The International Contemporary Ensemble presents the world premiere of Earl Howard’s Boson1, a flexible-instrumentation structured improvisation for ten musicians and a performer of live sound processing. This performance is the outcome of a series of workshops at the composer’s home, where the performers learned to become conversant with Howard’s unique compositional and improvisative languages. The nineteenth installment of Pioneer Works’ False Harmonics series, which explores alternative approaches to composition, improvisation, and performance, the evening will also feature contrasting works performed by musicians of International Contemporary Ensemble.
PROGRAM
Fay Victor: SafeHarbor Shade (2021)
for voice and bassoon
Isabel Lepanto Gleicher: Del Lago (2022)
for open instrumentation
Ingrid Laubrock: Koans (selections) (2024)
for voice and cello
Rick Burkhardt: Prologue (2013)
for flute, percussion, violin, and cello
Nicole Mitchell: Birdsongs for Equitable Togetherness (2020)
for open instrumentation
Earl Howard: Boson1 (2024, World Premiere)
for electronic performer and ten musicians
PERFORMERS
Earl Howard, electronic performer
Rebekah Heller, bassoon
Isabel Lepanto Gleicher, flute
Levy Lorenzo, percussion
Michael Lormand, trombone
Josh Modney, violin
Kyle Motl, bass
Mariel Roberts, cello
Emmalie Tello, clarinet
Fay Victor, voice
Nuiko Wadden, harp
INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE
Now in its third decade, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) 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. 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. Co-founded in 2001 by flutist and MacArthur “genius” Fellow Claire Chase, the Ensemble has premiered over 1,000 works. The Ensemble has given performances at Warsaw Autumn, TIME:SPANS, Berliner Festspiele, HEAR NOW Los Angeles, Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music, Ojai Music Festival, and Big Ears Festival as well as in venues such as the Dutch National Opera, Cité de la Musique (Paris), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, Japan Society, Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, Fridman Gallery, Chelsea Factory, NYU Skirball and Walt Disney Concert Hall.
CREDITS
The International Contemporary Ensemble’s performances and commissioning activities during the 2024-25 concert season are made possible by the generous support of our board of directors, many individuals, as well as the Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Robert D. Bielecki Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, The Arlene and Larry Dunn Fund for Afrodiasporic Music, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, Cheswatyr Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Siemens Musikstiftung, New Music USA, 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. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the International Contemporary Ensemble.