THE BOX IS EMPTY’S TOP PICKS:

Michael Harrison/Maya Beiser – ‘Just Ancient Loops’ CD release. October 30, 2012.

October 30 sees the release of a collaborative project years in the making: Maya Beiser and Michael Harrison’ s Just Ancient Loops for multi-track cello.  Harrison’s lively rhythms and beautifully soaring melodies are brought to life with exactly the energy and exactitude we have come expect from Beiser, and his employment of Just Intonation, a technique the composer has been working with for most of his career, offers color and brilliance rarely heard in Western music’s drab equal-tempered aural climate.  The new work appears on Beiser’s new record “Time Loops,” and includes the “cello goddess’s” recording of Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, peacefully contrasting Harrison’s lively new work.  Beiser and Harrison close with Hijaz, a new work for cello, chorus, percussion, and just-tuned piano, commissioned and premiered by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.

Since what we know best from Harrison has been his Revelation: Music in Pure Intonation for solo piano (a brilliant soundworld of just-tuned imrpovo-composition that you simply must hear to believe), it is exciting to hear on record works for other forces.  We can only hope to hear more, and, if Time Loops is any indication, there is stellar composition and great listening yet to come.  Here is a taste of Just Ancient Loops to whet your appetite (film by Bill Morrison)…

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Time Loops will be available at the iTunes store, the Cantaloupe Records online store, and amazon.com.  Get a copy, go listen!

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Hotel Elefant – Dia de los Muertos.  DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York, NY.  November 1, 2012, 8:00 p.m..

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The bold and exuberant chamber ensemble Hotel Elefant continues their debut season “Remembrance” with a concert given on the Day of the Dead.  The program, which features of Michael Gordon’s The Sad Park, delves further into the remembrance theme.  Gordon’s work was composed for the Kronos Quartet in memory of September 11th, and is a haunting tribute.  It’s use of pre-recorded children’s voices offer a poignant glimpse into loss and memory.  Programmed alongside The Sad Park are works by Angélica Negrón and ensemble bassist Michelle Lou.

Hotel Elefant’s writes about their Remembrance season…

WHY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS GROUP & OUR 1st SEASON: We love the sounds of our time, and we believe this music can be better appreciated when its purpose is understood. Exploring the theme of “Remembrance” in our 2012 season, we’re digging into music that tackles this subject head-on. Not only will we be performing this music for you, but our moderator James Holt will also go behind-the-scenes to speak with our resident musicians and featured composers to open up a conversation between artists and audiences.

This should be a beautiful and unique exploration from a new and energetic ensemble.  Don’t miss it!

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK – 10/29/2012-11/4/2012 – Seattle:

• John Teske/Ivan Arteaga/Brad Hawkins – Musician-Cyclist Show.  Hub and Bespoke, Seattle, WA.  November 2, 2012, 6:00 p.m..
• whateverandeveramen. – Sprout 8 Fundraiser.  All Pilgrims Christian Church, Seattle, WA.  November 3. 2012, 6:00 p.m..

HAPPENING THIS WEEK – 10/29/2012-11/4/2012 – Elsewhere:

• Michael Harrison/Maya Beiser – ‘Just Ancient Loops’ CD release. October 29, 2012.
• Hotel Elefant – Dia de los Muertos.  DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York, NY.  November 1, 2012, 8:00 p.m..

HAPPENING SOON:

• Seattle Modern Orchestra – John Cage Festival.  The Chapel, Seattle.  November 9, 2012, 7:00 p.m..
• Fisher Ensemble – Magda G.. Inglewood Open Studios, Los Angeles, CA.  November 10-11, 6:00 p.m..
• Lindsay Kesselman – Premiere of a new works by Sarah Gibson and Amy Beth Kirsten.  USC, Los Angeles, CA.  November 16-18, 2012.
• John Teske – New Works for Choir.  The Chapel, Seattle, WA.  November 17, 2012.
• Jerry Hui – Eliza’s toyes.  The Chazen Art Museum, Madison, WI.  November 25, 2012, 12:30 p.m..
• Amanda DeBoer Bartlett – I Vapor Breath, Solo album release.  Fall 2012.
• Marc Yates – Schlick’s Approximation with interobang.  November/December 2012.
• Kate Maroney – Soloist with the Monmouth Civic Chorus and Orchestra – Handel: Messiah, Vivaldi: Gloria.  Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ.  December 2, 2012, 4:00 p.m..
• Maria Mannisto – Handel’s Messiah with Tacoma Symphony.  St. Charles Borromeo Church, Tacoma, WA.  December 14, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
• Amanda DeBoer Bartlett/ensemble dal niente – Hard Music Hard Liquor.  Mayne Stage, Chicago, IL.  December 14, 2012.
• Leah Maria Villareal – Hotel Elefant: Experiments in Opera.  Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY.  February 9, 2013
• Seattle Modern Orchestra – Derlious Serialists: Music by Maderna, Nono, and Boulez.  Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA.  February 9, 2013, 8:00 p.m.
• Leah Kardos – New work premiered by Kelly Lovelady and Ruthless Jabiru.  London, UK.  March 2013.
• Lindsay Kesselman – Violations by Hannah Lash.  Yale University, New Haven, CT.  March 28, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Ryan Keebaugh – Frequency: New Music in the Valley.  Shenandoah Valley, VA.  Summer 2013.