Department of Music

Members of Ekmeles lead a discussion and workshop on new music for voices on Thursday February 20th, 2014 at 3:30pm in Old Cabell Hall room 107.  The event is free and open to the public.

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The Unversiity of Virginia McIntire Department of Music presents a concert by Ekmeles on Friday February 21st, at Christ Episcopal Church.  This free concert is part of a multi day residency as part of the Composition & Computer Technologies program at the University of Virginia.  This residency is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost of the Arts.

Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works, and gems of the historical avant garde.
 
[ɛk'mɛlɛs] \ek'meles\
In Ancient Greek music theory, an adjective used to describe tones of indefinite pitch and intervals with complex ratios, tones "not appropriate for musical usage." In New York City, a new vocal ensemble breathing life into those disallowed tones, new and old.
 
Ekmeles—praised for their “extraordinary sense of pitch” by the New York Times, and called a “promising addition to the New York scene” by the New Yorker’s Alex Ross—is dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works, and gems of the historical avant garde. New York is home to a vibrant instrumental New Music scene, with a relative paucity of vocal music. Ekmeles was founded to fill the gap by presenting new a cappella repertoire for solo voices, and by collaborating with these instrumental ensembles.
 
Recent collaborations include the US Premiere of Beat Furrer's FAMA with Talea Ensemble, the US Premiere of Luigi Nono’s Quando Stanno Morendo with AMP New Music, and two concerts of 10 world premieres by Columbia University and New York University composers. Other performances include a program at Columbia University’s Italian Academy entitled Madrigals and Metamorphoses, two nights of Christopher Cerrone’s opera Invisible Cities with Red Light New Music, and a collaboration with violinist Mary Rowell of Knee Plays from Philip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach at Issue Project Room.
 
Director Jeffrey Gavett brings a hybrid vision to the group: he is an accomplished ensemble singer and performer of new works, and holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and Manhattan School of Music's Contemporary Performance Program. He has assembled a virtuoso group of colleagues with diverse backgrounds, ranging from the operatic stages of Europe to Anglican choirs of men and boys, which they bring to the unique challenges of this essential and neglected repertoire.
 
There are two free public events as part of this residency:

- Workshop: Thu Feb 20, 2014; 3:30pm; Old Cabell Hall room 107 - Members of Ekmeles lead a discussion and workshop on new music for voices.

- Concert: Fri Feb 21, 2014; 8pm; (Location TBA) - Members of Ekmeles perform new compositions by UVa graduate students.

Review of Ekmeles in The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/arts/music/the-ensemble-ekmeles-at-rou...