Show Offs! (Great Noise Ensemble) September 29, 2007

Elvis Is Back. And He Plays The Bassoon.

It’s been thirty years since The King left the building, but for one night only he’s back and in headlining for Great Noise Ensemble on September 29th in Michael Daugherty’s Dead Elvis.

Great Noise Ensemble starts their third season with a bang as bassoonist Alan Michels dons the mantle- and the jumpsuit- of The King for Michael Daugherty’s Dead Elvis. “I’ve performed and enjoyed the thematic basis for Dead Elvis, Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale, but I didn’t identify with the protagonist–I’ve never wanted to sell my soul to the devil for a violin,” says Michels with a grin. “On the other hand, I’m absolutely willing to sell my soul to the god of rock and roll bassoon–or the god of glittery Las Vegas jumpsuits. Highest bidder!”

In their season opener and the inaugural concert of Catholic University’s “New Music at CUA” series, Great Noise Ensemble also presents soloists Kristen Williams and Katherine Kellert from within their own ranks as well as guest artists Duo 46 and Steven Leffue in a program of concertos and features. Michels kicks off the program, followed by new music pair Duo 46, who join the group for the world premiere of their commission, Armando Bayolo’s re-imagining of the Brandenburg Concertos, Concerto a Due. Kristen Williams takes to the keyboard in Emanuella Ballio’s Comme pour jeu…, Steven Leffue performs the late master Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VIIb for saxophone, and clarinetist Katherine Kellert closes the program with John Adams’s concerto Gnarly Buttons.

Admission for this event is free to the general public. For more information, visit www.GreatNoiseEnsemble.com

Official Website: http://www.greatnoiseensemble.com