IonSound Project presents the first works from their Commissions for the Future project this Sunday night.

IonSound Project’s concert this Sunday would strike me as particularly significant even if I didn’t have a new piece on the program (but yes, it helps!). There are in fact, three new works on the concert, all by Pittsburgh composers: Christian Kriegeskotte, Nizan Leibovich, and myself. That in and of itself is important, since it illustrates once again that the Burgh is a center for the creation—not just the consumption—of art. But more important still is the reason why there are three new works on this concert, namely IonSound Project’s new Commissions for the Future program. IonSounders have been actively engaging members of the community to support commissions for new works and this is the first program to showcase the fruits of their efforts. It’s a great start to what we hope will grow into an ongoing partnership between a genuinely excellent new music ensemble and the local community.

As usual, the concert will be a treat to for the eyes and the ears. All the musical compositions reference visual art that will be projected on screen, and Rob Frankenberry’s transcription of  Pictures at an Exhibition will feature art by children from the Falk School. My piece is actually a collaboration with artist Ryan Day and his stunning digital animation is being presented for the first time as well. I hope you can come out and join us at Pitt’s Bellefield Hall Auditorium on Sunday night at 7. Tickets are $15 and $10 and you can learn more about the program here.

Frick Fine Arts Auditorium
Tickets: $15 at the door. $10 advance at Paul’s CDs, Caliban Books, William Pitt Union Box Office, Dave’s Music  Mine, and The Exchange (Squirrel Hill, Downtown).

Wednesday October 19 is a triple threat New Music/avant-garde jazz night for three great reasons:

1) It’s the first appearance in Pittsburgh in over a decade for
NYC-based multi-reedist Ned Rothenberg. Over the past three decades, Rothenberg has worked with the likes of Fred Frith, Evan Parker, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, and Elliott Sharp. Now he’s on tour with the Mivos Quartet, a string ensemble specializing in contemporary composition. The five musicians will perform his Quintet for Clarinet and Strings which was released on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records in 2010: http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=7267
For information on Rothenberg, check:

http://www.nedrothenberg.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Rothenberg

2) Local saxophonist Ben Opie will open the evening with
his own ensemble. It was Opie who organized the entire
visit of legendary MacArthur Genius Grant-winning composer
and saxophonist Anthony Braxton to Pittsburgh in 2008. In addition to recording a double CD with Opie, playing with his Septet at the Manchester Craftsman Guild, with CAPA High School’s Antithesis Ensemble and with the birds at the Aviary, Braxton conducted a group of local musicians (“The Three Rivers Tri-Centric Ensemble”) in one of his compositions. The results were recorded, and will be released on October 19 as a limited edition (300 copies) vinyl LP on stalwart local experimental label SSS Records (as catalog # SSS-60). This concert is the release party – you’ll definitely want to pick it up.

3) This concert is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh’s
award-winning college radio station, WPTS-FM. Although the station has been known for many years for bringing great
indie bands to campus (ranging from the Silver Jews to
Of Montreal), this is the first time it has stood solidly behind
an avant-garde jazz/New Music event. Here’s hoping they
do so regularly in the future.

Here are the event details:
Ned Rothenberg & Mivos Quartet
Ben Opie Ensemble
Anthony Braxton LP release
Wednesday October 19 8 pm all ages welcome
Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, University of Pittsburgh
$15 at the door. $10 advance at Paul’s CDs, Caliban
Books, William Pitt Union Box Office, Dave’s Music
Mine, and The Exchange (Squirrel Hill, Downtown).

PNME premieres Nytch’s new commission on Friday, July 29 & Saturday, July 30 at City Theatre (1300 Bingham, the South Side). Both concerts start at 8PM. Complete details are at www.pnme.org.

PNME premieres Rosenblum’s new commission on Friday, July 22 & Saturday, July 23 at City Theatre (1300 Bingham, the South Side). Both concerts start at 8PM. Complete details are at www.pnme.org.

The next Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble concerts are Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16. The program features Schwanter, Xenakis, Hartke, Gilda Lyons, Stucky, Romantini, and MacMillan.

Yes, I’m relieved to know I’m not a golem, and you should be too. So relieved in fact, you’ll want to head out for tonight’s (June 2nd) kickoff of the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival to see a live performance of Betty Olivero’s score for the The Golem: How it Came into the World with a screening of the famous 1920 silent film. The festival begins at 7:30 p.m. at Katz Performing Arts Center and you can get more details about tickets and the entire event here.

Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh
Agnes and Joseph Katz Performing Arts Center

Tickets: $20 general admission, $15 seniors, $10 students

In 16^th century Prague, a rabbi animates a clay giant to protect his people, but has he created a hero or a monster?   In a unique collaboration with JFilm: The Pittsburgh Jewish Film Forum, the Jewish Music Festival will screen the classic silent film “The Golem: How He Came Into the World” (Germany, 1920, 86 minutes). Betty Olivero’s haunting score will be performed live as backdrop to director Paul Wegener’s expressionist images and epic set pieces, screened in gorgeous color-tinted black and white with English intertitles. Lucy Fischer, Distinguished Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Film Studies Department will introduce the film.

Performing Olivero’s music are Marissa Byers, clarinet; Nurit Pacht and Rachel Stegeman, violins; Tatjana Mead Chamis, viola Aron Zelkowicz, cello; and Stephen Burns,who directs Fulcrum Point Music New Music Project in Chicago.

Host Skull, the duo of David Bernabo and Will Dyar, released a new composition on Chicago’s Contraphonic label. The piece, titled “Fourth River”, juxtaposes arrhythmic electronics with lush sections of classical guitar, vibraphone, and percussion. To flesh out the lineup, this instance of Host Skull also includes vibraphonist Jeff Berman, modular synth-ist Herman “Soy Sos” Pearl, and a trio of Ben Harris/Kerrith Livengood/Brandon Masterman. The composition comes as an MP3 along with an essay on Pittsburgh by Contraphonic label owner Ben Schulman and photography by CMU’s Alternative Photo Process class, led by professor Elizabeth Raymer Griffin.

The package can be purchased through Contraphonic here for the very reasonable price of $3.99.

Host Skull’s first official show will this Friday, April 29th at The Frame on Carnegie Mellon’s campus at Forbes and Margaret Morrison. Host Skull will be represented by David Bernabo and Jeff Berman.

Pittsburgh’s Fourth River is the sometimes mythologized, sometimes forgotten river that flows below the surface. More accurately, it is an aquifer that is given the name Wisconsin Glacial Flow. The visible manifestations of the river can be seen in the fountain at Point State Park and in some of the downtown drinking water. When the Fourth River is mentioned, grand notions of a flowing subterranean river come to mind. This is in direct contrast to what is actually is: sand, gravel, and a bit of water running through it.

Watch a video preview of the piece here.