In their first performance at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, the Bang on a Can All-Stars bring their polyrhythmic virtuosity and all-world versatility to the stage in a cutting-edge concert celebrating the core Bang on a Can Sound.
The program features music from the All-Stars critically acclaimed album Big Beautiful Dark and Scary (Michael Gordon’s shimmering For Madeleine David Lang’s kaleidoscopic sunray Julia Wolfe’s blazing Big Beautiful Dark and Scary Kate Moore’s pulsating Ridgeway) alongside genre-busting works by frequent collaborators Don Byron (Basquiat, Show Him Some Lub) and Thurston Moore (Stroking Piece #1).
The Bang on a Can All-Stars bring their latest ground-breaking multimedia project Field Recordings to the Quick Center for the Arts Fairfield University featuring new works by Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix, Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, David Lang, Christian Marclay, Todd Reynolds, Julia Wolfe, and Nick Zammuto.
In conjunction with the MoMA exhibition Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925, Bang on a Can presents a pair of concerts that reveal how pioneering European composers of 100 years ago forever changed music in New York. Curated by Bang on a Can co-founder and artistic director David Lang, each concert pairs two composers—an early-20th-century innovator, and a New Yorker he influenced— and is performed by alumni and faculty of the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, a utopian residency program dedicated entirely to the creation, study, and performance of the most adventurous music of our time.
The first concert in the series on February 26, Consonant Abstraction: Claude Debussy and Steve Reich, features a rare performance of the chamber ensemble arrangement of Debussy’s landmark orchestra piece Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, which was made by one of Schoenberg’s students for his private performing society in Vienna; plus two Reich classics, Electric Counterpoint and Different Trains. During the concert, Steve Reich joins David Lang for a conversation.
In conjunction with the MoMA exhibition Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925, Bang on a Can presents a pair of concerts that reveal how pioneering European composers of 100 years ago forever changed music in New York. Curated by Bang on a Can co-founder and artistic director David Lang, each concert pairs two composers—an early-20th-century innovator, and a New Yorker he influenced— and is performed by alumni and faculty of the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, a utopian residency program dedicated entirely to the creation, study, and performance of the most adventurous music of our time.
This second evening in the series features one of Arnold Schoenberg’s shortest, oddest, most intense pieces, Herzgewächse, a shockingly expressive vocal miniature originally written for Vasily Kandinsky’s journal The Blue Rider. Morton Feldman’s meditative work Three Voices, for solo voice and two prerecorded solo voices, a luxurious, introspective setting of a poem by Frank O’Hara, has a much slower tempo than the Schoenberg piece, but is ultimately no less intense.
On March 14 Bang on a Can’s radical partnership between artists and audiences to commission new works from adventurous composers returns to New York City’s Merkin Hall with a program of ear-bending world premieres commissioned by the people! Part of the Ecstatic Music Festival, the performance will include new works by cutting-edge multimedia composer Anna Clyne, hypnotic electronic guru Dan Deacon, electro-acoustic experimentalist and installation artist Paula Matthusen, and Icelandic electronica minimalist Jóhann Jóhannsson, as well as the world premieres of avant-indie rocker Tyondai Braxton’s TREMS and cross-genre composer/performer Fay Kueen Wang‘s Weltinseln featuring Wang performing alongside the All-Stars.
A Fundraising party for the BoaC Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA
All music performed by alumni of the Summer Festival!
Live Band Karaoke (James Moore, guitar; Eleonore Oppenheim, bass; Geremy Schulick, guitar; Wil Smith, keyboard; Peter Wise, drums); and DJ sets by Li’l Miss Dolomite (Lisa Dowling).
Doors and happy hour at 7, show at 8
Bang on a Can’s polymorphic avant-marching band brings its inventive and eclectic spirit to the stage with a unique show featuring music by Frank Zappa, David Byrne and Annie Clark, Tatsuya Yoshida, Björk, Goran Bregovic, and new music by members of the ensemble.
Asphalt Orchestra continues its Virginia tour bringing music by Frank Zappa, David Byrne and Annie Clark, Tatsuya Yoshida, Björk, Goran Bregovic, and new music by members of the renegade ensemble to the stage.
More information and tickets here.
Asphalt Orchestra makes its Chicago-area debut, bringing its inventive and eclectic spirit to the stage with a unique show featuring music by Frank Zappa, David Byrne and Annie Clark, Tatsuya Yoshida, Björk, Goran Bregovic, and new music by members of the band.
Walton Arts Center Fayetteville,
AR map Asphalt Orchestra heads down south springing jazz, prog-rock, and world music on the mobile masses of Arkansas with music by luminaries including David Byrne and Annie Clark, Goran Bregovic, Tatsuya Yoshida and more.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars perform two concerts celebrating the core Bang on a Can sound:
8pm
Brian Eno: Music for Airports (1/1 & 1/2)
9pm
David Lang: sunray
Michael Gordon: For Madeline (Belgian premiere)
Louis Andriessen: Life (Belgian premiere)
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
Steve Reich: 2×5
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval reunite, giving the Belgian premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer.
Also on the program is Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars continue their European tour, giving the UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer with Trio Mediaeval alongside Terry Riley’s Tread on the Trail.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval give the Swedish premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer.
David Lang: sunray
Michael Gordon: For Madeleine
Julia Wolfe: Big Beautiful Dark and Scary
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
Steve Reich: 2×5
The Bang on a Can All-Stars make their Icelandic debut at Reykjavik Arts Festival with their ongoing major multimedia project Field Recordings featuring new works by Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix, Anna Clyne, Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, Jóhann Jóhannsson, David Lang, Christian Marclay, Todd Reynolds, Julia Wolfe, and Nick Zammuto.
China National Center for the Performing Arts Beijing,
China map Bang on a Can brings its polyrhythmic virtuosity and all-world versatility to the Beijing Modern Music Festival, celebrating the breadth of the genre-busting Bang on a Can sound with two boundary bending programs of music by co-founders and artistic directors Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe.
Performed by the Bang on a Can Festival Ensemble, a band of cutting-edge New York new music performers led by veteran Bang on a Can violinist Todd Reynolds with virtuoso performers from the annual Bang on a Can Summer Festival @ MASS MoCA, including David Friend (piano), Mariel Roberts (cello), Jessica Schmitz (flute), Ashley Smith (clarinet), and Ellery Trafford (percussion), the first concert on May 18 features the Festival Ensemble joining forces with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra for David Lang’s pierced, Michael Gordon’s Rewriting Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, and a world premiere arrangement of Julia Wolfe’s Big Beautiful Dark and Scary for six soloists and orchestra.
Central Conservatory of Music Beijing,
China map Bang on a Can brings its polyrhythmic virtuosity and all-world versatility to the Beijing Modern Music Festival, celebrating the breadth of the genre-busting Bang on a Can sound with two boundary bending programs of music by co-founders and artistic directors Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe.
Performed by the Bang on a Can Festival Ensemble, a band of cutting-edge New York new music performers led by veteran Bang on a Can violinist Todd Reynolds with virtuoso performers from the annual Bang on a Can Summer Festival @ MASS MoCA, including David Friend (piano), Mariel Roberts (cello), Jessica Schmitz (flute), Ashley Smith (clarinet), and Ellery Trafford (percussion), the second concert on May 20 is an explosive program of chamber works: on the bill is Julia Wolfe’s Girlfriend, David Lang’s sweet air and these broken wings, Michael Gordon’s ACDC and Light Is Calling, and Ping Jin’s A Shanty.
The Noguchi Museum and Bang on a Can/Cantaloupe Music partner to present Music in the Garden— an annual series held on the second Sunday of every month from June to September in the Museum’s celebrated outdoor sculpture garden.
City Winery 155 Varick Street,
New York,
NY map On June 11 we host our annual Bang on a Can Benefit at City Winery! This year we honor David Bither, Senior VP of Nonesuch, with the Bang on a Can Visionary Award.
More information here.
Bang on a Can returns to lower Manhattan’s River to River Festival with its annual incomparable super-mix of boundary-busting music from around the corner and around the globe.
Co-presented by LMCC and Pace University as part of the River To River Festival 2013.
Starting at 12 noon till 5pm, Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation will host its unique Street Studio: a mobile recording studio equipped for passersby and Marathon musicians alike to spontaneously create and record original music. The Street Studio will be stationed just in front of Pace University on Park Row & Spruce Street.
1 PM
- Derek Bermel: Canzonas Americanas, Mvt 1: “El Dude”
- Jeffrey Brooks: After the Treewatcher
- Peter Evans: solo
- Charlie Piper: zoetrope
- Caleb Burhans: oh ye of little faith… (do you know where your children are?)
- Lukas Ligeti: lakoni in kazonnde*
- David Cossin & Ben Reimer, drums
- Cabaret Contemporain [to be announced from stage]
3PM
- Shara Worden: Before the Words
- Nico Muhly: Short Prayers in Respect of a Storm
- Brooklyn Youth Chorus with Aleeza Meir piano and string quartet
- Kendall Williams: Conception*
- NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble / NYUSTEEL, Jonathan Haas, Director/Conductor
- Yungchen Llamo & Anton Batagov: Medicine Buddha, White Palace
- Yungchen Llamo, voice & Anton Batagov, piano
- John King: Astral Epitaphs
- Brooklyn Youth Chorus, TILT, & John King, live electronics
- Talk Normal: XO, Shot This Time, Dedicate This Song
- Tom Zé (arr. Stephanie Richards) Mā
5 PM
- Asphalt Orchestra [to be announced from stage]
- Julia Wolfe With a blue dress on**
- Hans Abrahamsen: Schnee (Ten canons for nine instruments)
- Angélica Negrón: Drawings for Meyoko
7 PM
- Cabaret Contemporain [to be announced from stage]
- David Lang: death speaks
- Bang on a Can All-Stars & Shara Worden, voice
- Tamar Muskal: Mar de Leche
- Maya Beiser, cello with the Provenance Project Band
- Annea Lockwood: Vortex
9 PM
- Michael Gordon: Yo Shakespeare
- Tatsuya Yoshida: Zwimbarrac Khafzavrapp
* World Premiere
** US Premiere
Please note that times are approximate and subject to change
Pocantico Center Tarrytown,
NY map Asphalt Orchestra brings its signature outdoor extravaganzas to the Hudson River Valley.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars celebrate the season in two FREE outdoor* concerts on Governors Island Colonels Row (1pm & 3pm)
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
Michael Gordon: Industry
David Lang: sunray
Julia Wolfe: Lick
Thurston Moore: Stroking Piece #1
Louis Andriessen: Workers Union
* Rain date July 14
The Noguchi Museum and Bang on a Can/Cantaloupe Music partner to present Music in the Garden– an annual series held on the second Sunday of every month from June to September in the Museum’s celebrated outdoor sculpture garden.
From July 17- August 3 we return to MASS MoCA (the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) for our 12th Annual Summer Music Festival, a utopian residency program dedicated entirely to the creation, study, and performance of the most adventurous music of our time.
Performance highlights of the three-week intensive include daily recitals in the museum galleries at 1:30pm (M-F) & 4:30pm (M-Sat) (free with museum admission) featuring festival faculty and fellows; Bang on a Can All-Stars and special guests performing Julia Wolfe’s mesmerizing evening-length art ballad Steel Hammer on Saturday, July 27</strong>; the Composer Premiere Concert on Monday, July 29 showcasing brand new works written by the Summer Festival composition fellows; and the 12th annual Bang on a Can Marathon at MASS MoCA, the annual 6-hour day-night boundary-busting festival concert featuring 50+ musicians and composers from around the world, which closes the Festival on Saturday, August 3.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and guest vocalists Emily Eagen, Katie Geissinger, Daisy Press perform Julia Wolfe’s mesmerizing evening-length art ballad Steel Hammer as part of the Bang on a Can Summer Festival @ MASS MoCA.
Wolfe’s Steel Hammer is inspired by her love for the legends and music of Appalachia, and culls from both the music and oral traditions of the region. The text is taken from over 200 versions of the John Henry ballad – based on hearsay, recollection, and tall tales – and explores the subject of human vs. machine in this quintessential American legend. Steel Hammer stretches the standard instrumentation of Bang on a Can All-Stars with wooden bones, mountain dulcimer, banjo, and more, to evoke the rich instrumental colors of Appalachia. The New York Times calls it a “wild hybrid” and an “obsessive study of the song’s many versions.”
Asphalt Orchestra returns to Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival on July 28, giving the world premiere of the new project ASPHALT ORCHESTRA PLAYS THE PIXIES: SURFER ROSA, honoring the ground breaking album’s 25th anniversary.
The Pixies released Surfer Rosa – the band’s first full-length record – in 1988. A cult hit then, the album’s influence has grown to mammoth proportions over the years; it is now considered one of the most important recordings of its time. Asphalt Orchestra takes the originals both literally and inspirationally with new choreography by Jordana Che Toback, discovering a new direction for exhilarating acoustic music by paying tribute to a modern monument.
The band will perform a plaza parade set with Jacob Garchik’s “The Heavens” at 6pm. The program also includes performances by Kronos Quartet with special guests Dan Deacon and Jherek Bischoff, as part of a weeklong celebration KRONOS at 40, co-curated by Lincoln Center and Kronos Quartet.
Check out a sneak peek video here.
Join us for a special afternoon concert featuring TEN WORLD PREMIERES by the composition fellows of the Bang on a Can Summer Festival at MASS MoCA: Adam Cuthbert, Erik DeLuca, Alex Dowling, Stephen Feigenbaum, Ben Hjertmann, Finola Merivale, Emma O’Halloran, Brendon Randall-Myers, Max Stoffregen, and Liza White.
The hot-off-the-press works will be performed by fellow and faculty members alike. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see over 50 cutting-edge composers and performers from around the globe in action together!
The show is FREE with gallery admission!
FULL PROGRAM:
Adam Cuthbert: Universe Explosion
Erik DeLuca: White Blanket
Alex Dowling: Sidechain
Stephen Feigenbaum: Angel
Ben Hjertman: The Fine Art of Forgetting: A Cubist Self-Portrait in Ultraviolet
Finola Merivale: Stuck in this Spiral of Corners
Emma O’Halloran: Wondercrump
Brendan Randall-Meyers: Inside Out
Max Stoffregen: Henley Oak
Liza Jane White: Groove IV
The Marathon concert is the heart and soul of Bang on a Can. Bang on a Can’s annual 6-hour day-night boundary-busting festival concert featuring 50+ musicians and composers from around the world has become one of the most diverse, open and exciting summer music events in the Berkshires. “Imagine Lollapalooza advised by the ghost of John Cage,” Vanity Fair wrote. “There are other places to hear new contemporary music, but it is seldom offered with such a potent blend of intensity, authority, and abandon.”
This year’s Bang on a Can Marathon will close the Festival on August 3 from 4-10pm. Some of the many highlights include music by techno master Aphex Twin performed by a 20-member amplified chamber orchestra of festival musicians with guest conductor Alan Pierson of Alarm Will Sound; David Lang’s these broken wings recently featured on the 2013 GRAMMY Awards; British renegade composer Steve Martland‘s classic Horses of Instruction Michael Gordon‘s The Sad Park for string quartet, Bang on a Can’s Orchestra of Original Instruments, and much more.
MUSIC BY: Gregg August, Jacob Druckman, Sean Friar, Michael Gordon, Annie Gosfield, Eleanor Hovda, Bun Ching Lam, David Lang, Ingram Marshall, Steve Martland, Bill Ryan, Mark Stewart, Ken Thomson, Aphex Twin, Julia Wolfe.
Please note that times are approximate and subject to change.
4pm
- Ken Thomson: Music for Trains
- Julia Wolfe: Fuel
- Bill Ryan: Drive
- Eleanor Hovda: Onyx
- Sean Friar: Scale 9
- Mark Stewart: What, and if so, why?
6pm
- Jacob Druckman: Come Round
- Orchestra of Original Instruments
- Annie Gosfield: Almost Truths and Open Deceptions
- Gregg August: A Humble Tribute to Guaguancó
- Ingram Marshall: Muddy Waters
8pm
- Steve Martland: Horses of Instruction
- Bun Ching Lam: Piccolo Concertino
- David Lang: these broken wings
- Michael Gordon: The Sad Park
- Aphex Twin – Four, Meltphace, Cliffs, Cock/Ver 10
The Noguchi Museum and Bang on a Can/Cantaloupe Music partner to present Music in the Garden— an annual series held on the second Sunday of every month from June to September in the Museum’s celebrated outdoor sculpture garden.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars perform their ongoing major multimedia project Field Recordings:
Julia Wolfe: Reeling
Florent Ghys: An Open Cage
Christian Marclay: Fade to Slide
Todd Reynolds: Seven Sundays*
Mira Calix: Meeting you seemed easy (featuring live performance with Mira Calix)
Michael Gordon: Gene takes a drink
David Lang: Unused Swan
Steve Reich: The Cave of Machpelah (excerpt from The Cave)**
Johann Johannson: Hz *
Tyondai Braxton:Casino Trem
Anna Clyne: A Wonderful Day*
Nick Zammuto: Real Beauty Turns
*UK Premiere
**World Premiere arrangement commissioned by Bang on a Can with generous support from EIF.
Read an interview with percussionist David Cossin here.
OneBeat concludes with a blow-out Marathon concert in New York City.
Asphalt Orchestra brings its staged show Unpack the Elephant to Kansas with surprise flash sets popping up along the way.
The Noguchi Museum and Bang on a Can/Cantaloupe Music partner to present Music in the Garden– an annual series held on the second Sunday of every month from June to September in the Museum’s celebrated outdoor sculpture garden.
Found Sound Nation presents the second annual OneBeat program, an international cultural exchange that celebrates the transformative power of the arts in partnership with the U.S. Department of State.
OneBeat 2013 begins with a two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida (Sept. 9-21).
Asphalt Orchestra brings its staged show Unpack the Elephant to New Hampshire with surprise flash sets popping up along the way.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars return to the Sacrum Profanum Festival for the third year in a row, this time bringing their latest multi-media project Field Recordings to Poland alongside Brian Eno’s Music for Airports.
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
More information here.
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard eaturing performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars bring core repertoire on a three-city tour of France alongside Paris-based comrades Cabaret Contemporain.
David Lang: Cheating, Lying, Stealing
Michael Gordon: For Madeline
Julia Wolfe: Believing
Brian Eno: Music for Airports 1/1 (arr. Michael Gordon)
Thurston Moore: Stroking Piece #1
The Bang on a Can All-Stars bring core repertoire on a three-city tour of France alongside Paris-based comrades Cabaret Contemporain.
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
David Lang: Cheating, Lying, Stealing
Michael Gordon: For Madeline
Brian Eno: Music for Airports 1/1 (arr. Michael Gordon)
Julia Wolfe: Believing
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
More information here.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars bring core repertoire on a three-city tour of France alongside Paris-based comrades Cabaret Contemporain.
David Lang: sunray
Julia Wolfe: Lick
Thurston Moore: Stroking Piece #1
Michael Gordon: For Madeline
Louis Andriessen: Workers Union
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
OneBeat tours the Eastern seaboard featuring performances and youth workshops, following their two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
OneBeat 2013 concludes with a blow-out Marathon show in New York City. Check out a sneak-peek video of the show here.
Asphalt Orchestra brings its staged show Unpack the Elephant to California with surprise flash sets popping up along the way.
Asphalt Orchestra brings its staged show Unpack the Elephant to Pennsylvania with surprise flash sets popping up along the way.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars return to Turkey giving the world premiere of a new piece by Erdem Helvacioglu alongside Bang on a Can classics.
David Lang: sunray
Michael Gordon: For Madeline
Julia Wolfe: Lick
Erdem Helvacioglu: New Work
The Bang on a Can All-Stars join forces with renowned guitarist Lee Ranaldo on a three-city tour to Eindhoven, Amsterdam, and Antwerp.
Bryce Dessner: New Work
Bryce Dessner: Oh Shut your Eyes against the Wind
Thurston Moore: Stroking Piece #1
Fred Frith: Snakes & Ladders
David Longstreth: Instructional Video, Matt Damon, Breakfast at J&M
Lee Ranaldo: How Deep are Rivers [featuring Lee Ranaldo]
The Bang on a Can All-Stars join forces with renowned guitarist Lee Ranaldo on a three-city tour to Eindhoven, Amsterdam, and Antwerp.
Field Recordings
Julia Wolfe: Reeling
Florent Ghys: An Open Cage
Christian Marclay: Fade to Slide
Todd Reynolds: Seven Sundays
Bryce Dessner: New Work
Michael Gordon: Gene takes a drink
David Lang: unused swan
Tyondai Braxton: Casino Trem
Nick Zammuto: Real Beauty Turns
Lee Ranaldo: How Deep are Rivers [featuring Lee Ranaldo]
The Bang on a Can All-Stars join forces with renowned guitarist Lee Ranaldo on a three-city tour to Eindhoven, Amsterdam, and Antwerp.
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
Bryce Dessner: Oh Shut your Eyes against the Wind
Thurston Moore: Stroking Piece #1
Fred Frith: Snakes & Ladders
David Longstreth: Instructional Video, Matt Damon, Breakfast at J&M
Lee Ranaldo: How Deep are Rivers [featuring Lee Ranaldo]
The Bang on a Can All-Stars conclude their 5-city tour with a concert of core Bang on a Can repertoire.
Michael Gordon: For Madeline
Julia Wolfe: Believing
Brian Eno: Music for Airports
The Bang on a Can All-Stars make their South American debut, bringing their latest multi-media project Field Recordings to Argentina’s Ciclo de Conciertos de Música Contemporánea del Teatro General San Martín, alongside hit Bang on a Can repertoire by Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Louis Andriessen, and Brian Eno.
