Josh Modney Performs at Spectrum NYC

by Ted Gordon on Jan. 14, 2016, 11:10 a.m.

Josh Modney is one of the leading interpreters of contemporary music for the violin, and there is certainly not a lack of music for him to play. As the executive director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, a member of the Mivos Quartet, and a frequent performer with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Modney's calendar is packed with premieres and performances. So it's a rare treat to see him perform a solo recital, with some help from fellow Wet Ink instrumentalists, at Spectrum NYC, on New York's Lower East Side. 

On Saturday, January 16th, Modney will perform six works featuring the violin, including pieces by PSNY Composers Mario Diaz de Leon, Kate Soper, and Scott Wollschleger. Diaz de Leon's piece, ii.23, is scored for viola and electronics, and the score calls for extra subwoofers to make the bass felt in the space. Check out a clip: 

Modney will also be performing Kate Soper's Cipher, a work Soper commissioned for him, along with the composer herself. One of Soper's signature works, Cipher explores the limits of language, sound, and performance in the intimate connection between instrument and voice. Check out a video of the pair performing Cipher below. 

Again picking up the viola, Modney will also perform Scott Wollschleger's Soft Aberration No. 2, for viola and piano, alongside pianist and fellow composer and Wet Ink member Eric Wubbels. Wollschleger's work evokes what he calls a "broken echo" between instruments—a fine pairing with Soper's work—exploring the shared sensibilities of sight and sound experience between two performers. Check out an excerpt below: 

Three Works by Lei Liang

by Ted Gordon on Jan. 25, 2012, 3:12 p.m.

Live from Rome! New York City's WQXR airs an interview with Lei Liang, live from the American Academy in Rome, on January 25th, 2012. Check out the livestream here: http://www.wqxr.org/#/articles/q2-music/2012/jan/25/interview-lei-liang/. Lei's interview is a part of WQXR's "China in New York" series, an innovative and fresh look at Chinese-American composers. 

Lei's recent signing with Schott has been a huge thrill for us, and we've been hard at work getting all of his materials ready for publication. Three new works are now available on PSNY: "A Journey into Desire," for solo guitar; "In Praise of Shadows," for solo flute, and "Gobi Canticle," for violin and viola or cello. Check out an excerpt of "In Praise of Shadows" here:

Wet Ink and Talea Ensemble Provide New Music for Autumn

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 23, 2011, 11:56 a.m.

Though the weather is increasingly dark and gray, and the holiday season will soon tempt us to forgo exploring new music in favor of familiar holiday music, there still exist shining beacons of new music in this wintry sea.

One such beacon - Wet Ink, which includes PSNY composers Kate Soper and Alex Mincek - has just come back from a Californian tour, where they made a deep impression on the local press. The tour ended up back in Brooklyn, at Roulette, with a program featuring Teresa McCollough performing the World Premiere of "In My Own Skin " by Alvin Singleton, and Alex Mincek and Ian Antonio (also of Yarn/Wire and Zs) performing Alex's "Nucleus."

If you haven't heard "Nucleus", here's a taste from the awesome recording on Carrier Records: 

Next up for Wet Ink: a residency at Duke University in December. And for Kate Soper, the premiere of a new work for soprano and violin, "cipher," by the SEM Ensemble at the Paula Cooper Gallery on December 13th. 

The Talea Ensemble has just held two recording sessions at the American Academy of Arts and Letters of two works by Anthony Cheung: "Windswept Cypresses" and "Centripedalocity."

Cheung, who is their pianist, will also be performing on their awesome program on Sunday the 27th at the Roger Smith Hotel, which includes works by Berio, Bartok, Nono, and Larry Polansky. It's a rare treat to hear these works, especially Nono's "'Hay que Caminar' Soñando", live: 

Hats off to these ensembles for keeping autumn vibrant with new music!