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Award-winning @prismquartet presents “Color Theory” - 2 World Premiere collaborations with @sopercussion and #PARTCH at the @KimmelCenter
Press Contact:
Amanda Conte
215-790-5847
aconte@kimmelcenter.org
THE KIMMEL CENTER AND PRISM QUARTET PRESENT THE WORLD PREMIERE OF COLOR THEORY
JUNE 4 AND JUNE 11
Two Programs To Feature Unprecedented Collaborations with Sō Percussion and Partch
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Philadelphia, PA, May 23, 2016) –– The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, in association with Prism Quartet, Inc., presents the World Premiere of the uniquely conceived program Color Theory, featuring two programs of unprecedented collaborations with award-winning percussion ensemble Sō Percussion (June 4) and Los Angeles-based Grammy®-winning ensemble Partch (June 11). Both performances will take place in the Perelman Theater at 7:30 p.m. on their respective dates and each will be preceded by a special pre-concert panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. led by John Schaefer, host of WNYC’s Soundcheck and New Sounds.
The collaborative Color Theory was inspired by the way visual artists have used color theory to develop a body of knowledge about using color pigments to evoke emotional responses to art and will pioneer new possibilities of orchestration and musical colors to explore these sensations in musical color. To aid in the understanding and evolution of this thinking, there will be two FREE workshops in the Kimmel Center’s Merck Education Center. On June 1, families can participate in a Community Drumming Workshop and on June 8, there will be an instrument-making workshop for all ages during which composer Charles Corey will teach participants to create their own simple musical instruments.
“We are thrilled to bring these adventurous programs to Philadelphia in collaboration with the PRISM Quartet,” said Ed Cambron, Executive Vice President of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. “These new works bring together renowned ensembles in never-before-seen pairings and, in turn, will challenge music lovers to hear and see sound in a new way.”
In the June 4 program, Prism and Sō Percussion will premiere the jazz-influenced Blue Notes and Other Clashes by Steven Mackey and a new arrangement of Donnacha Dennehy’s The Pale. Mackey, who previously composed masterful works for both ensembles separately, creates the first major octet combining saxophone and percussion quartets. Dennehy’s work is a musical imagining of the area encompassing Dublin called the Pale, where British rule was at its strongest in the 14th century. Also on the program, the Philadelphia Premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’ Saxophone Quartet, Bryce Dessner’s Music for Wood and Strings, and “Hymn” from Kati Agócs’ Coluratura.
Sō Percussion has redefined the modern percussion ensemble as a flexible entity, pushing its voice to the forefront of American musical culture, for over a decade. Praised by The New Yorker for their “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam,” Sō’s adventurous spirit is written into the DNA passed down from composers like John Cage and Steve Reich, as well as from pioneering ensembles like the Kronos Quartet and Nexus Percussion. Sō Percussion’s career now encompasses 16 albums, touring throughout the USA and around the world, a dizzying array of collaborative projects, several ambitious educational programs, and a steady output of their own music.
In the second and final program on June 11, Prism collaborates for the first time with Grammy®-winning ensemble Partch (in its East Coast debut) to premiere Future Lilacs by Ken Ueno and Skiagrafies (Shadow Etchings) by Stratis Minakakis for saxophones and Harry Partch instruments. Also on the program: Castor & Pollux by Harry Partch, Xas by Iannis Xenakis, and “Radical Alignment” from 15 Places At The Same Time by Steve Lehman.
Partch performs on one-of-a-kind microtonal instruments designed by the iconic composer, music theorist, and creator of musical instruments, Harry Partch, who referred to himself as “a music man seduced into carpentry.” Finding no instruments capable of producing the sounds he imagined, Partch invented his own.
Prism Quartet has been recognized as one of America’s foremost chamber ensembles due to their intriguing programs of great beauty and breadth. Two-time winners of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award of Adventurous Programming, Prism has been presented by Carnegie Hall, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and as soloists with the Detroit Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra. Champions of new music, Prism has commissioned over 250 works, many by internationally celebrated Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. Prism’s discography includes 15 recordings for Albany, Innova, Koch, ECM, Naxos, New Dynamic, New Focus, and its own newly-launched label, XAS Records. Prism may also be heard on the soundtrack of the film Two Plus One and has been featured in the theme music to the weekly PBS news magazine NOW. Prism performs exclusively on Selmer saxophones.
COLOR THEORY: FREE COMMUNITY DRUMMING WORKSHOP
Merck Education Center at the Kimmel Center
June 1, 2016, 3:45 - 5:45 p.m.
PRISM QUARTET WITH Sō PERCUSSION: COLOR THEORY
Perelman Theater
Saturday, June 4, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
COLOR THEORY: FREE INSTRUMENT-MAKING WORKSHOP
Merck Education Center at the Kimmel Center
June 8, 2016, 3:45 - 5:45 p.m.
PRISM QUARTET WITH PARTCH: COLOR THEORY
Perelman Theater
June 11, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are available now and start at $10. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Group sales are available for groups of 10 or more and can be purchased by calling (215) 790-5883. More information at kimmelcenter.org.
The community drumming workshop and instrument-making workshop are both free, non-ticketed events. More information can be found at prismquartet.com.
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, The Kimmel Center’s mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience through diverse programming, arts education, and community outreach. The Kimmel Center campus is comprised of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center), the Academy of Music (owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association), and the University of the Arts’ Merriam Theater. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is the season sponsor of the Kimmel Center’s 2015-2016 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.
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For a PDF version of this press release, please click here.