String Theories features Mincek, Soper and Cerrone

by Ted Gordon on March 23, 2016, 11:17 a.m.

The String Orchestra of Brooklyn celebrates its fifth annual String Theories festival with three concerts at Roulette. From March 22nd to the 24th, the SoB will perform several world premieres, along with recent works from some of the most exciting composers of our time. 

On March 23rd, Alex Mincek's Ebb and Flow will begin the program—a piece commissioned by the String Orchestra of Brooklyn for their inaugural String Theories festival in 2011. The festival continues on March 24th with Kate Soper's Cipher for voice and violin, along with Christopher Cerrone's The Pieces That Fell To Earth, commissioned by the LA Philharmonic and premiering on the East coast for the first time. The program also includes music by Julia Wolfe and Alex Weiser. 

As a preview, check out Cerrone's 2013 commission from the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, High Windows: 

Christopher Cerrone's "High Windows" on Q2 Music's "LPR Live" Podcast

by Gabrielle Misiewicz on Feb. 26, 2016, 12:19 p.m.

This year Q2 Music, WQXR’s online contemporary classical music channel, launched “LPR Live”, a podcast showcasing performances recorded at Le Poisson Rouge and interviews with composers and musicians. On Tuesday, host Conor Hanick invited Christopher Cerrone and conductor Andrew Cyr to discuss Cerrone’s work for string quartet and string orchestra, High Windows:



Cerrone talks briefly about the unlikely source material for the piece, and the pitfalls of writing for string orchestra. Cyr weighs in as well, explaining what it’s like to be inside the music. After their brief conversation, the podcast closes with the full performance of High Windows by Quartet Senza Misura and the Metropolis Ensemble. Check out a performance of High Windows below:

"In The Chamber" with Kamran Ince, Pierre Jalbert, and Christopher Cerrone

by Ted Gordon on Feb. 23, 2016, 1:59 p.m.

(photo: Tom Bamberger; Present Music)

Milwaukee's Present Music is known for its imaginative and bold concerts of new music in the Midwest, bringing music to new venues and new audiences for over thirty years. Their upcoming concert program, "In The Chamber", features performances of works by PSNY composers Kamran Ince, Pierre Jalbert, and Christopher Cerrone, among others. The concerts will be held in four different venues around Milwaukee, including the Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and the Villa Terrace Arts Museum. Highly anticipated by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal and WISN Arts Milwaukee, this concert is not to be missed. 

Ince, Jalbert, and Cerrone have all been commissioned by Present Music in the past, and the ensemble has worked closely with the composers to produce truly innovative chamber music. The program will include Ince's Curve, inspired by the spirituality of architectural spaces in Turkey, much like his works Domes and Arches. Jalbert's Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano shows of Jalbert's signature compositional style of intensity, virtuosity, and passion. And Cerrone's Sonata for Violin and Piano retains the architectonic form of the classical sonata while exploring extended techniques, clashing timbres, and unity of expression. 

Check out some recordings of these works below!