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| NORMAN FISCHER AND KURT STALLMANN PERFORM WITH MICHELE BRAGWEN DANCE ENSEMBLE The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble presents new works to live original music on Friday May 21, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. in Stude Concert Hall in the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University. The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble presents a performance of contemporary dance to live original music. The evening premieres Madrid, a quintet for four dancers, string bass and electronics, with choreography by Michele Brangwen. The work contrasts the ancient splendor of Madrid with its recent tragedy. The score, by composer Thomas Helton, is the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble’s 10th commission of new music since its inception. Also on the program will be Talk to Me a new work for three dancers, saxophone, and string bass, with music by Reynaldo Ochoa.  The evening will include two new music works without dance. For Driving Home, composer/bassist Bill Miller, one of Houston’s most exciting masters of improvisation, performs original jazz with percussionist Jeff Gleason. Cellist Norman Fischer and Kurt Stallmann perform Kaija Saariaho’s engaging score for solo cello and live electronics. Tickets are $15 general, $10 students and seniors. Tickets are purchased at the door with cash or check. $3 event parking is available directly across from Stude Concert Hall and requires a credit card for entry. PRES FOR CELLO AND ELECTONICS Près for solo cello and electronics emerged at the same time as Amers, a concerto for cello and chamber orchestra. The musical material in the two works is to a large extent the same. Given the very different means of implementing the material, however, the only identical elements are certain parts for the solo instrument and a few of the electronic sound materials. In terms of form and dramatic structure, the pieces are strikingly different. Both were produced at IRCAM, and the electronic component is very important in each case. In Près, the electronics continue and expand in many different directions the musical gestures of the solo instrument. As a whole, the electronic element consists of synthetic sounds, modified cello sounds stored in the computer, and real-time sound processing. This latter element has made use of resonating filters and different types of delay, space, filtering, and transposing techniques. The programming work was realized by Xavier Chabot and Jean-Baptiste Barriere at IRCAM. The name of the piece links it to its sister-work (Amers - a nautical term for leading marks or landmarks) and to Paul Gauguin's painting "By the Sea," hence to the experience of the sea itself and waves, their different rhythms and sounds, stormy weather, and calms - in other words, material, wave shapes, rhythmic figures, timbres, and the charging up of the music and the ultimate release of that charge. Près is dedicated to Anssi Karttunen, whose collaboration on the work led to its completion and who gave the first performance in Strasbourg on November 11, 1992. Kaija Saariaho, originally from Finland, has been living and working in Paris since 1982. Her works encompass a broad range of genres including orchestral, choral, electronic, multi-media, chamber, and solo instrumental and vocal. For more information about this event call 713- 533-9515. ABOUT MICHELE BRAGWEN Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble is a performing arts company dedicated to commissioning and presenting new dance and new music, and the integration of live music and dance in performance. Dancer-Choreographer Michele Brangwen has performed her work in Houston at Stude Concert Hall at Rice University, Miller Outdoor Theatre, DiverseWorks Artspace (12 Minutes Max, Next Decade of New Performance, Fieldwork), The Duplex, Tomball College, The Regional Arts Center, and the Houston Multi-Service Center for World Aids Day. She has performed her work in New York City at The Interart Annex, and in St. James, NY at The Mills Pond House. Her site-specific dance video "Amelia" created in collaboration with composer Arthur Gottschalk and filmed on the runways of Hooks Airport, has been screened at The Long Island Film Festival, The Amelia Earhart Birthday Centennial Celebration, The Regional Arts Center, and excerpts have aired on KUHT's Weeknight Edition. She has been commissioned by International Women's History Month in New York and awarded grants for her choreography from The New York Foundation for the Arts and The Cultural Arts Council of Houston. |
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