News

The schedule for the upcoming Aug 16 online Marathon is now available! Check here for all the deets:
 

Bang on a Can 2020 Marathon will be online on May 3. from 3-9pm ET

Bang on a Can will present an ALL LIVE online Bang on a Can Marathon on Sunday, May 3, 2020 from 3pm-9pm ET. The Marathon will be streamed at marathon2020.bangonacan.org, featuring 26 LIVE performances from musicians’ homes in NYC and around the country. The concert begins with a performance by Meredith Monk at 3pm and concludes with a performance by Bang on a Can All-Star pianist Vicky Chow playing John Adams’ China Gates. Additional highlights include Steve Reich’s Vermont Counterpoint performed by flutist Claire Chase, performances by Vijay Iyer, Maya Beiser, Shara Nova, Nathalie Joachim, and many more. The 6-hour live Marathon will be hosted by Bang on a Can Co-Founders andArtistic Directors Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe

Set times are approximate

3:00
Meredith Monk
Cassie Wieland’s Heart performed by Adam Holmes
Robert Honstein’s Orison performed by Ashley Bathgate
Vijay Iyer
4:00
Anna Clyne’s Rapture performed by Eileen Mack
George Lewis’ Voyager
Shara Nova – New Work (world premiere)
Adam Cuthbért
5:00
Shelley Washington’s Black Mary performed by Ken Thomson
Martin Bresnick’s Ishi’s Song performed by Lisa Moore
Ken Thomson – Birds and ambulances (world premiere) performed by Robert Black
Nathalie Joachim
David T. Little’s Hellhound performed by Maya Beiser
6:00
Miya Masaoka’s music for ichi-ten-kin, or one string koto
Meara O’Reilly
Vinko Globokar’s Toucher performed by Steven Schick
Zoë Keating
7:00
Moor Mother
Philip Glass’ “Knee Play 2” from Einstein on the Beach performed by Tim Fain
Mark Stewart’s To Whom it May Concern: Thank You
Mary Halvorson
8:00
Molly Joyce – Purity (world premiere) performed by David Cossin
Ian Chang
Steve Reich’s Vermont Counterpoint performed by Claire Chase
Dai Wei’s Songs for Shades of Crimson (world premiere) performed by Todd Reynolds
John Adams’ China Gates performed by Vicky Chow

Jody Elff – Production Designer/Director
Peter Wise – Live Stream Coordinator
Denise Burt – logo design

The online Marathon is supported by ASCAP, the Howard Gilman Foundation and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

New works for the online Marathon were commissioned in part by Stephen Block and Raulee Marcus

Bang on a Can will present an ALL LIVE online Bang on a Can Marathon on Sunday, May 3, 2020 from 3pm-9pm ET. The Marathon will be streamed at marathon2020.bangonacan.org, featuring 26 LIVE performances from musicians’ homes in NYC and around the country. The concert begins with a performance by Meredith Monk at 3pm and concludes with a performance by Bang on a Can All-Star pianist Vicky Chow playing John Adams’ China Gates. Additional highlights include Steve Reich’s Vermont Counterpoint performed by flutist Claire Chase, performances by Vijay Iyer, Maya Beiser, Shara Nova, Nathalie Joachim, and many more. The 6-hour live Marathon will be hosted by Bang on a Can Co-Founders andArtistic Directors Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe

We have been so heartened to see the new music community jump right into raising money to disburse to the hundreds of freelance musicians who bravely play the best music of our age. To give to the Solidarity Fund, go here.

The New Music Solidarity Fund is designed to help new/creative/improvised music freelancers whose livelihood has been threatened as a result of performances which have been canceled during the COVID-19 crisis. The Fund was started by a group of musicians in the new music community who have raised over $130,000 in a week, primarily from fellow musicians, composers, and music professionals. Our hope is that the Solidarity Fund will continue to grow in the coming weeks, so that we can assist and bolster more people in need of emergency relief. For now, at least two hundred and sixty, $500 emergency assistance grants will be made available to applicants who meet the below criteria.

We are grateful to New Music USA for donating their time and services to help us run the Fund. Most importantly, we are immensely grateful to you, freelance artists who have risked so much in service of the music of our time. We stand in solidarity with you, and we are committed to helping you as much as we can.

Applications are online now for the 2020 Media Workshop at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Institute at MASS MoCA. Program dates are July 25- Aug 3. Application deadline is March 26. 

Bang on a Can, our special guest faculty, John Schaefer (of WNYC’s New Sounds), and 4 writers in the early stages of their careers will gather at MASS MoCA  to explore the role of criticism and journalism in today’s dynamic contemporary music scene.