New York Percussion Quartet Opens Institute For Advanced Study Concert Season

The Institute for Advanced Study has announced its 2001-02 concert series. "The series combines masterworks of the past with recent music, and several premiere performances," notes Institute Artist-in-Residence, composer Jon Magnussen, who organized the series. "These concerts will offer audiences an opportunity to experience both traditional and innovative music-- to explore new and interactive approaches to making music with acoustic and electronic instruments."

The season's first event is the New York Percussion Quartet, who will perform on October 17 and 19 at 8:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall, on the Institute campus. Formed in 1994 while the members were students at The Juilliard School, the New York Percussion Quartet is dedicated to music that crosses many styles and continents, from ragtime to transcriptions of classical masters. The chamber music ensemble, performing on over one hundred percussion instruments, will present a program that includes works by William Bolcolm, Dave Hollinden, Steve Reich, Iannis Xenakis, Nigel Westlake, Quartet member Joseph Pereira, and Magnussen. The concert will incorporate a multi-speaker sound system to create an audio analogue to the usual printed program notes.

Pianist and composer No�l Lee will perform on December 12 and 14 at 8:00 p.m. and December 16 at 4:00 p.m., in Wolfensohn Hall. Lee has recorded 185 LPs and CDs since 1955, 13 of which have received a Grand Prix du Disque. As a composer, he has been honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and won the Boulanger Composition Prize. He has received commissions from the French Cultural Affairs Ministry and French National Radio. The December program will include works by Debussy, Dutilleux, Ravel, Lee, and Magnussen.

In the New Year, baritone Sanford Sylvan and pianist David Breitman will perform on February 6 and 8 at 8:00 p.m. and February 10 at 4:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall. The duo has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. A Grammy and Emmy Award winner, Sylvan has also received three Grammy nominations for Best Classical Vocal Performance for his recordings with Breitman on the Nonesuch label. The program will include works by Debussy, Jorge Martin, and Magnussen.

Pianist Robert Taub will perform on April 10, 12, and 13 at 8:00 p.m. On the program are works by Liszt, Scriabin, Jonathan Dawe, and Magnussen. Says Taub, "I would like to link several pivotal works from the past with new works that are being composed for me at this time, all of which use the piano in new ways and extend the limits of musical perception and expression."

On May 11 at 7:00 p.m., violinist and composer Mari Kimura will present an outdoor concert of electronic music in the Institute's Birch Garden, performing works for violin and interactive computer system, and works which incorporate "subharmonics," a revolutionary extended bowing technique developed by Kimura. On the program are works composed by herself, Conlon Nancarrow, and others.

The concert series is part of the Institute's Artist-in-Residence program, established in 1994. The concerts are free and open to the public, but tickets are limited and must be requested in advance.

For more information on the Institute for Advanced Study's 2001-02 concert series, or to inquire about tickets, call 734-8228, or see www.ias.edu/artist-in-residence.