Pierre Jalbert and Erin Gee at Tanglewood

by Ted Gordon on July 19, 2016, 12:18 p.m.

Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music celebrates its fifty-second year with a stunning roster of powerful American composers, this year including works by PSNY composers Pierre Jalbert and Erin Gee. Jalbert's Visual Abstract, commissioned by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble in 2002, melds sound and image into three movements that react to three ecstatic moments: the ringing of a church bell, the experience of looking up into a church's dome, and the image and movement of a group of dancers. It will be performed in Seiji Ozawa Hall on July 23rd.  Check out Jalbert's Visual Abstract below: 

Jalbert's Crossings will also be performed at Caramoor on July 22nd, in a program presented by Music from Copland House, which commissioned the piece in 2011.

On the same program as Jalbert's Visual Abstract, Erin Gee will premiere a new work, commisioned by Tanglewood, for voice, violin, viola, and double bass. Check out an excerpt for Gee's Mouthpiece below.

Mouthpiece I from Erin Gee on Vimeo.

Josh Modney in the PSNY Greenroom

by Ted Gordon on May 16, 2016, 10:21 a.m.

The PSNY Greenroom is where we ask today's top artists and ensembles to share the music that they're most excited about—the works they keep coming back to, that form their core repertory. Present Music, the Talea Ensemble, and the JACK Quartet have all shared their stories in the Greenroom, giving you a rare backstage glimpse of the music that fuels their innovative, passionate, and groundbreaking performances.

(photo: Josh Modney; credit: Edgar Hartung, edited by Michiko Saiki) 

We're thrilled to feature one of the hardest working people in New Music for a new Greenroom edition: the violinist, violist, and improviser, Josh Modney. As the executive director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, Modney manages one of the most vital new music ensembles in New York; Modney also is a member of the Mivos Quartet, and has performed extensively with the International Contemporary Ensemble. Collaborations with composers such as Kate Soper, Alex Mincek, Scott Wollschleger, and Mario Diaz de Leon, have led to powerful new works that exist equally as much in performance as they do on the page. And performance is what Modney does best, in every sense of the word. 

So what does Modney think about when he's in the greenroom, about to go on stage and perform? Head over to the Greenroom to see the full story of Modney's favorites on PSNY. Or, if you're in New York, be sure to stop by St. Peter's Church on June 10th, when the Wet Ink Ensemble will perform Erin Gee's Mouthpiece X, featuring fellow PSNY composer Kate Soper as solo vocalist.

Modney's PSNY Greenroom "Picks" include Alex Mincek's Color-Form-Line, Kate Soper's Cipher, Scott Wollschleger's Soft Aberration no. 2, Erin Gee's Mouthpiece: Segment of the 4th Letter, and Mario Diaz de Leon's Trembling Time II. Watch an excerpt of the Wet Ink Ensemble performing Mincek's Color-Form-Line, and visit Modney's Greenroom spotlight for more on his "picks". 

Argento Ensemble Features Hannah Lash and Erin Gee in New Series

by Ted Gordon on May 6, 2014, 12:26 p.m.

New York's Argento Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Michele Galante, is featuring works by Hannah Lash and Erin Gee in a new concert series at the Austrian Cultural Forum, alongside music by other American and Viennese composers. Running weekly on Fridays and Sundays, the new series kicked off on May 2nd with the world premiere of Erin Gee's Mouthpiece XIXb for solo voice and ensemble. 

Check out an excerpt from Erin Gee's Mouthpiece: Segment of the 4th Letter here: 

On May 9th, audiences will hear Hannah Lash's Friction, Pressure, Impact, for cello and piano, which was premiered by the duo TwoSense, with cellist Lisa Moore and cellist Ashley Bathgate. Through its three movements, Friction, Pressure, Impact explores the idea of musical metabolism. Have a listen to an excerpt below:



And if the music isn't incentive enough, custom ales and lagers will be provided by Brooklyn's BrewHeister after the performances, along with discussions with the performers and composers.