAM PLUTA (Composer)
A New York City-based composer, laptop improviser, electronics
performer, sound artist and technical director of the Wet Ink
Ensemble. By creating unique interactions of electronics,
instruments, and sonic spaces, Pluta’s vibrant musical universe fuses
the traditionally separate sound worlds of acoustic instruments and
electronics, creating sonic spaces which envelop the audience and
resulting in a music focused on visceral interaction of instrumental
performers with reactive computerized sound worlds.
ERIC WUBBELS (Composer)
A composer, pianist, and Executive Director of the Wet Ink Ensemble,
a New York collective devoted to creating, promoting, and organizing
adventurous contemporary music. He has received commissioning
grants from Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning
Program, ISSUE Project Room, the Jerome Foundation, New Music
USA, and Yvar Mikhashoff Trust, and has been awarded residencies
at the MacDowell Colony and Civitella Ranieri Center (Italy).
DEBORAH LOHSE (Choreographer/Filmmaker)
Her work has been presented throughout the United States. She has
received artist residencies from The Yard, SILO and Acadia Summer
Arts Program. Born and raised in California, Lohse received degrees in
both dance and theater from the University of California, San Diego.
THE SHAKEDOWN DANCE COLLECTIVE
The brain-child of dancers Deborah Lohse and Jamie Benson, “The
Shakedown” is a relentless dare to the masses to sweat, laugh and
dance more. A community dance ensemble that meets in weekly 2
hour sessions, the group performs throughout the NYC area.
ROBERT W. HENDERSON, JR. (Lighting Designer)
Credits include Fleur d’ Orange’s IDENTITY as part of Center Stage;
Stellar Whisper, Seoul; Khmer Arts Ensemble’s Bend in the River;
Royal Ballet of Cambodia’s The Legend of Apsara Mera; Opening
Ceremonies for the 2012 International Arts Education Week,
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris; Khmeropedies I & II; Mary’s Wedding
and A Christmas Carol, Westport Country Playhouse; Resident
Lighting Designer at Theatre Three, NY; select Barneys NY, Cole
Haan and Tiffany & Co. flagship store display windows; Brooklyn
Historical Society’s exhibitions The Emancipation Proclamation and
Brooklyn Abolitionists/In Pursuit of Freedom. MFA from NYU Tisch
Design. Member of USA 829.
Kaufman Music Center is New York’s go-to place for music
education and performance. We are Merkin Concert Hall; Lucy
Moses School, New York’s largest community arts school; and
Special Music School, a groundbreaking K-12 public school for
musically gifted children. KaufmanMusicCenter.org
Arts Brookfield presents exciting, world-class cultural experiences to
hundreds of thousands of people for free each year in both indoor and
outdoor public spaces at Brookfield’s premier office properties in New
York, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Toronto, Perth and Sydney. From
concerts, theater and dance to film screenings and art exhibitions,
Arts Brookfield brings public spaces to life through art.
STAFF
Debra Simon V.P. & Artistic Director
Allan Abrams Technical Director
Tara Davis Marketing Coordinator
Jasmine Johnson Production Manager
Karen Kitchen Producing Director
Elysa Marden Producing Director
Aaron Miller Events Manager
Lindsey Power Administrative Assistant
Dalis Wilson Financial Administrator
Rebecca Zuber Production Director
Additional support provided by
Brookfield Place is the height of luxury shopping, dining and cultural arts
in downtown Manhattan. The eight-million-square-foot office and retail
center is uniquely positioned just south of Tribeca along the Hudson River
waterfront. International fashion houses including Hermés, Salvatore
Ferragamo and Ermenegildo Zegna, and top brands such as Theory,
Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg, Vince, and Paul Smith will open
in 2015. Opening in 2016, a 75,000-square-foot Saks Fifth Avenue
department store will anchor the entire project, revolutionizing the luxury
shopping experience downtown. Best-in-class dining options will include
recently opened Hudson Eats, a curated collection of 14 chef-driven
fast-casual eateries; Le District, a 30,000-square-foot French-inspired
marketplace; and six signature restaurants including L’Atelier Amada
and Parm, which will provide al fresco dining. Complimented by Arts
Brookfield, an elite arts and events program offering world-renowned
cultural experiences, Brookfield Place is set to transform downtown
Manhattan as the premier destination for residents and visitors alike.
For more information, please visit: BrookfieldPlaceNY.com.
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BANG ON A CAN MARATHON
SAVE THE DATE
JUNE 21, 2015
Presented by Arts Brookfield
and Bang on a Can
as part of The River to River Festival
SILENT FILMS/LIVE MUSIC
RETURNS TO BROOKFIELD PLACE!
February 17 - 20, 2015 at 8:00 PM
230 Vesey Street, NYC
Curated by John Schaefer, host of WNYC’s New Sounds Live
FEBRUARY 17 & 19
FOUR FILMS BY MAN RAY
Selected by SQÜRL (Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan):
Retour a la Raison (1923)
Emak Bakia (1926)
Les Mysteres Du Chateau Du De (1929)
L’Etoile De Mer (1928)
© Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2014
WORLD-PREMIERE SCORES COMPOSED AND PERFORMED BY SQÜRL
FEBRUARY 18 & 20
BLANCANIEVES (2012)
Written and Directed by Pablo Berger
Score Composed by Alfonso Vilallonga
PERFORMED BY WORDLESS MUSIC ORCHESTRA WITH ALFONSO VILALLONGA
Conducted by Ryan McAdams
Image © Arcadia Motion Pictures
ArtsBrookfield.com