Photo by Chad Batka
Founded in 2011, ICElab places teams of Ensemble musicians in close collaboration with six emerging composers each year to develop works that push the boundaries of musical exploration.
Featuring the music of Phyllis Chen alongside works by Marcos Balter, Nathan Davis, and Mario Diaz de León.
This stunning program frames a workshop performance of Phyllis Chen’s Chimers (for toy piano, toy glock, violin, flute, and electronics) with four innovative works by 2011 ICElab composers Marcos Balter, Nathan Davis, and Mario Diaz de León. Praised by the New York Times for her “delightful quirkiness matched with interpretive sensitivity,” Phyllis Chen is a pianist, toy pianist and multimedia artist that performs original multimedia compositions and works by contemporary composers.
Program:
Phyllis Chen: Beneath a Trace of Vapor, for flute and electronics
Marcos Balter: Edgewater, for two flutes
Nathan Davis: Bells, for flutes, clarinet, percussion and electronics
Mario Diaz de León: Prism Path, for two flutes, percussion and electronics
Phyllis Chen: Chimers, (work-in-progress), for toy piano, toy glockenspiel, flute, clarinet, violin, withlive electronics and video
“For the International Contemporary Ensemble, an intrepid and adventurous new-music group based in Brooklyn and Chicago, presenting brash sounds and fresh discoveries is all in a day’s work, though stellar musicianship and infectious enthusiasm prevent any whiff of routine from tainting its labors.” — Steve Smith, The New York Times
“Despite the challenges—crazy meter changes and rhythmic knots, delicate sonorities and blistering fanfares—it all appears to be child’s play in the hands of the young musicians who comprise ICE, dedicated to new music performance…. Their execution is little short of breathtaking.” — Stuart Isacoff, The Wall Street Journal
About the Artists
The International Contemporary Ensemble is dedicated to reshaping the way music is created and experienced. With 33 instrumentalists performing in forces ranging from solos to large ensembles, ICE functions as performer, presenter, and educator, developing innovative new works and pursuing groundbreaking strategies for audience engagement.