GVSU's NME invited to play Carnegie Hall

Add Carnegie Hall to the venue play list for the incomparable New Music Ensemble from Grand Valley State University.

The performance at Carnegie Hall is an invitation from the Kronos Quartet for the 45th anniversary of the premiere of Terry Riley’s “In C.” Kronos, plus members of Grand Valley’s New Music Ensemble, will be among a one-time-only gathering of musicians including, Terry Riley and original “In C” performers Stuart Dempster, Jon Gibson, and Pauline Oliveros. The performance will be on April 24, 2009, on Stern Auditorium’s Perelman Stage.  

Under the direction of Assistant Professor Bill Ryan, the ensemble has gained international recognition over the past year for their performances and recording of Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians.”

Last year in June, they were invited to perform at the 20th anniversary of the prestigious Bang on a Can Marathon in New York City. That fall their CD hit the stores and climbed the charts. By December it was named one of the year’s best classical releases by The New York Times. Accolades have poured forth in print, online and on-air media, from Billboard and LA Weekly, to The New Yorker and The Washington Post. In February this year, the ensemble was featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday.”

“Our recording really took people by surprise” said Ryan, “I think this was not only because it’s an accurate version of this remarkably difficult composition, but also because the CD somehow captured the emotion of the ensemble. This is something I’m especially proud of, that we were able to present something that was very distinct from any previous version out there. Many reviewers are even calling it the definitive recording of the work.”

The performance at Carnegie Hall is an invitation from the Kronos Quartet for the 45th anniversary of the premiere of Terry Riley’s “In C.” Kronos, plus members of Grand Valley’s New Music Ensemble, will be among a one-time-only gathering of musicians including, Terry Riley and original “In C” performers Stuart Dempster, Jon Gibson, and Pauline Oliveros. The performance will be on April 24, 2009, on Stern Auditorium’s Perelman Stage.  

The New Music Ensemble has several local performances, and one in Atlanta, scheduled this fall. On Monday, September 8, the ensemble will perform “Blurred,” composed by Bill Ryan as part of Grand Valley’s Fall Arts Celebration. The “Debut” concert features the new faculty from the Department of Music, at 8 p.m., in the Louis Armstrong Theater in the Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus. Admission is free, though seating is limited.

For more information visit http://newmusicensemble.org, or contact Bill Ryan in the Grand Valley Department of Music at (616) 331-3484.