34 jazz composers ranging in age from 17 to 67 years old converge on the Columbia University Campus to explore writing for the symphony orchestra
Culminates with two public concerts:
Wet Ink
Friday, July 23, 2010 at 8:00pm
American Composers Orchestra
Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 8:00pm
Miller Theatre at Columbia University (116th Street & Broadway, NYC)
Tickets: $25 each concert, at millertheatre.com or at the door
New York, NY - The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University and American Composers Orchestra (ACO) will present the first-ever Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute (JCOI), to be held on the Columbia University campus in New York from July 20 to 24, 2010. The Institute brings together 34 jazz composers, chosen from a national pool of applicants, to explore the challenges of writing for the symphony orchestra. The curriculum was created by composers Jane Ira Bloom, Anthony Davis, Fabien Lvy, and Center for Jazz Studies director George Lewis, all of whom also serve as instructors. Other composers serving as mentors include Alvin Singleton, Derek Bermel, and Tania Len.
The Institute will culminate in two concerts open to the public at Columbia University's Miller Theatre (116th Street and Broadway), featuring music characterized by improvisation, driving rhythms, and electronic experimentation by composers who break the boundaries between jazz, improvised, and classical music - including Leroy Jenkins, John Zorn, Earle Brown, and Anthony Davis, plus world premieres by Roscoe Mitchell and Errollyn Wallen. Wet Ink, JCOI's resident chamber ensemble, will perform on Friday, July 23 at 8pm. ACO, led by conductor Gil Rose, will take the stage on Saturday, July 24 at 8pm. [Performance details about these concerts are included below. Composers' and performers' bios are included on the attached PDF.]
This innovative program is a new development in the jazz field. While many jazz composers seek to write for the symphony orchestra, opportunities for hands-on experience are few. JCOI aims to provide new resources for both jazz and classical music, promoting the emergence of composers trained in both jazz and new orchestral techniques. During the five-day series of workshops, participants will work with eminent composers, conductors, and industry leaders, studying and researching new ways to incorporate jazz idioms and styles in music for orchestra. JCOI will also include a variety of performance labs and professional development discussions.
JCOI participants hail from a wide variety of backgrounds and jazz styles. The youngest participant, Phillip Golub, is 17 years old. An accomplished jazz and classical pianist, Golub is a high school student in the Los Angeles area and impressed panelists with his already advanced technique. The oldest participant is 67-year-old Rufus Reid, a classically trained bassist and Guggenheim fellow, who has performed and recorded with great jazz masters including Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt, Don Byas, Philly Joe Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, and many more.
Following the Institute, several JCOI participants will submit applications to participate in the JCOI Readings in June 2011. Four to six promising participants will be selected to create new works for orchestra and to work further with mentor composers and conductors in developing these works. The JCOI Readings will culminate with open rehearsals, readings, and live performances of the new works at Miller Theatre by American Composers Orchestra.
JCOI Concerts
JCOI will culminate in two concerts that are open to the public, both featuring music that incorporates improvisation. On Friday, July 23 at 8pm, Wet Ink, conducted by Carl Bettendorf, will perform Leroy Jenkins' Wonderlust (2000), Bernhard Lang's DW5 (2000), Katharina Rosenberger's parcours III(2008), Eric Wubbels' Euphony (2006), and Richard Barrett's Codex V (2007). On Saturday, July 24 at 8pm, American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Gil Rose, will perform Anthony Davis's You Have the Right to Remain Silent (2007), Roscoe Mitchell's Nonaah (world premiere, new version for chamber orchestra), Earle Brown's Available Forms 1 (1961), Errollyn Wallen's The Girl in My Alphabet (world premiere, new version for chamber orchestra), and John Zorn's For Your Eyes Only (1989).
Both concerts take place at Columbia University's Miller Theatre (116th Street and Broadway, NYC). Tickets are $25/$42 for both, available atwww.millertheatre.com and at the door. Discounts are available for students, CU faculty/staff, and seniors. For information, the public should call ACO at 212.977.8495.
About Columbia University's Center for Jazz Studies
The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University sees jazz as a music without borders and ultimately without limits, a model for the integration of forward-thinking models of scholarly inquiry with innovative teaching and community dialogue. Our direction, which emphasizes the themes of internationalization, technology, and community, is realized by promoting research by innovative scholars in the arts, humanities, and sciences; encouraging excellence in the teaching of music and culture; and presenting public events that complement and extend the Center's research and teaching. The Center views the interdisciplinary expansion of the intellectual conversation surrounding jazz, and especially its lifeblood practice, improvisation, as tracing a path toward the development of new knowledge that illuminates the human condition.
About Columbia University
A leading academic and research university, Columbia continually seeks to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to foster a campus community deeply engaged in understanding and addressing the complex issues of our time. Columbia's extensive cultural collaborations and community partnerships help define the University's underlying values and mission to educate students to be both leading scholars and informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King's College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.
About American Composers Orchestra
ACO is the only orchestra in the world dedicated to the creation, performance, preservation and promulgation of music by American composers. Entering its 34th season, ACO identifies today's brightest emerging composers, champions prominent established artists, and increases awareness of the variety of American orchestral music. ACO incubates ideas, develops talent and catalyzes and advocates for American composers and their music. The orchestra's activities include concerts, commissions, new music readings, recordings, broadcasts, and education programs. ACO has performed works by over 600 composers, including more than 200 world premieres and commissions. In addition to its major Improvise! Festival in 2004, ACO has commissioned and premiered many new works that incorporate jazz and improvisation, including Derek Bermel's Migration Series in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center, and works by Donal Fox, Vijay Iyer, Uri Caine, George Lewis, Susie Ibarra, Fred Ho and others in its Orchestra Underground series at Carnegie Hall.
Support for the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Fund for National Projects, the Fromm Music Foundation and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The concerts are presented in partnership with Columbia University.
Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Concerts
Miller Theatre at Columbia University
116th and Broadway, New York, NY
Friday, July 23, 2010, 8:00 PM
Wet Ink
Carl Bettendorf, conductor
Leroy Jenkins - Wonderlust (2000)
Bernhard Lang - DW5 (2000)
Katharina Rosenberger - parcours III (2008)
Eric Wubbels - Euphony (2006)
Richard Barrett - Codex V (2007)
Saturday, July 24, 2010, 8:00 PM
American Composers Orchestra
Gil Rose, conductor
Earl Howard, electronics
J.D. Parran, clarinet and contra-alto clarinet
Anthony Davis: You Have the Right to Remain Silent (2007)
Roscoe Mitchell: Nonaah (World Premiere, new version for chamber orchestra)
Earle Brown: Available Forms 1 (1961)
Errollyn Wallen: The Girl in My Alphabet (World Premiere, new version for chamber orchestra)
John Zorn: For Your Eyes Only (1989)
Tickets: $25, available at the door.
For more information contact Jensen Artists.
