Juventas New Music Ensemble presents FIERCE: New Music of High Energy and Sonic Intensity September 14, 2008

JUVENTAS ANNOUNCES FIERCE, THREE NIGHTS OF AWARD-WINNING NEW MUSIC

Juventas New Music Ensemble announces Fierce New Music of High Energy and Sonic Intensity in three unique venues: The Boston Conservatorys Seully Hall at 8:00pm on September 12, 2008, Green Street Studios at 8:00pm on September 13, 2008, and First Church in Boston at 4:30pm on September 14, 2008.

Musical diversity is a priority for Juventas, and our new music director Michael Sakir programmed this concert to include a large range of works. With a traditional piano trio, amplified chamber ensemble, electric guitar & saxophone duo, and a staged mini-opera, this jam-packed two hour concert is sure to have something for everyone, states Erin Huelskamp, executive director.

PROGRAM:

Panayiotis KOKORAS: Crama for amplified flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, & cello
Nathan DAVIS: Churn for cello & piano
Paul DOOLEY: Dani's Dance for violin, cello, & piano
Isaac SCHANKLER: Sharp for soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, & cello
Ryan STREBER: Closing Time for alto saxophone, electric guitar, percussion, & piano
David CUTLER: Jabberwocky for baritone, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, & cello

Tickets for September 13 and 14 are $15 ($10 students and seniors; $5 children under 12) and include a post-concert reception with the artists. Friday September 12 is a special community preview presented via the Ensemble-in-Residence program at The Boston Conservatory; tickets are $12 ($7 seniors, free to all students with ID). Order online or purchase tickets at the door. For more information, visit www.JuventasMusic.com.

Friday, September 12, 2008 at 8:00 PM
COMMUNITY PREVIEW: Ensemble in Residence
Seully Hall at The Boston Conservatory
8 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02215
$12 general, $7 seniors, free to students with ID
Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Green Street Studios
185 Green Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
$15 general, $10 students & seniors, $5 children

Sunday, September 14, 2008 at 4:30 PM
First Church in Boston
66 Marlborough Street
Boston, MA 02115
$15 general, $10 students & seniors, $5 children

ABOUT THE MUSIC:

FIERCE is centered around Jabberwocky, David Cutler's 23 minute operatic setting of Lewis Carol's classic poem for male voice and pierrot ensemble. Cutler fuses such varying musical styles as rap, Sprechstimme, Middle-eastern folk music, Baroque counterpoint, and Renaissance drinking songs to create a dramatic and highly entertaining one-act opera. Praised as one of Pittsburgh's top 10 events of 2005, Jabberwocky features baritone Alan Bailey with stage direction by J. Jacob Krause.

Composers Panayiotis Kokoras (Greece) and Isaac Schankler challenge listeners through defiance of convention. Kokoras's Crama for amplified chamber ensemble - commissioned in 2006 by the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University - pushes so far away from traditional harmony and melody that violence and distortion become the natural beauty of the work. In his song-cycle Sharp, Schankler steers listeners through madness, introspection, and insanity in this powerful and disturbing setting of three poems by Jillian Burcar.

Nathan Davis, Paul Dooley, and Ryan Streber explore the hypnotic power of rhythm. Davis's Churn is an intensely virtuosic piece for cello and piano, Dooley's Dani's Dance for piano trio which won a 2008 ASCAP award journeys through tribal ceremonies and ecstatic dances, and Streber's Closing Time for saxophone, electric guitar, piano, and percussion exhibits the composer's experiences performing in various New York bar bands.

Everything on the program will excite the listener in a unique way. Each work represents the best of music by todays young composers," states music director Michael Sakir. "And who better to perform such great music than some of the most talented young musicians in Boston? Juventas musicians come together from different backgrounds including all the major music schools in Boston to create remarkably compelling performances."

PERFORMERS:

Michael Sakir, music director & piano
Scott Ordway, associate conductor
J. Jacob Krause, artistic director
Sara Ann Mitchell, soprano
Alan Bailey, baritone
Alex Conway, flute
Kathleen LeBlanc-Hood, clarinet
Michael Couper, alto saxophone
Alexa Schmitz, violin
Stephanie Skor, violin
Kalindi Bellach, viola
Brandon Brooks, cello
Rachel Arnold, cello
Julia Carey, piano
Joe Turbessi, piano
Patrick Litterst, percussion
Eric Gaudette, electric guitar

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of juventasmusic.