Performing and listening to new music is fun because there is a sense of "what's next." On the other hand, there are certain works that are so monumental that they are already, in a small sense, "classics." The talented teens of Face the Music will present two such works: Philip Glass' 40-minute Glassworks, written for CBS Records in 1981, is a six-movement work of shifting harmonies and pulsating rhythms. Steve Reich's Double Sextet, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, is a more contrapuntal, driving work, almost Bartók-like in intensity. Paired with these two warhorses is Robert Honstein's lovely Night Mixes, a six-minute meditation on a small motive that echoes some of Philip Glass' harmonic language.
Face the Music Bio Praised for "stunning performances" by The New York Times, Kaufman Center's Face the Music is an "alt-classical" ensemble of more than seventy astonishingly talented teenagers from in and around New York City. Advancing Kaufman Center's commitment to modern music, Face the Music provides an unparalleled performance and education experience for the next generation of musical leaders. The group was founded in 2005 by Special Music School Music Director Jenny Undercofler and composer Huang Ruo, Under the direction of conductor Dr. Undercofler, Face the Music has played across New York City at venues such as Le Poisson Rouge, El Museo del Barrio, Merkin Hall, the River to River Festival and the Bang On A Can Marathon. The group has been featured on WQXR's Young Artist Showcase, NPR's All Things Considered, and played on a live broadcast marking the opening of NY Public Radio's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. In 2011, Face the Music was honored with the ASCAP Aaron Copland Award.
Face the Music features middle and high school students from over twenty different New York area schools. Many of the performers are students or alumni of Kaufman's own Special Music School, the only K-8 public school in New York City that integrates pre-conservatory musical training with academic education.
Discussion
Location
The Tank (View)
151 w. 46th st., 8th Floor
New York, NY 10036
United States
