Composers Concordance: 'Rhapsody in Blue' Centennial
$20 advance, $30 at the door
- Matt Herskowitz, piano
- Jai Jeffryes, piano
- Michiyo Suzuki, clarinet
- Franz Hackl, trumpet
- Dennis Brandner, tenor saxophone
- Gene Pritsker, guitar
- Roxan Jurkevich, cajon
- Charles Coleman (AKA Das Krooner), baritone & conductor
Anthony Branker — Five Etudes
Gene Pritsker — Inspiration on a Very Famous Glissando
Dave Soldier — Michael Callen
Alon Nechushtan — Promenade with G
Dan Cooper — Kitt and Caboodle
Dennis Brandner — Selected works
Franz Hackl — Selected works
Ginka Mizuki — Selected works
Ann Warren — Selected works
Svjetlana Bukvich — Selected works
Jai Jeffryes — Selected works
"And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper – the complete construction of the Rhapsody...I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness." – George Gershwin
On January 20th at 7pm at Greenwich House, Composers Concordance presents Rhapsody in Blue Centennial. Gershwin's 1924 masterpiece is celebrated and new works inspired by his life and music are premiered.
Pianist Matt Herskowitz ("brings melodicism and a modern classical approach" – Jazz Weekly) will perform his distinctive arrangements of several of Gershwin piano solo compositions. In addition to singing classic songs by the Gershwins, baritone Charles Coleman will conduct the CompCord Ensemble on a program of exciting new chamber music, including several premieres.
Featured compositions also include Anthony Branker's Five Etudes, Gene Pritsker's Inspiration on a Very Famous Glissando, Dave Soldier's Michael Callen, Alon Nechushtan's Promenade with G, Dan Cooper's Kitt and Caboodle, plus recent Gershwin-inspired compositions and arrangements by Dennis Brandner, Franz Hackl, Ginka Mizuki, Ann Warren, Svjetlana Bukvich, and Jai Jeffryes.
The concert will be livestreamed on Composers Concordance's Facebook page.
About Composers Concordance
Staying in rotation for 40 years in NYC is a rare feat. In the case of a new music presenting organization, it requires not only diligence and cognizance of achievements of the past but also an ethic of keeping one's ear to the ground for emerging stylistic and technological developments, as well as talented new composers on the scene.
Composers Concordance, founded in 1984 by Joseph Pehrson and Patrick Hardish, advised by Otto Luening, strives to present contemporary music in innovative ways, with an emphasis on thematic programming. Directors Gene Pritsker and Dan Cooper co-curate the programs and lead the CompCord Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Big Band. Associate Directors are Milica Paranosic, Peter Jarvis, Debra Kaye, and Seth Boustead.
Composers Concordance has also created a Naxos-distributed record label: Composers Concordance Records, co-directed by Peter Jarvis. Composers Concordance's overriding vision is to promote contemporary music, composers, and new works as a rightful and respected part of society. Good music performed and recorded well, pushing the boundaries of sound and composition.
http://www.composersconcordance.comAbout Matt Herskowitz, piano
About Jai Jeffryes, piano
About Michiyo Suzuki, clarinet
About Dennis Brandner, tenor saxophone
About Gene Pritsker, guitar
Composer/musical polymath Gene Pritsker has written over nine hundred compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music and songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles. His compositions employ an eclectic spectrum of styles, that are influenced by his studies of various musical cultures.
He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation, an eclectic hip hop-chamber-jazz-rock-etc. ensemble. He also Co-Directs Composers Concordance. Gene's music is performed all over the world at internationally recognized festivals and by highly respected ensembles and performers.
He co-founded the Grammy-nominated Absolute Ensemble with Kristjan Jarvi and has been a composer in residence and guitarist since its creation in 1993. He worked closely with jazz fusion legend Joe Zawinul and has orchestrated major Hollywood movies, including Cloud Atlas, for which he wrote additional music and composed his Cloud Atlas Symphony. He is also the lead orchestrator for such TV series as Babylon Berlin, Jett, Netflix's Sense8, and Messiah. Gene is the lead orchestrator and has additional music in the 2021 film The Matrix Resurrections.
"My music is extremely eclectic, for me music has no bounds – I view the world of music as one big genre. My motto for my art is ending the segregation of sound vibration."
Gene is also a guitarist/rapper/Di.J./ and producer he incorporates each of these musical attributes to create music that is "not designed for easy listening or to melt into the background. It is insistent. It demands attention and curiosity." (New York Newsday) "Mischief-maker and cultural blender-in-chief, Pritsker is a serious artist, yet much of his work is witty and irreverent. Anyone can draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa, but few musicians draw it as artistically and creatively as Gene Pritsker." (Raymond Tuttle, Fanfare Magazine)
https://www.genepritsker.com/About Charles Coleman (AKA Das Krooner), baritone & conductor
https://www.facebook.com/people/Noizepunk-and-Das-Krooner/100080143212768/