American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) performs in Dancing Voices at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival
Music and movement come together in this program with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and Meredith Monk, performing the composer’s choral, duet, and solo works
Friday, October 20, 2017 at 7:30pm
Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 3pm
Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 7:30pm
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College
524 W. 59th St | New York, NY
Tickets start at $35 and are available at WhiteLightFestival.org or 212.721.6500
“the ensemble gave the punchy, intricate score a tight, viscerally powerful performance” – The New York Times
New York, NY – ACME, American Contemporary Music Ensemble, will perform music from Meredith Monk’s Songs of Ascension as part of Dancing Voices at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival in three shows on Friday, October 20, 2017 at 7:30pm and Saturday, October 24, 2017 at 3pm and 7:30pm in the Gerald W. Lynch Theater (524 W. 59th St).
The “body sings and the voice dances” in this program that captures the kinetic energy and pioneering philosophy of Meredith Monk’s six-decade exploration of the human voice as an instrument, transmitted and luminously present in this multidimensional, multiperceptual work. In this intergenerational production, ACME joins Meredith Monk, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (under the direction of Francisco J. Núñez, who conducts the music from Songs of Ascension, and Elizabeth Núñez), vocalist Katie Geissinger, vocalist/pianist Allison Sniffin, David Cossin (percussion), and Bohdan Hilash (woodwinds).
ACME artistic director and cellist Clarice Jensen feels very lucky to again be working with Meredith Monk. “We first worked together on her string quartet, Stringsongs, which we also recorded. Movement is such an integral part of her performance tradition, and for this White Light Festival performance, we will also be taking part in the movement and choreography of the work, so we are very much looking forward to studying and performing in this way with Meredith.” ACME players for Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival are Ben Russell, violin; Laura Lutzke, violin; Caleb Burhans, viola; and Clarice Jensen, cello.
Meredith Monk is a composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music-theater works, films and installations. Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, she is a pioneer in what is now called “extended vocal technique” and “interdisciplinary performance.” Celebrated internationally, Monk’s work has been presented by BAM, Lincoln Center Festival, Houston Grand Opera, London’s Barbican Centre and at major venues around the world. She has made more than a dozen recordings, most of which are on the ECM New Series label, including the 2008 Grammy-nominated impermanence and the highly acclaimed On Behalf of Nature (2016).In 2015 Monk received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama, and over the course of six decades she has received numerous additional honors including the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Award, two Guggenheim Fellowships, three “Obies” (including an award for Sustained Achievement), two “Bessie” awards for Sustained Creative Achievement, a Doris Duke Artist Award and a Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award for the Arts. She has also been named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France, one of NPR’s 50 Great Voices and Musical America’s 2012 Composer of the Year. In conjunction with her 50th Season of creating and performing, she was appointed the 2014–15 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall. This October, she will be awarded the 24th annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. For more information, visit www.meredithmonk.org.
The Young People’s Chorus of New York City is a world-renowned youth chorus founded in 1988 on a mission of diversity and artistic excellence by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow. While harnessing the power of music to fulfill the potential of children, the program has heightened an awareness of the ability of children to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry. Over 1,600 children from ages 8 to 18 participate annually in YPC through its after-school, in-school, and community programs. YPC’s repertoire ranges from renaissance and classical traditions to gospel, folk, pop, contemporary, and world music. YPC has performed on four continents, has won over a dozen gold medals in international choral competitions, and has invigorated the repertoire for young voices by commissioning and premiering over 100 compositions from today’s most distinguished composers. YPC is a recipient of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, America’s highest honor for youth programs. For more information, visit www.ypc.org.
The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), led by Artistic Director Clarice Jensen, is dedicated to the outstanding performance of masterworks from the 20th and 21st centuries, primarily the work of American composers. The flexible ensemble presents fresh work by living composers alongside the classics of the contemporary. ACME’s dedication to new music extends across genres, and has earned them a reputation among both classical and rock crowds. NPR calls them “contemporary music dynamos,” and Stringsreports, “ACME’s absorbing playing pulsed with warm energy. . . Shared glances and inhales triggered transitions in a flow so seamless it seemed learned in a Jedi temple.” ACME was honored by ASCAP during its 10th anniversary season in 2015 for the “virtuosity, passion, and commitment with which it performs and champions American composers.”
ACME’s instrumentation is flexible, and includes some of New York’s most sought-after, engaging musicians. Notable highlights of ACME’s 2017-2018 season include a performance with Meredith Monk as part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival, a tour with Max Richter, and performances presented by the Festival of New American Music at Sacramento State, Kennesaw State’s Festival of New Music, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Kennedy Center.
ACME has performed at leading international venues including Carnegie Hall, BAM, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Kitchen, (Le) Poisson Rouge, National Sawdust, Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Symphony Space, The Morgan Library, The Stone, Joyce Theater, Montclair’s Peak Performances, Washington Performing Arts, UCLA’s Royce Hall, Stanford Live, Constellation Chicago, Chicago’s Millennium Park, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Jordan Hall in Boston, Harvard’s Sanders Theatre, The Library of Congress in DC, Virginia Tech, Newman Center at the University of Denver, Flynn Center, Duke Performances, South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center, The Satellite in Los Angeles, Triple Door in Seattle, Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Melbourne Recital Hall and Sydney Opera House in Australia, and at festivals including the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Poland, All Tomorrow’s Parties in England, and Big Ears in Knoxville, TN.
World premieres given by ACME include Ingram Marshall’s Psalmbook, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Drone Mass, Caroline Shaw’s Ritornello, Phil Kline’s Out Cold, William Brittelle’s Loving the Chambered Nautilus, Timo Andres’ Senior and Thrive on Routine, Caleb Burhans’ Jahrzeit, and many more. In 2016 at The Kitchen, ACME premiered Clarice Jensen’s transcription of Julius Eastman’s The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc for ten cellos, the score of which had been lost since the premiere in 1981. Jensen transcribed a recording of the work to re-create the score. ACME has since performed Joan at the Met Breuer and will perform it at The Kennedy Center in spring 2018.
ACME’s recordings appear on the Deutsche Grammophon, New World, Butterscotch, and New Amsterdam labels. ACME released its first portrait album on Sono Luminus in 2017, featuring music by members Caroline Shaw, Timo Andres, and Caleb Burhans, plus John Luther Adams. The Strad raved, “Warmth and care are fully evident in the ensemble’s immaculate, considered performances – the four composers could hardly wish for more committed, convincing accounts of their music.”
ACME’s many collaborators have included The Richard Alston Dance Company, Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance, Gibney Dance, Satellite Ballet, Jóhann Jóhannsson, actress Barbara Sukowa, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, Blonde Redhead, Grizzly Bear, Low, Matmos, Jeff Mangum, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Roomful of Teeth, Lionheart, and Theo Bleckmann. For more information, visit www.acmemusic.org.
The White Light Festival is a presentation of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA), which serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community engagement, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 16 series, festivals, and programs, including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Career Grants and Artist program, David Rubenstein Atrium programming, Great Performers, The Performing Arts Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center at the Movies, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, the Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS, and Lincoln Center Education, which is celebrating 41 years enriching the lives of students, educators, and lifelong learners. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Lincoln Center has become a leading force in using new media and technology to reach and inspire a wider and global audience. Reaching audiences where they are—physically and digitally—has become a cornerstone of making the performing arts more accessible to New Yorkers and beyond. The re-imagination of David Geffen Hall will play an important part in these efforts. For more information, visit www.LincolnCenter.org.
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