THIS SHOW IS CURRENTLY SOLD OUT
limited additional seating will be made available soon
Live stream tickets here
Image courtesy of Japan Society
Thursday, December 7, 7:30 pm
—Pre-concert lecture at 6:30 pm
—Followed by a Private Gathering for Artists and Members
In collaboration with experimental sound artists Tania Caroline Chen and Victoria Shen, Tomomi Adachi recreates the essence of John Cage’s historic visit to Japan in 1962, often referred to as “Cage Shock.” Through renditions of Cage’s iconic pieces, such as Haiku and 0’00”, Adachi captures the spirit of that transformative tour. The program also features Toshi Ichiyanagi’s Sapporo, which premiered in 1962 and was conducted by John Cage. Ichiyanagi (1933-2022), an esteemed Japanese composer and the first husband of Yoko Ono, developed a close friendship with Cage during his 1950s residency in New York City and played a pivotal role in organizing Cage’s inaugural trip to Japan, with visits to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and the city of Sapporo.
A lecture on how the pieces in this radical program were received in Japan at the time, led by John Cage scholar Dr. James Pritchett, precedes the concert.
Performers
Tomomi Adachi, performer
Victoria Shen, sound artist
Tania Caroline Chen, sound artist
Kyle Armbrust, viola
Michael Nicolas, cello
Katinka Kleijn, cello
Mike Lormand, trombone
about the international contemporary ensemble
Now in its third decade, the International Contemporary Ensemble is a multidisciplinary collective of musicians, digital media artists, producers, and educators committed to building and innovating collaborative environments in order to inspire audiences to reimagine how they experience contemporary music and sound. Under the leadership of composer and Artistic Director George Lewis, the Ensemble creates a mosaic musical ecosystem as “America’s foremost new-music group” (The New Yorker), honoring the diversity of human experience and expression by commissioning, developing, recording, and performing the works of living artists in “a mission worth following” (I Care If You Listen).
Credits
The International Contemporary Ensemble’s performances and commissioning activities during the 2023-24 concert season are made possible by the generous support of the Ensemble’s board, many individuals, as well as the Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Cheswatyr Foundation, Amphion Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, New Music USA’s Organizational Development Fund, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, 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 Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The International Contemporary Ensemble was the Ensemble in Residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology from 2018-2021. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the International Contemporary Ensemble.