New York Stories invites the audience to connect with that most intimate of instruments: the human voice. This concert brings together three iconic literary figures—Dorothy Parker of the Algonquin Round Table, Walt Whitman, the famed poet of Leaves of Grass, and Arnold Weinstein, librettist for Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom. Their timeless words come to life through vocal performances, set to piano accompaniment by three distinctive composers: Arthur Gottschalk, Edmund Cionek, and William Bolcom.
Join us for an engaging evening of sophisticated and expressive vocal interpretations!

Program

Six Contrefacts: When George Met Dorothy
By Arthur Gottschalk - Lyrics by Dorothy Parker
1.     Song of the Open Country
2.     Bohemia
3.     Folk Tune
4.     Hopeful Heart
5.     Song Two
6.     Coda
Timothy Jones, Bass-Baritone; Scott Cuellar, piano

Prelude and Five Dreams of Walt Whitman (2018)
By Edmund Cionek - Text by Walt Whitman selected from “The Sleepers,” 1855, from Leaves of Grass
Prelude: I Wander all Night in my Vision
Markel Reed, Baritone
1. I See a Beautiful Gigantic Swimmer
Daniel Kamalić, Tenor
2. Now I Tell
Natalie Ballenger, Soprano  
3. The Beach
Charlotte Detrick, Soprano
4. Lucifer
Markel Reed, Baritone with Ballenger and Detrick
5. Peace is always Beautiful
Natalie Ballenger, Charlotte Detrick, Daniel Kamalić, and Markel Reed;
Matthew Stephens, piano

Cabaret Songs (selected) (1977-1996)
By William Bolcom
Lyrics by Arnold Weinstein
1. Over the Piano
2. Fur (Murray the Furrier}
3. Waitin’
4. George
Timothy Jones, Bass-Baritone; Scott Cuellar, piano

Program notes

Six Contrefacts: When George Met Dorothy by Arthur Gottschalk
A contrafact is a musical composition that uses the chord progression of an existing song, but with a new melody and arrangement. One of the most famous of these is Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology,” which is a contrafact  of the standard “How High the Moon.”
The spelling used here is deliberate, to seem a bit more French and, therefore, bougie, as Dorothy Parker rarely did anything without her tongue planted firmly in her cheek. The subtitle is a reference to the fact that, as far as we know, Dorothy Parker never crossed paths with George Gershwin, despite living and working at the top of their game at the same time and in the same town. The only known reference to them even being in the same room comes in a scene from the musical play “Thoroughly Modern Millie” in which they are both guests at the same party, along with many other luminaries of their day. So, what if George had met Dorothy? What songs might they have collaborated on?
We’ll never know, but my pieces offer, perhaps, a possibility. This song cycle was commissioned by, and written for, bass-baritone Timothy Jones and pianist Scott Cuellar, both excellent musicians who I am proud to have collaborated with on numerous occasions over the years.—A.G.

Prelude and Five Dreams of Walt Whitman (2018)
Years ago I was in residence at the downtown theatre company Mabou Mines and wrote an hour-long multimedia piece called “Attack of the 50 Foot Walt Whitman.” I selected several songs from that work to create tonight’s vocal cantata. Whitman is a fav poet of mine. His selection of subject matter was unusual for his time but so relevant to ours. These songs reference aspirations of Americans, Native Americans, community tragedy, slavery, and peace. Whitman’s view on democracy in the mid 1800s was more forward thinking than even Lincoln’s.  –E.C.

Cabaret Songs (selected) 1977-1996
The four sets of Cabaret Songs by Bolcom/Weinstein are perhaps the composer’s most performed works. His music is at its most delightfully eclectic in these careful settings. Weinstein’s lyrics transform urban anecdotes into mini operas. “Over the Piano”  depicts a piano man, a patron, and closing time. In “Fur” (Murray the Furrier) the poet celebrates a life well lived. “Waitin’” is a poignant hymn. As for “George”—well, George is a man we all would be lucky to have met. —E.C.

Tribeca New Music is thrilled to present the Happy Hour Webcast Premiere of Pathos Trio - Best in Score 2023 with special guest artists pianist Adrian Zaragoza and percussionist Glenn Choe.  
This concert will feature the first prize-winning score by Liam Cummins in the TNM 2023 Young Composer Competition (Division 2 for composers 21 years old and younger) along with new and recent works by composers Ian Chang, Will Healy, Finola Merivale, Clara Warnaar, and Alyssa Weinberg.

Photo: Will Healy, Peter White, Felix Reyes, Glenn Choe, Adrian Zaragoza, Liam Cummins

Program
Mega Cicada by Ian Chang
Falling Flames by Finola Merivale
Table Talk by Alyssa Weinberg
Etudes for Melancholy Robots for solo piano by Will Healy
Home/Gone by Clara Warnaar
-intermission-
Overlooking by Liam Cummins

Program - First Half
The Pathos Trio (percussionists Felix Reyes, Marcelina Suchocka, and pianist/composer Will Healy) is a two-percussion and piano trio committed to combining aesthetics of contemporary classical music with their interests in dark, heavy, dense sounds drawn from various genres of music such as alternative rock, progressive/black metal, cathedral music, minimalist music, electronic synth-wave, and more, while also aiming to bring adventurous music to audiences through collaborations with young, living new music composers.

Program - Second Half
Composer Liam Cummins, who won the TNM 2023 Young Composer Competition (Division 2 for ages 21 and younger), will have his Overlooking for piano and percussion performed by pianist Adrian Zaragoza and percussionist Glenn Choe.

Overlooking: The word Overlooking has two definitions: an outlook from a high vantage point and the failure to notice something. In this project, I approached the process of composing from a new perspective for me, planning out the form of the piece before writing a single note. I worked to craft a nuanced scaffolding that could support an intricate form. This was a joyful realization that changed my compositional method in pieces to come. Overlooking a musical universe from a clarifying distance, I was able to consider the bigger picture before worrying about smaller details.

But while writing this piece, the other definition of overlooking was very much on my mind: a neglectful disregard for the truth, an inability to see the bigger picture. In the context of the current events – the climate crisis, military conflicts, social reckoning following police brutality – this is a time in which destructive actions that have been overlooked for generations  are quickly catching up with us.

Overlooking juxtaposes these two definitions of the word, exploring themes of order and chaos, clarity and ambiguity, vastness and insignificance. 

Tribeca New Music is thrilled to present the Pathos Trio - Best in Score 2023 with special guest artists pianist Adrian Zaragoza and percussionist Glenn Choe.  
This concert will feature the first prize-winning score by Liam Cummins in the TNM 2023 Young Composer Competition (Division 2 for composers 21 years old and younger) along with new and recent works by composers Ian Chang, Will Healy, Finola Merivale, Clara Warnaar, and Alyssa Weinberg.

Program
Mega Cicada by Ian Chang
Falling Flames by Finola Merivale
Table Talk by Alyssa Weinberg
Etudes for Melancholy Robots for solo piano by Will Healy
Home/Gone by Clara Warnaar
-intermission-
Overlooking by Liam Cummins

Program - First Half
The Pathos Trio (percussionists Felix Reyes, Marcelina Suchocka, and pianist/composer Will Healy) is a two-percussion and piano trio committed to combining aesthetics of contemporary classical music with their interests in dark, heavy, dense sounds drawn from various genres of music such as alternative rock, progressive/black metal, cathedral music, minimalist music, electronic synth-wave, and more, while also aiming to bring adventurous music to audiences through collaborations with young, living new music composers.

Program - Second Half
Composer Liam Cummins, who won the TNM 2023 Young Composer Competition (Division 2 for ages 21 and younger), will have his Overlooking for piano and percussion performed by pianist Adrian Zaragoza and percussionist Glenn Choe.

Overlooking: The word Overlooking has two definitions: an outlook from a high vantage point and the failure to notice something. In this project, I approached the process of composing from a new perspective for me, planning out the form of the piece before writing a single note. I worked to craft a nuanced scaffolding that could support an intricate form. This was a joyful realization that changed my compositional method in pieces to come. Overlooking a musical universe from a clarifying distance, I was able to consider the bigger picture before worrying about smaller details.

But while writing this piece, the other definition of overlooking was very much on my mind: a neglectful disregard for the truth, an inability to see the bigger picture. In the context of the current events – the climate crisis, military conflicts, social reckoning following police brutality – this is a time in which destructive actions that have been overlooked for generations  are quickly catching up with us.

Overlooking juxtaposes these two definitions of the word, exploring themes of order and chaos, clarity and ambiguity, vastness and insignificance. 

Tribeca New Music presents a concert reading of Returning: The Ordeal of Olive Oatman, a new 90-minute opera in three acts. Based on the true story of a Mormon girl taken captive by Native Americans, the drama takes place in the Southwestern USA in 1851. The score is by Edmund Cionek, libretto by Maryanne Bertollo, musical director is Gerald Steichen, stage direction by Jessica Medoff.
See INTERVIEW with the composer and librettist below.

Synopsis: The opera depicts the struggles of Olive Oatman (Natalie Ballenger) once she is returned to white society. Encouraged by charismatic charlatan Reverend Royal B. Stratton (Markel Reed) and her brother Lorenzo (Edward Washington II), Olive tours America speaking of her time as an adopted daughter of the Mohave. But are her words her own? Olive must learn to regain her true voice, and heal the fractures in her soul, as she goes from popular concert speaker to wife of respected rancher John Brant Fairchild (Christopher Job). Only when she is reunited with the Mohave Chief who acted as her father does Olive have the courage to reclaim what her heart truly values. Along her life's journey she is helped by down-to-earth madam and feminist Sarah Bowman, aka "The Great Western" (Jeanette Blakeney).  The haunting score combines Western music inspired by the period, with Native American influences. 

About the Artists

Returning: The Ordeal of Olive Oatman is the second collaboration of composer Edmund Cionek and librettist Maryanne Bertollo. Their first opera, Elizabeth Frankenstein, was also produced by Tribeca New Music with a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts at the cell theatre, NYC.   

Edmund Cionek’s (Composer) theatrical works have been seen at Mabou Mines, The FringefestNYC, the Flea Theatre, and the cell theatre. He writes concert music, arranges and orchestrates music on demand, and teaches at NYU. “A first-rate, witty composer,” William Bolcom; “evocative music,” The New York Times. www.edmundcionek.com/

Maryanne Bertollo (Librettist) is a graduate of Bennington College, where she studied under Frank McCourt. She enjoys writing novels based on the lives of 19th-century women, some of which she has self-published under the pen name Annabelle Troy. https://cicily17.wordpress.com/tag/annabelle-troy/ 

Gerald Steichen (Music Director/Pianist) has conducted the Boston Pops and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and performed at New York City’s Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  “One of America’s most versatile conductors,” Broadway World; “He is an engaging presence,” Detroit News. https://geraldsteichen.com/ 

Jessica Medoff (Stage Director) is a versatile artist: director, soprano, screen and stage actress. She has appeared at the Utah Festival Opera, The Princeton Festival, Carnegie Hall, and the Aspen and Breckenridge Music Festivals. [Medoff] “Skillfully employs her trademark vocal versatility to wring out every drop of emotion,” Harold Journal. https://www.jessicamedoff.com/

Natalie Ballenger (Olive Oatman) has traveled the world performing works from musical theater to opera. Highlights include: Maria in the world tour of West Side Story, New York City Opera, and soloist (Lincoln Center, Symphony Space). She recently performed Nellie Forbush in South Pacific at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas. http://www.natalieballenger.com/

Jeanette Blakeney (Great Western) From Bizet to Broadway, she has been hailed as a gifted singer-actor of great depth. She has graced the stages of New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, and The Kennedy Center as well as numerous prestigious international venues. “…a bravura performance with warm singing and intense acting” (La Voix Humaine), Opera News. https://www.jeanetteblakeney.com 

Markel Reed (Reverend Royal Stratton) Baritone Markel Reed has recently appeared in multiple productions at The Metropolitan Opera including Fire Shut Up in My Bones, in which he created the role of Chester. He also makes his house debut with Virginia Opera as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia this fall. www.markelreed.com

Christopher Job (John Brant Fairchild) A house favorite at The Metropolitan Opera, he has been featured in ten Live in HD broadcasts; currently he is appearing in Dead Man Walking, with performances in, among others, Tosca, Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, Medea, Werther, Macbeth, Don Carlos, and Der Rosenkavalier. “Commanding sonority,” Opera News. www.christopherjob.com

Edward Washington II (Lorenzo Oatman) has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Orlando Opera, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha, Detroit Opera, International Festival of the Voice, and New York City Opera. This ΦΜΑ member is committed to advancing music in America. https://www.edward2know.com/

Chorus (soldiers, buskers, ranch hands, Washington, D.C. aides):

Daniel Lopez is a singer, actor, writer, and guitarist. Select credits include, in TV/film: Blue Bloods (CBS), FBI (CBS); opera: Alfredo in La Traviata and Tamino in The Magic Flute; theater: Tony in West Side Story, Lancelot in Camelot, and Into the Woods at The Hollywood Bowl. His former band, The Opera Men, was featured on DECCA's Disney Goes Classical album, which premiered #1 on the classical billboard. https://www.daniellopezactor.com, Instagram: @realdaniellopez

Kyle Torrence is an American baritone who has sung with the Cherry Grove Arts Project's Over the Piano and with The Light Opera of New Jersey, where he was cast as Maximilian in Candide. At The Connecticut Concert Opera he has performed in Lakme as Hadji and Trio Baritone in Trouble in Tahiti. @kyletorrence

Charles David Carter has performed in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s critically acclaimed production of Showboat, Live from Lincoln Center’s Porgy and Bess, and appeared with Jessye Norman at Carnegie Hall for Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts. His classical and gospel musical pursuits have taken him around the world. https://www.operabase.com/artists/charles-david-carter-2180053/

Tribeca New Music presents a concert reading of Returning: The Ordeal of Olive Oatman, a new 90-minute opera in three acts. Based on the true story of a Mormon girl taken captive by Native Americans, the drama takes place in the Southwestern USA in 1851. The score is by Edmund Cionek, libretto by Maryanne Bertollo, musical director is Gerald Steichen, stage direction by Jessica Medoff.
See INTERVIEW with the composer and librettist below.

Synopsis: The opera depicts the struggles of Olive Oatman (Natalie Ballenger) once she is returned to white society. Encouraged by charismatic charlatan Reverend Royal B. Stratton (Markel Reed) and her brother Lorenzo (Edward Washington II), Olive tours America speaking of her time as an adopted daughter of the Mohave. But are her words her own? Olive must learn to regain her true voice, and heal the fractures in her soul, as she goes from popular concert speaker to wife of respected rancher John Brant Fairchild (Christopher Job). Only when she is reunited with the Mohave Chief who acted as her father does Olive have the courage to reclaim what her heart truly values. Along her life's journey she is helped by down-to-earth madam and feminist Sarah Bowman, aka "The Great Western" (Jeanette Blakeney).  The haunting score combines Western music inspired by the period, with Native American influences. 

About the Artists

Returning: The Ordeal of Olive Oatman is the second collaboration of composer Edmund Cionek and librettist Maryanne Bertollo. Their first opera, Elizabeth Frankenstein, was also produced by Tribeca New Music with a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts at the cell theatre, NYC.   

Edmund Cionek’s (Composer) theatrical works have been seen at Mabou Mines, The FringefestNYC, the Flea Theatre, and the cell theatre. He writes concert music, arranges and orchestrates music on demand, and teaches at NYU. “A first-rate, witty composer,” William Bolcom; “evocative music,” The New York Times. www.edmundcionek.com/

Maryanne Bertollo (Librettist) is a graduate of Bennington College, where she studied under Frank McCourt. She enjoys writing novels based on the lives of 19th-century women, some of which she has self-published under the pen name Annabelle Troy. https://cicily17.wordpress.com/tag/annabelle-troy/ 

Gerald Steichen (Music Director/Pianist) has conducted the Boston Pops and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and performed at New York City’s Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  “One of America’s most versatile conductors,” Broadway World; “He is an engaging presence,” Detroit News. https://geraldsteichen.com/ 

Jessica Medoff (Stage Director) is a versatile artist: director, soprano, screen and stage actress. She has appeared at the Utah Festival Opera, The Princeton Festival, Carnegie Hall, and the Aspen and Breckenridge Music Festivals. [Medoff] “Skillfully employs her trademark vocal versatility to wring out every drop of emotion,” Harold Journal. https://www.jessicamedoff.com/

Natalie Ballenger (Olive Oatman) has traveled the world performing works from musical theater to opera. Highlights include: Maria in the world tour of West Side Story, New York City Opera, and soloist (Lincoln Center, Symphony Space). She recently performed Nellie Forbush in South Pacific at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas. http://www.natalieballenger.com/

Jeanette Blakeney (Great Western) From Bizet to Broadway, she has been hailed as a gifted singer-actor of great depth. She has graced the stages of New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, and The Kennedy Center as well as numerous prestigious international venues. “…a bravura performance with warm singing and intense acting” (La Voix Humaine), Opera News. https://www.jeanetteblakeney.com 

Markel Reed (Reverend Royal Stratton) Baritone Markel Reed has recently appeared in multiple productions at The Metropolitan Opera including Fire Shut Up in My Bones, in which he created the role of Chester. He also makes his house debut with Virginia Opera as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia this fall. www.markelreed.com

Christopher Job (John Brant Fairchild) A house favorite at The Metropolitan Opera, he has been featured in ten Live in HD broadcasts; currently he is appearing in Dead Man Walking, with performances in, among others, Tosca, Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, Medea, Werther, Macbeth, Don Carlos, and Der Rosenkavalier. “Commanding sonority,” Opera News. www.christopherjob.com

Edward Washington II (Lorenzo Oatman) has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Orlando Opera, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha, Detroit Opera, International Festival of the Voice, and New York City Opera. This ΦΜΑ member is committed to advancing music in America. https://www.edward2know.com/

Chorus (soldiers, buskers, ranch hands, Washington, D.C. aides):

Daniel Lopez is a singer, actor, writer, and guitarist. Select credits include, in TV/film: Blue Bloods (CBS), FBI (CBS); opera: Alfredo in La Traviata and Tamino in The Magic Flute; theater: Tony in West Side Story, Lancelot in Camelot, and Into the Woods at The Hollywood Bowl. His former band, The Opera Men, was featured on DECCA's Disney Goes Classical album, which premiered #1 on the classical billboard. https://www.daniellopezactor.com, Instagram: @realdaniellopez

Kyle Torrence is an American baritone who has sung with the Cherry Grove Arts Project's Over the Piano and with The Light Opera of New Jersey, where he was cast as Maximilian in Candide. At The Connecticut Concert Opera he has performed in Lakme as Hadji and Trio Baritone in Trouble in Tahiti. @kyletorrence

Charles David Carter has performed in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s critically acclaimed production of Showboat, Live from Lincoln Center’s Porgy and Bess, and appeared with Jessye Norman at Carnegie Hall for Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts. His classical and gospel musical pursuits have taken him around the world. https://www.operabase.com/artists/charles-david-carter-2180053/

INTERVIEW
Preston Stahly interviews Maryanne Bertollo and Edmund Cionek about their new opera, Returning: The Ordeal of Olive Oatman. The opera will premiere in a concert reading at the National Opera Center on Oct. 2.

PS: Let’s start at the beginning. How did this project come about?

MB: Ed and I had worked on a new opera called Elizabeth Frankenstein two years ago. We were eager to do another collaboration. I wanted to portray a true American story that people from many diverse backgrounds could identify with, and I think I found it in Olive. She is inspiring because she overcame so many obstacles.

EC: When Maryanne first spoke with me about the story of Olive, I thought it was too internal for a theater piece. But as I began to follow her developing libretto, I realized I was so wrong. I thought “Setting these characters to music is going to be fun!” What kind of music I didn’t know yet.

PS: Maryanne, how did you research the libretto?

MB: I read The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin as well as Reverend Stratton’s account, Life Among the Indians. Actually, the first time I ever read about the Oatman sisters was when I was about 11 years old, in a book called Olive and Mary Anne by James T. Farrell. That burned their story into my memory!

EC:  Wow, you really have a connection with her!

PS: It sure sounds like it. Did any particular movies or books inspire you while you wrote the libretto?

MB: A 1988 film in which Natasha Richardson plays Patty Hearst. Richardson enacts the harrowing journey of a woman split between two worlds through trauma. On a completely different note, all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House Books, for their depiction of the pioneer experience.

PS: Interesting! Ed, how did you create a musical style for this piece?

EC: I listened to a lot of 19th-century cowboy music and also Louis Moreau Gottschalk, not cowboy music, plus modern Mohave songs. Then I just started listening to my instincts. Olive is pastoral, so the key of F seemed a natural. Eventually some motives associated with the story began to appear.

PS:  Sounds like a great process! This question is for both of you. Who is your favorite character in Returning?

EC: Haha! Maryanne accused me of trying to make the “Great Western” the star of the show! I think Stratton is an interesting fellow--that “make a buck off of anything” mentality is very alive today. He’s sly. He appeals to Lorenzo, Olive’s brother, one way and takes a different tack with Olive. Of course, Olive’s arc is amazing. I’m not sure I answered the question. 

MB: Definitely Olive. She has all the characteristics of a heroine: grit, fortitude, honor–-and she is so sympathetic.

PS: What message are you trying to convey with this work?

MB: This work is dedicated to anyone who feels a vital part of themselves has been lost or suppressed. I hope that Returning will inspire people to realize healing even the deepest inner fractures can be possible.

EC:  I agree. Being true to yourself is hard but really necessary to be happy. Cultural Identification is a big issue currently. It was Olive’s journey so to speak. She literally had to find her [air quotes] “tribe” [close air quotes]. And it wasn’t the one she started with.

PS: What’s up next for you two?

EC: U.F.O! [together] You explain it…

MB: U.F.O! [together]. All I will say for now is that it stands for “Unidentified Flying Opera.” The story and the music will be a change from anything we've done before. It will be our take on scifi with a lot of twists and edgy music.

PS: I’ll look forward to that! Thank you both for your time today and good luck with Returning.

Tribeca New Music is thrilled to present the YouTube Happy Hour Webcast Premiere of two amazing and original electric bands, Dither and Empyrean Atlas.  This webcast was recorded live at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music on May 25, 2023 as a double-bill evening of new and recent works including world premieres by composers Angélica Negrón, David Crowell, and inti figgis-vizueta, with recent works by Aeryn Jade Santillan and Laurie Spiegel.
Join us for an evening of driving, passionate, thought-provoking music on this YouTube Happy Hour Webcast Premiere.
Click here to get your donation-based tickets!

DITHER, a New York-based electric guitar quartet, is dedicated to an eclectic mix of experimental repertoire that spans composed, improvised, and electronic music. Formed in 2007, the quartet has performed across the United States and abroad, presenting new commissions, original compositions, multimedia works, and large guitar ensemble pieces. Dither’s members are Taylor Levine, Joshua Lopes, James Moore, and Gyan Riley.
Dither produces an annual Extravaganza, a raucous festival of creative music and art, which has been called an "official concert on the edge" by The New Yorker and "the here and now of New York's postclassical music scene" by Time Out New York. They have released four full-length albums, including Dither Plays Zorn on Tzadik, featuring the premiere recordings of several of John Zorn's improvisational game pieces, which was named one of the year's “best avant albums” by Rolling Stone.

Empyrean Atlas • The initial spark for Empyrean Atlas began one fine summer evening at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, listening to the legendary musician Thomas Mapfumo wind his way through one incredible groove after another, accompanied by a band with one of the greatest feels ever heard. When you experience something that good, it’s hard to not try and respond. Finding similar inspirations in the music of Steve Coleman and Steve Reich, the seed that would become Empyrean Atlas was planted.

Members of Empyrean Atlas have performed and/or recorded with the Philip Glass Ensemble, The National, Bear in Heaven, Steve Reich, Steve Coleman, Bing & Ruth, Briars of North America, Olga Bell, Happy Place, Little Women, and many others. Empyrean Atlas has been featured numerous times on WNYC's "New Sounds" program, including a live performance with John Schaefer and a special podcast on electric guitarist/composers. In July 2015, Wilco named Inner Circle as one of their 17 favorite records of the year.

David Crowell - electric guitar & alto saxophone; Andrew Smiley - electric guitar; Will Chapin - electric guitar; Greg Chudzik - bass; Jason Nazary - drums

"Depending on the tune, the interwoven triple-guitar gamesmanship of Empyrean Atlas can run in few different directions: toward the mathy post-punk of Horse Lords or Battles, toward warmly anesthetic ambience (say, Pink Floyd meets Bradford Cox), or toward West African high life. On 'Echolocation,' the clangy, lapping repetitions feel most in line with that last influence. The quintet’s movements are coiled and contained, but pulsing with small, ecstatic fibrillations." —The New York Times

Tribeca New Music is thrilled to present two extraordinary and original electric bands, Dither and Empyrean Atlas, who will share a double-bill evening of new and recent works including world premieres by composers Angélica Negrón, David Crowell, and inti figgis-vizueta, with recent works by Aeryn Jade Santillan and Laurie Spiegel. Join us for an evening of driving, passionate, thought-provoking music for this live performance at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music!  SEATING IS LIMITED.  RESERVE YOU TICKETS NOW!

DITHER, a New York-based electric guitar quartet, is dedicated to an eclectic mix of experimental repertoire that spans composed, improvised, and electronic music. Formed in 2007, the quartet has performed across the United States and abroad, presenting new commissions, original compositions, multimedia works, and large guitar ensemble pieces. Dither’s members are Taylor Levine, Joshua Lopes, James Moore, and Gyan Riley.
Dither produces an annual Extravaganza, a raucous festival of creative music and art, which has been called an "official concert on the edge" by The New Yorker and "the here and now of New York's postclassical music scene" by Time Out New York. They have released four full-length albums, including Dither Plays Zorn on Tzadik, featuring the premiere recordings of several of John Zorn's improvisational game pieces, which was named one of the year's “best avant albums” by Rolling Stone.

Empyrean Atlas • The initial spark for Empyrean Atlas began one fine summer evening at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, listening to the legendary musician Thomas Mapfumo wind his way through one incredible groove after another, accompanied by a band with one of the greatest feels ever heard. When you experience something that good, it’s hard to not try and respond. Finding similar inspirations in the music of Steve Coleman and Steve Reich, the seed that would become Empyrean Atlas was planted.

Members of Empyrean Atlas have performed and/or recorded with the Philip Glass Ensemble, The National, Bear in Heaven, Steve Reich, Steve Coleman, Bing & Ruth, Briars of North America, Olga Bell, Happy Place, Little Women, and many others. Empyrean Atlas has been featured numerous times on WNYC's "New Sounds" program, including a live performance with John Schaefer and a special podcast on electric guitarist/composers. In July 2015, Wilco named Inner Circle as one of their 17 favorite records of the year.

David Crowell - electric guitar & alto saxophone; Andrew Smiley - electric guitar; Will Chapin - electric guitar; Greg Chudzik - bass; Jason Nazary - drums

"Depending on the tune, the interwoven triple-guitar gamesmanship of Empyrean Atlas can run in few different directions: toward the mathy post-punk of Horse Lords or Battles, toward warmly anesthetic ambience (say, Pink Floyd meets Bradford Cox), or toward West African high life. On 'Echolocation,' the clangy, lapping repetitions feel most in line with that last influence. The quintet’s movements are coiled and contained, but pulsing with small, ecstatic fibrillations." —The New York Times