Featuring a faculty of performers drawn from the ranks of the International Contemporary Ensemble, along with an extraordinary group of composers, improvisers, and conversation partners, Ensemble Evolution explores the evolving range and depth of ensemble playing in the early 21st century.
Through workshops, performances, collaboration with faculty on newly commissioned works, and group conversation, participants will engage in a holistic approach to making music, building community, and imagining pathways forward for the future of the ensemble. The composition faculty includes internationally renowned composers George Lewis, Liza Lim, Alvin Lucier, Yvette Janine Jackson and Miya Masaoka, and the improvisation faculty includes luminaries Matana Roberts, Peter Evans, Mazz Swift, Levy Lorenzo, Wifrideo Terrazas and Cory Smythe. Ensemble Evolution also welcomes Rania El Mugammar as a conversation partner who will guide discussions and workshops around equity and social responsibility in the music field.
As a part of Ensemble Evolution’s ongoing commitment to the creation of new repertory for a new generation, 2019 Banff Centre-commissioned works by Alvin Lucier, Miya Masaoka and Yvette Janine Jackson will premiere this summer in Banff.
Over the course of the program, participants will take increasing responsibility for programming, rehearsing, and producing the concerts, resulting in a participant-driven day of performances at the culmination of the program. Ensemble Evolution prepares the 21st century musician by promoting artistic excellence, seeding collaboration, fostering social consciousness and exploring new modes of community-building through music.
Photo Credit: Jessica Wittman
Performances and commissioning activities during the 2018-19 concert season are made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Pacific Harmony Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, The Casement Fund, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for ICE.