April 25, 2016.Augusta Read Thomas and Ear Taxi Festival.Augusta Read Thomas is one of the most interesting contemporary American composers.Prolific and active, she’s currently serving as the University Professor of Composition at the University of Chicago. To quote the music critic Edward Reichel, "Augusta Read Thomas has secured for herself a permanent place in the pantheon of American composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. She is without question one of the best and most important composers that this country has today. Her music has substance and depth and a sense of purpose. She has a lot to say and she knows how to say it — and say it in a way that is intelligent yet appealing and sophisticated.”Here are her Angel Musings, performed by the Orion Ensemble.
Ms. Thomas and Stephen Burns, a Chicago-based conductor, trumpeter, composer, and the Artistic Director of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, are organizing a unique event, the Ear Taxi Festival 2016, a celebration of contemporary music in Chicago.The festival will feature 300 musicians, 53 world premieres and 4 installations in its six days of concerts, lectures, webcasts and artist receptions.Explaining the name of the festival, Ms. Thomas says: “We want to take your ears on a wide variety of ‘taxi rides’ through the world of contemporary music.At every concert, you’ll hear a mix of ensembles and musical styles that reflects the incredible depth and breadth of new music both here in Chicago and beyond.” The Festival will feature the music of more than 70 composers, from well-established, like Shulamit Ran, Ms. Thomas, Bernard Rands and George Flynn, to young but very promising.Here’s the list of all composers (with biographies).The performers are among the best in Chicago: ensembles, like the Avalon Quartet, the Chicago Composers Orchestra, Ensemble Dal Niente, the Fifth House ensemble and many more, as well as a number of individual performers.The Festival will start on October 5th and will run till October 10th of 2016.The concerts will take place at several venues: the Harris Theater, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Pritzker Pavilion of the Millennium Park, the University of Chicago and several other smaller ones.Here’s how you can buy tickets to the Festival events.
Please go to the Festival’s web page for more information.The Festival promises to be a wonderful affair and we hope that you’ll will have a chance to enjoy it.
Augusta Read Thomas and Ear Taxi Festival 2016
April 25, 2016. Augusta Read Thomas and Ear Taxi Festival. Augusta Read Thomas is one of the most interesting contemporary American composers. Prolific and active, she’s currently serving as the University Professor of Composition at the University of Chicago. To quote the music critic Edward Reichel, "Augusta Read Thomas has secured for herself a permanent place in the pantheon of American composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. She is without question one of the best and most important composers that this country has today. Her music has substance and depth and a sense of purpose. She has a lot to say and she knows how to say it — and say it in a way that is intelligent yet appealing and sophisticated.” Here are her Angel Musings, performed by the Orion Ensemble.
Please go to the Festival’s web page for more information. The Festival promises to be a wonderful affair and we hope that you’ll will have a chance to enjoy it.