|
Music at the Anthology Announces 26th Annual
MATA Festival
Fotografiska New York | May 15 – 18, 2024
2024 MATA Festival, INTEGRATION:
Music/Technology + Human/Nature,
Explores Human Connection in Relation to Technology,
Conceived in Alignment with Fotografiska New York’s
Spring Exhibition
Opening Concert Features NYC Premiere of
GRAMMY®️-nominated and Emmy Award-winning
Composer Adam Schoenberg’s AUTOMATION, Performed by
Cellist Yves Dhar
with the GRAMMY®️-Winning Experiential Orchestra led by
James Blachly
Closing Concert Features Olivier Glissant’s
World Premiere Orchestration of
Philip Glass’s Aguas da Amazonia,
Featuring the Brooklyn Orchestra
New York,
NY — Tickets are on sale now
for the 26th
Annual MATA Festival, taking place from May
15-18, 2024 in New York City. For more than 25
years, Music
at the Anthology (MATA) has been a home for
early-career composers, sound artists, and other music
creators, described as “the most exciting showcase for
outstanding young composers from around the world” (The
New Yorker). Through its annual festival, artist
residencies, and educational initiatives, MATA has fostered
the work of hundreds of experimental artists since its
founding by Philip Glass,
Eleonor Sandresky, and Lisa
Bielawa.
Helmed by Executive Director Pauline
Kim Harris, the four-night festival will be
presented at Fotografiska
New York, reflecting a newly forged
relationship between the MATA Festival and the famed
Contemporary Museum of Photography, Art and Culture in
Gramercy. The theme of this year’s festival, conceived in
alignment with the museum’s spring exhibition, will be “INTEGRATION:
Music/Technology + Human/Nature” – an
exploration of human connection against the backdrop of
ever-advancing technology that is changing how we relate to
one another and make music.
“Upon meeting Fotografiska’s Director of
Programming Wendi Weinman and Associate Director of
Programming Jordan McClean, a partnership was inevitable,”
says Harris. “I was blown away by their vision and how it
coincided with what MATA Festival stands for. Their mission
to be an expression of commitment to local culture and
inviting the community to gather, discuss, share and
celebrate defines not only the intention, but the purpose of
our journey in the discovery of new talent and sounds.
Cultivating relationships through understanding the past and
motivating toward the future is what MATA Festival
represents: Tomorrow’s Music Today.”
The festival’s four concerts have been
integrated according to the four classical elements of fire,
air, earth and water, with music constituting the connective
thread that brings them together in harmony. Each program
features small-ensemble works selected from more than 400
submissions by a panel of eight distinguished composers and
performers from the US, South America and the Czech
Republic: Bethany Younge,
Sam Yulsman, Jennifer Choi, Kyra Sims, Eric Lyon, Carlos
Quebrada, Petr Bakla and Yoon-Ji
Lee. Eighteen of these selected works will be
performed this year by some of the composers themselves, as
well as by the newly established MATA
Mavens, a festival ensemble of hand-picked
virtuosos specializing in genres ranging from contemporary
classical and experimental music, to hip-hop, jazz, folk and
traditional music from cultures around the world. This
year’s performers in the ensemble include Azalea Twining,
voice; Titilayo Ayangade, cello; Laura Cocks, flute; Dennis
Sullivan, percussion and Jennifer Choi, violin. Besides
works selected through the annual submissions process, the
opening and closing concerts of this year’s festival also
integrate pieces under the umbrella of the MATA Presents
initiative, which provides support for projects already in
motion. Featuring numerous New York and world premieres, the
festival is bookended by the New York premiere of Adam
Schoenberg’s AUTOMATION and
the world premiere of Olivier
Glissant’s new orchestration of Philip
Glass’s Aguas da Amazonia by the
Brooklyn Orchestra.
The opening night concert on Wednesday,
May 15, 2024 at 7:00pm, Automation, represents
the “fire” element, while epitomizing the mission of the
MATA Festival. Taking center stage in this program is
cellist Yves
Dhar in Press
“1” for Cello, an immersive cello experience
incorporating three world premieres in a performance for
solo cello, electronics and interactive visuals. In the
first of these world premieres, two-time GRAMMY®
️Award-winning composer and violist Nathan
Schram unveils his new work Plant
Church. Reflecting a psychedelic journey into an
overstimulated subconscious, the piece weaves its way
through primordial dust, a mechanistic working life, and
stupefying social interactions before embarking on a final
journey through the celestial orbs of the universe. Pianist
and composer Adonis
Gonzalez follows with the world premiere of
his composition Nrtya –
the Hindi word for “dance” – a work that artfully blends
dance rhythms originating from India, West Africa and the
Caribbean Islands. In a unique role for the featured
soloist, this piece calls for a cellist who also performs on
percussion instruments to capture the spirit of dance,
yielding a harmonious synthesis of diverse cultural
influences. In a third world premiere, Dhar is featured in Cristina
Spinei’s new work Missed
Deadline. Commissioned by Dhar, this fast-paced work
employs ostinati, “chopping” techniques and fun grooves to
showcase the virtuosity of the performer. Stretto, a
specialist in innovative technologies for both live
performances and streaming, has been engaged by Dhar to
create an interactive audience experience around this piece.
The program culminates in the New York
premiere of AUTOMATION, a
double concerto for two cellos – with one part written for a
live cellist and the other composed by a machinelearning
algorithm for a holographic AI cellist dubbed A.G.N.E.S
(Automatic Generator Network of Excellent Songs). Developed
over a five-year period by Dhar and GRAMMY®️-nominated/Emmy
Award-winning composer Adam
Schoenberg, the piece will be performed at
the MATA Festival by Dhar alongside the
GRAMMY®️ Award-winning Experiential
Orchestra, led by conductor James
Blachly. Through a musical duel of human and
machine, the work explores the musical ramifications of
machine-learning and the degree to which human musical
expression can survive digital mediation. In the key
question posed by the work, we are asked: Can a technically
superior machine with no soul make music that moves us?
Contrasting passages evoke the bleak possibility that humans
must lose out in a society obsessed only with output and
productivity – vs. the hope we find in those qualities that
make us uniquely human: the ability to feel, love and
empathize. In another unique element of the performance,
Dhar doubles on a futuristic instrument known as the
halldorophone, which was commissioned and purpose-built for
the composition’s 2022 world premiere by Dhar and the Louisville
Orchestra, led by GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Teddy
Abrams. A video trailer for AUTOMATION can
be viewed here.
The festival’s second and third concerts
feature performances by the Bergamot
Quartet, by selected composers performing
their own works, and by the MATA Mavens, (formerly
Friends of MATA). On Thursday,
May 16, 2024 at 7:00pm, the festival presents its
“air” program, Changing
Voices, a concert reflecting connections –
composer to performer, humans to nature, technology to music
– and how these ever-evolving bonds are integrated into the
fabric of music-making. This concert’s performances feature
the Bergamot String Quartet, as well as MATA Maven Yuma
Uesaka (saxophone) and composers Annie Aries Ruefenacht and
Christian Quiñones performing their own works. Ideas
embedded in the program focus on communication through music
and how technology impacts that process. Highlighted works
include Danae Venson’s Atlas for
saxophone and string quartet with video; Vasiliki
Krimitza’s Streichquartett
No. 1 (world premiere); Giuseppe
Gallo-Balma’s Ornitomaquia; Angela
Elizabeth Slater’s Eye
o da hurricane; Leo
Chang’s Topic
of Discussion (2020); Daniel
Sabzghabaei’s At
any rate II. باقی مانده "what remains" for singing
string quartet and record player; Annie
Aries Ruefenacht’s Fragments for
mod synthesizer (world premiere); and Christian
Quiñones’ Artifacts (2023)
for laptop, keyboard, live electronics and visuals.
On Friday,
May 17, 2024 at 7:00pm, MATA holds its “earth”
concert, Earthing, a
program exploring the interplay between earth and technology
– between the natural and the manmade – and examining where
human wellness can be found and maintained in the balance.
The evening’s program features MATA Mavens Azalea Twining
(voice), Laura Cocks (flute), Dennis Sullivan (percussion),
Jennifer Choi (violin) and Titilayo Ayangade (cello) as well
as composers Jane Sheldon (voice) and Henryk Golden
(speaker). Among the works performed in this concert will
be April
Dawn Guthrie’s Toy
Toy Toypurina, a composition for flute, cello and
percussion commissioned by DogStar Orchestra Festival. Also
selected for this program are Marco
Adrián Ramos’s Altar
with pines and bread from Acámbaro (Music with my grandma) for
alto flute, percussion and electronics; Annie
Hui-Hsin Hsieh’s Permeating
Through the Pores of Shifting Planes for percussion and
electronics; Qiujiang
Levi Lu’s Before
It Gets Too Late for solo percussion and laptop; Bobby
Ge’s Doppelgänger
Streets for violin and electronics; Henryk
Golden’s Sprechen
Sie Musik? for reader and mezzo-soprano; and Jane
Sheldon’s I
am a tree, I am a mouth for two voices and gong drone
(world premiere).
The festival concludes Saturday,
May 18, 2024 at 7:00pm with the MATA Festival’s
“water” program, Open
Waters, highlighting the world premiere of Olivier
Glissant’s new orchestration of Philip
Glass’s Aguas
da Amazonia by the Brooklyn
Orchestra. Composed by Glass based on his travels
in Brazil during the early 1990s, Aguas
da Amazonia deftly incorporates elements of classical,
new age and jazz music. The work, composed as a series of
musical sketches, was first performed by the Brazilian
percussion ensemble Uakti using highly specialized
instrumentation. Released as an album on Point Music in
1999, Aguas da Amazonia has
since captivated countless listeners despite amassing only a
thin live performance history – limited by the unusual Uakti
instrumentation. In this new orchestration, Glissant has
translated the feel and rhythms of Glass’s work into a
version for mainstream instrumentation – making this
enduring work accessible to a broader range of ensembles
worldwide. This final program also features Anthony
R. Green’s Connections, Wenbin
Lyu’s Duke's
Fantasy I and Mariel
Terán’s Manos
de Tierra, highlighting scores for open
instrumentation, graphic notation, and a live installation
performance of Andean wind instruments.
In addition to the four nights of concerts,
daytime activities for the 2024 MATA Festival will include
book signings as well as coffee/happy hours with invited
guest speakers, composers and authors – plus surprise pre-
and post-concert events, all held at Fotografiska. Composer
Paul Swartzel’s video “Music for Mental Health” will be
played on a loop before the concert in the loft on May 16
and 17. Tickets to the concerts include access to all events
as well as to the exhibitions.
26th
Annual MATA Festival Program Details
May 15 - 18, 2024
Fotografiska| 281 Park
Ave S. | New York, NY
Tickets: $45 per
single concert (includes admission to all museum exhibits);
$150 for four-concert bundle
Link: www.matafestival.org/2024-mata-festival
Automation
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
Nathan Schram – A
Night Out [World
Premiere]
Adonis Gonzalez – Nrtya [World
Premiere]
Cristina Spinei – Missed
Deadline [World
Premiere]
Adam Schoenberg – AUTOMATION [New
York Premiere]
Yves
Dhar, cello
Experiential
Orchestra
James Blachly, conductor
Changing
Voices
Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
Danae Venson – Atlas
Vasiliki Krimitza’s – Streichquartett
No. 1 [World
Premiere]
Giuseppe Gallo-Balma – Ornitomaquia
Angela Elizabeth Slater – Eye
o da hurricane [New
York Premiere]
Leo Chang – Topic of
Discussion [World
Premiere]
Daniel Sabzghabaei – At any
rate II. باقی مانده "what remains"
Annie Aries Ruefenacht – Fragments [World
Premiere]
Christian Quiñones – Artifacts [New
York Premiere]
Bergamot Quartet
MATA Maven Yuma
Uesaka, saxophone
Christian Quiñones, laptop/MIDI
Annie Aries
Ruefenacht, mod-synthesizer
Earthing
Friday, May 17, 2024 at 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
April Dawn Guthrie – Toy
Toy Toypurina [New
York Premiere]
Henryk Golden – Sprechen
Sie Musik? [New York
Premiere]
Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh – Permeating
Through the Pores of Shifting Planes [New
York Premiere]
Marco Adrián Ramos – Altar
with pines and bread from Acámbaro (Music with my grandma)
Qiujiang Levi Lu – Before
It Gets Too Late [New
York Premiere]
Bobby Ge – Doppelgänger
Streets [New York
Premiere]
Jane Sheldon’s – I am a
tree, I am a mouth [World
Premiere]
MATA
Mavens
Azalea
Twining, voice
Titlayo
Ayangade, cello
Dennis Sulliva, percussion
Laura Cocks, flute
Jennifer Choi, violin
Jane Sheldon, voice
Henryk Golden, speaker
Open Waters
Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
Anthony R. Green – Connections [New
York Premiere]
Wenbin Lyu – Duke's Fantasy
I
Mariel Teran – Manos de
Tierra [World
Premiere]
Philip Glass, orch. Olivier Glissant – Aguas
da Amazonia [World
Premiere Orchestration]
Brooklyn
Orchestra
Olivier Glissant,
conductor
About
MATA
Music at the Anthology
(MATA) is an incubator for adventurous emerging
artists experimenting with composition, multimedia,
collaborative performance art, and every imaginable sound in
between. We present, support, and commission the music of
early-career composers, regardless of their stylistic views
or aesthetic inclinations. Founded by Philip Glass, Eleonor
Sandresky, and Lisa Bielawa in 1996 as a way to address the
lack of presentation opportunities for unaffiliated
composers, MATA has since developed into the world’s most
sought-after performance opportunity for young and emerging
composers.
The first MATA Festival took place in 1998,
and showcased Jonathan Hart Makwaia, singing his own
compositions, alongside performances by Lisa Moore and Ted
Baker. Since then, MATA presents an
internationally-recognized annual festival each spring in
New York City of new music by early-career composers
selected from a free global call for submissions; MATA
Presents, commissioned projects presented at venues and
non-conventional spaces throughout New York; and MATA Jr.,
an evening of music by pre-college composers, mentored by
emerging composers, and performed by top performers in new
music.
MATA’s festivals and events are critically
acclaimed and broadly respected: The
New Yorker has hailed MATA as “the most exciting
showcase for outstanding young composers from around the
world.” The New York Times has
called it “nondogmatic, even antidogmatic;” The
Wall Street Journal said that it “tells us a lot about
how composers are thinking now.” Composers that have been
presented by MATA early in their careers include future
Rome, Alpert, Takemitsu, Siemens, and Pulitzer
Prize-winners, Guggenheim Fellows, and MacArthur “Geniuses.”
In 2010 MATA was awarded ASCAP’s prestigious Aaron Copland
award in recognition of its work. Learn more at www.matafestival.org.
About
Fotografiska
Fotografiska is the contemporary museum for photography,
art, and culture. Founded in Stockholm in 2010 and led
globally by its Chairman Yoram Roth, Fotografiska is a
destination to discover world-class photography, eclectic
programming, elevated dining, and surprising new
perspectives. Guided by a mission to inspire a more
conscious world through the power of photography, art, and
culture, Fotografiska produces dynamic and unparalleled
rotating exhibitions, spanning various genres in inclusive
environments. With a dedicated international community and
locations in Stockholm, New York City, Tallinn, Berlin and
Shanghai, Fotografiska is the premier global gathering place
for photography and culture.
www.fotografiska.com/nyc | @fotografiska.newyork |