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Event
"2x4" : JACK Quartet & Manhattan Saxophone Quartet Perform the Music of Alex Burtzos and Rex Isenberg
JACK Quartet and Manhattan Saxophone Quartet will anchor a talented lineup of musicians presenting works by emerging New York composers Alex Burtzos and Rex Isenberg on Tuesday, November 11, 8:00 PM at the DiMenna Center's Benzaquen Hall, 450 West 37th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues in Manhattan.
Although they are among the foremost new music ensembles of their type in the country, this will be the first time that JACK Quartet and Manhattan Saxophone Quartet have shared a billing. They will team up to play works by Alex Burtzos and Rex Isenberg, two dynamic young New York composers. JACK will give the New York premieres of Burtzos's "OMAHA (all the things you could be you are you were)" and Isenberg's "threadbare." MSQ will counter with reprise performances of Burtzos's "The REVIVALIST" and Isenberg's "Three Pieces." The program will also include Burtzos's dramatic song cycle "The Hill Wife" (2012), performed by mezzo-soprano Nani Fueting, and Isenberg's "Das Studen-Buch" (2013), performed by acclaimed trio sTem.
Tickets are $20 ($10 students). Because Benzaquen Hall is a small and intimate venue, it is highly recommended that those wishing to attend purchase their tickets in advance. A reception with the artists will follow the concert.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:
JACK Quartet is comprised of Violinists Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfield, Violist John Pickford Richards, and Cellist Kevin McFarland. They have electrified audiences worldwide with "explosive virtuosity" (Boston Globe) and "viscerally exciting performances" (New York Times). David Patrick Stearns (Philadelphia Inquirer) proclaimed their performance as being "among the most stimulating new-music concerts of my experience." The Washington Post commented, "The string quartet may be a 250-year-old contraption, but young, brilliant groups like the JACK Quartet are keeping it thrillingly vital." Alex Ross (New Yorker) hailed their performance of Iannis Xenakis' complete string quartets as being "exceptional" and "beautifully harsh," and Mark Swed (Los Angeles Times) called their sold-out performances of Georg Friedrich Haas' String Quartet No. 3 In iij. Noct. "mind-blowingly good." For more information (including images), visit http://www.jackquartet.com.
Manhattan Saxophone Quartet was first formed in 2008, and has become an ensemble committed to the highest artistic standards of performance of saxophone quartet music, both established and experimental, and to the exposure and introduction of saxophone quartet repertoire to new audiences of all ages. MSQ embodies a diverse canon spanning nearly 150 years, from early original works by Romantic masters to innovative compositions by 21st century contemporary artists. Composer David Froom has remarked that MSQ plays "with both precision and passion, and always with terrific musicianship!" and composer David Noon has lauded "I am continually inspired, in truth, by [the] quartet's artistry." MSQ has performed across the northeastern United States at venues including Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Symphony Space, Citigroup Center, Yale University, and numerous collegiate venues. The quartet has premiered works by Marc-Antonio Consoli, Robert McMahan, David Noon, Jeffrey Nytch, Quinn Collins, J. Mark Stambaugh, and others. Manhattan Saxophone Quartet musicians are Jordan Smith, soprano saxophonist; Andrew Steinberg, alto saxophonist; Daniel Kochersberger, tenor saxophonist; and Jay Rattman, baritone saxophonist. For more information (including images), visit http://www.manhattansaxquartet.com
Nani Fueting was born in Seoul, South Korea. She studied at Seoul National University, J. P. Rameau Conservatoire in Paris, and Manhattan School of Music in New York. Her teachers include Mignon Dunn and Mark Oswald, among others. Miss Fueting attended various festivals where she was able to work with accompanists such as Martin Katz and Graham Johnson. She has appeared as Cherubino in "Le Nozze di Figaro," Stephano in "Romeo et Juliette," Octavian in "Der Rosenkavalier," Dido in "Dido and Aeneas," Hänsel in "Hänsel und Gretel," Mercedes in "Carmen," and the role of Girl in "Griffelkin," by Lucas Foss. Miss Fueting also has a distinct interest in chamber music and Lieder.
sTem is clarinetist Eric Umble, vocalist Meagan Brus, and pianist Sophia Vastek. sTem's primary goals are to expand the repertoire through commissioning new works and re-imagining existing works; to present programs that find ways to connect with audiences outside of a traditional concert experience; to work to facilitate cultural dialogues through education and commissions, particularly in non-western and under-served communities; and to infuse concert performances with theatrical elements so to create a more dynamic experience. Formed in 2013 at Manhattan School of Music, they are the first pre-formed ensemble to be invited to the Zodiac Academy and Festival in Valdeblore, France. For more information (including images), visit http://www.stemmusic.org
ABOUT THE COMPOSERS:
Alex Burtzos (b. 1985) is an American composer and conductor living in New York City. His compelling and diverse works have been performed across the United States and in Europe. Since 2012, Alex has been commissioned by/collaborated with JACK Quartet, the Manhattan Sax Quartet, Marcel Trio, Diaspora Duo, Epoch Duo, Tempus Continuum Ensemble, the Aspen Music Festival, Baris Buyukyildirim, Yumi Suehiro, and many others. Beginning in Autumn 2014, he will be teaching full-time at Manhattan School of Music. As a conductor, Alex has championed of living composers, conducting premieres of works by Kenneth Fuchs, Anne Goldberg, Will Healy, and others. He currently resides in midtown Manhattan with his beautiful wife, Jessica, and their cat, Clara. He is a native of Colorado Springs, CO. For more information (including images), visit http://www.alexburtzosmusic.com.
Born in Philadelphia, Rex Isenberg (b. 1987) began his musical life as a jazz pianist before pursuing studies in classical composition. Mr. Isenberg studied with Kathryn Alexander, Michael Klingbeil, and Missy Mazzoli at Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Music in 2010, and with Richard Danielpour at the Manhattan School of Music, where he graduated with a Masters of Music in Classical Composition in 2012. Mr. Isenberg returned to the Manhattan School of Music in Fall 2013 and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the studio of Reiko Fueting. Mr. Isenberg's music has garnered him recognition from ASCAP, and he was selected as a finalist for the 2014 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards for Das Stunden-Buch and for the 2012 Awards for his Three Pieces for Saxophone Quartet. Mr. Isenberg received the 2011-2012 Deolus Husband Scholarship for Composition, the 2010-11 MSM Scholarship, and the 2011 Jordan Berk Prize for Composition for his Three Pieces for Saxophone Quartet while a Master's student at Manhattan School of Music. As a junior at Yale, he won the Abraham Beekman Cox Prize in Composition from the Yale Music Department in 2009, awarded to the "most promising and gifted composers" in the class. In 2011, Isenberg was a Composition Fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts where he composed his orchestral work, Totem. For more information (including images), visit http://www.rexisenberg.com.
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LocationThe DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Benzaquen Hall (New York City,NY) (View)
450 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018
United States
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| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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