Concert History

April 62024

Quinquagenerians

Hirshhorn Museum’s Ring Auditorium – the Hirshhorn Museum’s 50th anniversary, which anticipates the 21st Century Consort’s 50th season in 2024-25, is the impetus for a program featuring mid-20th century classics paired with new compositions, paralleling the exhibition’s art. Over the following season, plan an extended celebration of these two redoubtable institutions of contemporary art and music reaching the half-century mark. For the Consort, it will be an opportunity to revisit works the ensemble has championed, along with new musical creations. Click here to get your free general seating ticket(s) from the Hirshhorn.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Lukas Foss: Time Cycle “We’re Late”
Jessie Montgomery: Rhapsody #1a
Lukas Foss: Time Cycle “When the Bells Justle”
Jessie Montgomery: Rhapsody #1b
Lukas Foss: Time Cycle “Sechzehnter Januar”
Jessie Montgomery: Rhapsody #2
Lukas Foss: Time Cycle “O Mensch, Gib Acht”
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

January 202024

Singular Beauty

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill – inspired by the Hirshhorn exhibition of work by Simone Leigh, Jamaican/American artist and U.S. representative to the 2022 Venice Biennale, with soprano soloist Lucy Shelton.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Jesse Montgomery: Voodoo Dolls
Hannah Kendall: Glances / I Don’t Belong Here
Mikhail Johnson: Praise the Mother of Jamaican Art
Tania Leon: Parajota Delate
Shawn Okpebholo: CryptOlogiE
Mikhail Johnson: Si Di Staar Deh
Jeanne Lee/Lucy Shelton: Angel Chile
Mikhail Johnson: Pasa Pasa
Eleanor Alberga: Jamaican Medley
Jon Deak: The Jury (poetry by Rhina Espaillat)

December 22023

Disappearing Landscapes

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill – a program inspired by the Hirshhorn exhibition of “Purple,” an environmentally-focused installation by pioneering British, Black artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah, with the world premiere of a climate-conscious Christmas concert-drama by Jon Deak.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Eleanor Alberga: Glacier
Arvo Pärt: Fratres
Olly Wilson: A City Called Heaven (complete)
Jon Deak: Ingmar and the Bear, a Tale for Our Time (world premiere)

October 282023

Doppelgangers

Hirshhorn Museum’s Ring Auditorium – a view of the HMSG exhibition “A Window Suddenly Opens: Contemporary Photography in China” through a musical lens, and an unhinged nod to Halloween, too.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Bright Sheng: Angel Fire
Yao Chen: Five Colors
Wang Jie: One Movement for Cello (world premiere)
Pascal Le Boeuf: Snapshots
Shih-hui Chen: Twice Removed
Bobby Ge: Doppelganger Streets
Wang Jie: The Night When You See Again (revision premiere)

September 162023

DAVID FROOM: echoes, resonance and remembrance

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill – a heartfelt tribute to the late composer, educator, and 21st Century Consort board member, with Thomas Meglioranza, baritone soloist.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

David Froom: Quintet
David Froom: Ribbons
David Froom: Saxophone Quartet (Project Fusion Saxophone Quartet)
Jeffrey Mumford: Resonant Echoes
Robert Gibson: Prayer
David Froom: Amachai Songs

April 292023

Echoes of Earth Day

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 3rd and A St. SE – one week after the April 22nd celebration, a musical echo that is environmentally sound

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Sebastian Currier: Whispers
Juri Seo: Suite
Wang Jie: Sonata for the Other Shore (U.S. premiere)
Valerie Coleman: Danza de la Mariposa
George Crumb: Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale)

February 042023

Sound Shards

Hirshhorn Museum’s Ring Auditorium – music associated with Mark Bradford’s “Pickett’s Charge”

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Jesse Montgomery: Peace
Evan Chambers: The Old Burying Ground
Stephen Jaffe: Tableaux (world premiere)
Olly Wilson: A City Called Heaven II
Nkeiru Okoye: 1861
Mark Kuss: Ares (world premiere)

December 032022

A Christmas Ghost Story

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 3rd & A St. SE

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Eleanor Alberga: Dancing with the Shadow
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge

2022October 1

Threnody

Hirshhorn Museum’s Ring Auditorium – music by women composers inspired by the Hirshhorn Museum’s exhibition of the same name featuring work from the collection by women artists

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Tatev Amiryan: Tristesse
Susan Kander: And Then Not
Elena Ruehr: Klein Suite
David Froom: Lamentations for the City
Stacey Garrop: Pieces of Sanity
Alexandra Gardner: The Way of Ideas
Tansy Davies: Dark Ground
Juri Seo: Respiri

2022June 25

“SONIC SOLSTICE CELEBRATION”

Combining music, language and sound, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams’ 75-minute masterpiece takes us on a “journey through the physical, cultural and spiritual landscapes of the Arctic.” An ensemble of strings, percussionists, voices and electronic sounds bring to life this extraordinary work.

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John Luther Adams: Earth and the Great Weather

2022April 09

“Perpendicular Expression”

Hilary Tann: In the Enchantment (World Premiere)
Carlos Simon: Be Still and Know
Eleanor Alberga: Dancing with the Shadow
Paul Schoenfield: High Rock Ballet
Paul Schoenfield: Sextet (Premiere of revised version)

2022February 05

“Count the Ways”

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Jessie Montgomery: Duo
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski: Musica a Quattro
Juri Seo: #Three
Carlos Simon: Move It
Hannah Kendall: Tan-Tan
Stephen Jaffe: Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (World Premiere)

2021December 04

“Color Wheel”

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Eric Moe: Grand Prismatic
Tansy Davies: Small Black Stone
David Froom: Shades of Red
Alexandra Gardner: Electric Blue Pantsuit
Luke Carlson: Spectra
Elena Ruehr: Red
Jeffrey Mumford: amid fleeting pockets of billowing radiance
Jennifer Higdon: Pale Yellow, Fiery Red (Piano Trio)

2021October 09

“Elegy”

This program features the return of the wonderful soprano Catherine Gardner in performances of the late James Primosch’s “Waltzing the Spheres” and Stephen Albert’s “To Wake the Dead.” We’ll also do James Willey’s “Three Pieces in Memory of Stephen Albert (Pensivity; Bonkers; Dawn)”, Arthur Cunningham’s “This by dying” and Eric Santos “Consolation.”
Read the printed program now for this concert.

Erik Santos: Consolation
Arthur Cunningham: This by dying
James Primosch: Waltzing the Spheres
James Willey: Three Pieces in Memory of Stephen Albert
Eugene O’Brien: Elegy to the Spanish Republic (World Premiere)
Stephen Albert: To Wake the Dead

2020October 16

“ S p a c e d O u t ”

This concert was recorded on October 16, 2020, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Jeffrey Mumford: An Expanding Distance of Multiple Voices
Carlos Simon: Between Worlds I
Zosha Di Castri: La Forma della Spazio
Carlos Simon: Between Worlds II
Jennifer Jolley: How to be a Deep Thinker in LA
Carlos Simon: Between Worlds IV
John Luther Adams: The Light that Fills the World

2020April 18

“A Time for…”

Note: Due to Covid19 restrictions this concert is cancelled.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capital Hill (301 A St SE, Washington, DC 20003)

Paul Dessau: Guernica
Eugene O’Brien: Elegy to the Spanish Republic (premiere)
Conlon Nancarrow: Prelude and Blues
Kevin Puts: And Legions Will Rise
Roberto Gerhard: Three Impromptus
George Crumb: Ancient Voices of Children (50th anniversary of the work)

2020March 21

“H2O (Water Music)”

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Ring Auditorium
6:00 Concert (5:00 pre-concert discussion)

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Tan Dun: Water Music
Kati Agocs: A la Claire Fountaine
Stella Sung: Dance of the White Lotus Under the Sliver Moon
Luciano Berio: Circles

2020February 22

“Time’s Up”

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capital Hill (301 A St SE, Washington, DC 20003)

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Gyorgy Ligetti: Poeme Sympthonique for 100 Metronomes
Sebastion Currier: Variations on Time and Time Again
Elliot Carter: Tempo e Tempi
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

2019December 21

“Round About Midnight”

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capital Hill (301 A St SE, Washington, DC 20003)

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Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales (not in program order)
George Crumb: Eine Kleine Mitternacht Musik
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski: Music a Quattro
Evan Chambers: Firehose Reel
Helen Grime: Snow and Snow
Pete Seeger: The Bells of Rhymney
Paul Mealor: Silent Night
David Froom: Violinetude (Eine Kleine Kleinmusik)
Hilary Tann: ….Slate, Blue-Gray
Paul Mealor: Ubi Caritus

2019November 09

“Time Out of Mind”

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capital Hill (301 A St SE, Washington, DC 20003)

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Corey Dundee: Convoluted Reasoning
Sebastion Currier: Brainstorm
Gemma Peacocke: Amygdala
Chen Yi: Memory
Sofia Gubaidulina: Garten von Freuden ynd Traurigkeiten
Robert Paterson: The Thin Ice of Your Fragile Mind
Jon Deak: Moody Melody
Melinda Wagner: Four Settings

2019April 13

“Black Angels”

A harrowing and formative period for many in America, 1965-1975 is the subject of SAAM’s exhibition “America and the Vietnam War.” The Consort mounts a musical corollary with works that speaks to the tenor of the times and the themes that still radiate from them.

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James Primosch: Times Like These
Susan Botti: River Spirits
Kim Ngoc: Open House
Christopher Theofanidis: The World is Aflame
George Crumb: Black Angels

2019February 16

“All You Need is Love”

Well, maybe it’s not ALL you need; a little music is also good. For Valentine’s Day, the Consort digs deep to find contemporary classical music that explores the subject of romance viewed from multiple vantage points, in a program that ends with a Valentine surprise.

In light of recent and potential “circumstances beyond their control” effecting the Smithsonian, you may not be entirely surprised to learn that the Consort’s February 16th concert won’t be happening at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Instead the beautiful St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capital Hill has generously agreed to be the venue for “All You Need Is Love.”

We’re very much looking forward to it and to seeing you there!

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Melinda Wagner: Romanza with Faux Variations
Jeffrey Mumford: An Evolving Romance
Maurice Wright: Cantata
Scott Wheeler: Serenata
Hilary Purrington: Mean Reds
Nicolas Maw: La Vita Nuova

2018December 08

“Between Worlds”

Bill Traylor is one of the most celebrated American self-taught artists, whose life spanned slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the Great Migration and foreshadowed the era of Civil Rights, offering a rare perspective to the large story of America. The Consort’s music probes subjects and stories that inhabit Traylor’s remarkable work.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Special Event: Film maker Paul H. Moon’s film of Jon Deak’s “The Passion of Scrooge, or a Christmas Carol” will receive a premiere screening, free to the public, at 3:30 PM in McEvoy Auditorium prior to the concert.

View an introductory video now for this premiere.

Carlos Oliver Simon: Lickety Split
Isai Rabiu: Freedom
Corey Dundee: Migration Miniatures
David Baker: Clarinet Sonata
Frederic Rzewski: Down by the Riverside
TJ Anderson: Gospels, Serenades, and Vamp
Evan Chambers: Come Down Heavy!

2018December 08

Scrooge Opera Film Premiere

Special Event: Film maker Paul H. Moon’s film of Jon Deak’s “The Passion of Scrooge, or a Christmas Carol” will receive a premiere screening, free to the public, at 3:30 PM in McEvoy Auditorium prior to the concert.

View an introductory video now for this premiere.

Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge, or a Christmas Carol

2018October 20

“Sites Unheard”

A sly musical take on the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition of artist Trevor Paglen, who makes the invisible world visible via photography and video, journalism, geo-politics, and astronautical engineering, documenting the infrastructures of American surveillance. The Consort surveils music by a select database of extant American composers.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Annie Gosfield: Lost Signals and Drifting Satellites
Frederik Rzewski: Winnsboro Cottonmill Blues
Gemma Peacocke: Lumen
Robert Paterson: Star Crossing
Robert Gibson: Night Music
Jon Deak: Greetings from 1984
David Froom: Hidden Motives

2018April 21

Memory Lane

The exhibition “Do Ho Suh: Almost Home” highlights the artist’s physical manifestation of memory, reckoning with ideas of personal history, cultural traditions, and belief systems in the contemporary world. Two new works will be presented, and soprano Bora Yoon will be heard in selections from Sarah Kirkland Snider’s unforgettable mega-cycle.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Chen Yi: Tunes from My Home
Sarah Kirkland Snider: Songs from the Unremembered
Bora Yoon: New multi-media work with videographer Paul Moon
Paul Schoenfield: Gloria’s Century (Premiere)

2018February 17

Lenny’s Legacy

SAAM’s contribution to the city-wide Bernstein Centennial celebration, with repertoire including the Clarinet Sonata and other works by Bernstein along with Foss, Rorem and other leading composer/performers. Soprano Alice Teyssier will make her Consort debut.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Lukas Foss: For Lenny
Leonard Bernstein: Clarinet Sonata
Lukas Foss: Time Cycle
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
Ned Rorem: The Unquestioned Answer
Kate Soper: The Crito (after Plato)
Leonard Bernstein: Prelude, Fugue and Riffs

2017December 16

An Evening of Carols

The Consort undertakes the performance and filming by videographer Paul H. Moon of Jon Deak’s redemptive tale at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill (301 A St., SE.)

Be sure to note this change of venue in your schedule!

The holiday masterpiece, featuring William Sharp, is paired with Benjamin Britten’s beloved work for harp and children’s choir featuring voices from the Washington National Cathedral children’s choirs.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge or A Christmas Carol

2017November 04

Howling at the Moon

Mexican artist influenced by Picasso; shared common interests with younger American artists including Jackson Pollock and Adolph Gottlieb, who were drawn to indigenous art, mythical themes, and increasingly non-representational imagery, and who grappled with the anxieties of World War II. Tamayo’s fierce and symbolic animal paintings and artworks evoking celestial themes from the 1940s are a special focus of the exhibition. Featuring Soprano Lucy Shelton.

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Mario Lavista: Cuaderno de Viaje
Shulamit Ran: Moon Songs
Missy Mazzoli: Magic with Everyday Objects
Gheorghe Costinescu: Nine Portraits from the Wild
Gabriela Ortiz: Vitrales de Ambar

2017September 23

Lumia

As early as 1919, well before the advent of consumer television and video technology, Thomas Wilfred began experimenting with light as his primary artistic medium, developing the means to control and project colorful, luminous forms that have been compared to the aurora borealis. A luminous program for two pianos with Lisa Emenheiser and Lura Johnson.

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John Corigliano: Kaleidoscope
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
Claude Debussy: Blanc et Noir
William Bolcom: Garden of Eden
Witold Lutoslawski: Paganini Variations

2017March 25

Color School

A musical reflection of the Washington DC Color School painter Gene Davis,
featuring music by minimalist, synesthetic and Washington DC composers.

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Jessica Krash: Dangerous Curves
Robert Gibson: Twelve Poems
David Froom: Nightsongs
John Chowning: Voices
Nicolas Maw: Ghost Dances

2017February 04

Stone Dancing

Inspired by the SAAM exhibition of work by Isamu Noguchi, the great Japanese/
American sculptor and furniture and set designer. Featuring music from ballets
with sets designed by Noguchi.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

John Cage: The Seasons
Elliott Carter: Sonata for Cello and Piano
John Williams: Air and Simple Gifts
Toru Takemitsu: Itinerant
Arnold Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra

2016December 17

Museum Music

A celebration of two museums: the reinstallation of the SAAM Folk Art Galleries,
and the opening of the new national Museum of African American History and
Culture, along with the return of a season favorite, Jon Deak’s “The Passion of
Scrooge.”

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Hannah Lash: Folk Songs
David Baker: Heritage: A Tribute to Great Clarinetists
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge or a Christmas Carol

2016October 22

Election Special

The Consort’s traditional, topical, election-year program. This time featuring
music of women composers and noted businessman Charles Ives.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Mark Rimple: Sonata Malcontento
Andrea Clearfield: Gaia
Joan Tower: Amazon
Charles Ives: Majority
Charles Ives: Trio

2016April 30

Imaginary Landscapes

Paul Schoenfield: Cafe Music
John Cage: Imaginary Landscapes II
Stephen Albert: Distant Hills Coming Nigh Part I
Shulamit Ran: Mirage
Stephen Albert: Distant Hills Coming Nigh Part II

2016March 12

Icons

Andrea Clearfield: Convergence
George Crumb: Voice of the Whale
James Primosch: Icons
Joseph Schwantner: Sparrows (Mary Mackenzie)

2016February 06

Crosscurrents

John Adams: Hallelujah Junction (Lucy Shelton, soprano)
Luciano Berio: Circles
Eugene O’Brien: Close Harmony (Lisa Emenheiser and Audrey Andrist)
Bela Bartok: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion

2015December 05

The Passion of Scrooge

Paul Schoenfield: Six Improvisations on Hassidic Melodies
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge (William Sharp, Baritone)

2015November 07

Beyond Beauty

David Froom: Fantasy Dances
Caroline Shaw: in manus tuas
Nicholas Maw: Roman Canticle
Nicholas Maw: The Old King’s Lament
Stephen Jaffe: Homage to the Breath

2015April 18

Worlds Away

Reflecting on works from the exhibition The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi and those of other artists who immigrated to America, the consort celebrates their artistic and musical contributions to the cultures of this country and the world. Featuring soprano Lucy Shelton in Unsuk Chin’s “Acrostic Wordplay-Seven Scenes from Fairy Tales” and a variety of works by composers from all corners of the globe.

Toru Takemitsu: And Then I Knew ’twas Wind
Nicholas Maw: Roman Canticle
Kamran Ince: Hammer Music
Bright Sheng: My Other Song
Unsuk Chin: Acrostic Wordplay – Seven Scenes from Fairy Tales

2015February 21

New York Nights

Inspired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s extensive collection of New York cityscapes, this program features the world premiere of the complete “Algebra of Night,” Eugene O’Brien’s setting of New York and Night themed poetry sung by mezzo-soprano Deanne Meek. Charles Wuorinen’s epic musical evocation of the metropolis, Charles Wuorinen ode to the city, and a surprise encore follow.

Eugene O’Brien: Algebra of Night
Robert Paterson: Star Crossing
Charles Wuorinen: New York Notes

2014December 06

A Christmas Carol

The return by popular demand of Jon Deak’s Dickensian classic of the season, with baritone William Sharp in his unforgettable role as Ebenezer Scrooge, preceded by Martin Goldsmith’s reading of another holiday favorite by Dylan Thomas interspersed among George Crumb’s etherial evocation of Giotto’s Christmas frescoes.

Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales
George Crumb: Little Suite for Christmas
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge or a Christmas Carol

2014October 25

Aviary

The Consort celebrates the exhibition The Singing and the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art with flights of musical imagination. The program features soprano Carman Pelton singing avian-obsessed music from the late 14th century and the past hundred years, a tribute to birds of all feathers.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Ars Subtilior: Bird Pieces
Oliver Messiaen: Selected works
Henri Dutilleux: Blackbird
Thomas Albert: Thirteen Ways

2014April 26

Just Folk

The Consort closes the season as it began, celebrating two Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibitions in one concert: 20th century American Realism from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection with works by Edward Hopper and others, and the upcoming, colorful, socially-minded folk art of Ralph Fasanella: Lest We Forget, in a program inspired by the artist’s explorations and reflections of American society.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Shulamit Ran: Perfect Storm
Luciano Berio: Folk Songs
Evan Chambers: Now Winter, Wi’ His Cloudy Brow
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring

2014February 15

Tango Amor

A synchronized celebration of Valentine’s Day and the SAAM exhibition “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art” with a complete performance of Frederick Rzwski’s monumental setting of the iconic Chilean protest song, The Citizens United Will Never Be Defeated, balanced by romantic and Tango-tinged music by Oswaldo Golijov, David Froom and Paul Schoenfield.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Frederick Rzwski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Oswaldo Golijov: Omaramor
David Froom: Two Yeats Songs
Paul Schoenfield: Dark Eyes

2013December 07

Like the Dickens

Back by popular demand! The return of Jon Deak’s irresistible, hilarious and moving monodrama and holiday classic, The Passion of Scrooge or A Christmas Carol, featuring baritone William Sharp.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

David Biedenbender: Awakening
John Cage: Living Room Music
David Froom: Flying High
Paul Schoenfield: Beulah
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge or a Christmas Carol

2013July 08

New Sounds for a Timeless Space

The 21st Century Consort, conducted by Christopher Kendall with guest soprano Mary Mackenzie, guest ensemble the Folger Consort, and members of the Cathedral Choirs perform music of our time, written to be played at the landmark Washington National Cathedral. Music by Stephen Albert (“Cathedral Music”), James Primosch (“Sacred Songs and Meditations”) and Christopher Patton (“From Darkness to Light”) all address the magnificent reaches of space and sound in this soaring space.

Stephen Albert: Cathedral Music
James Primosch: Sacred Songs and Meditations
Christopher Patton: Out of Darkness

2013April 20

Dance the Night Away

Music that takes us from the darkest hours of night to the dancing light of dawn, in a program calculated for challenge and choreographed to move. George Crumb’s staged, classic environmental manifesto (protesting human incursion into the moon’s ecosystem of myth) is companion to dance music from a variety of composers’ for the dance of our imaginations.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Derek Bermel: Mulatash Stomp
Eugene O’Brien: Algebra of Night
David Froom: Dance to the Whistling Wind
Snorri Sigfus Birgisson: Dance for Solo Cello
George Crumb: Night of the Four Moons
Donald Crockett: Dawn Dance (Premiere)

2013February 23

How it Begins

An epic pairing of two major 20th century works, both settings of surreal texts sung by soprano Lucy Shelton: Arnold Schoenberg’s seminal Pierrot Lunaire, with Mime Mark Jastor as Pierrot, and To Wake the Dead, Stephen Albert’s earthy and decidedly un-surreal music to passages from James Joyce’s Finnigan’s Wake, with Elegy, Bruce MacCombie’s moving tribute to Albert, and ours to MacCombie.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Arnold Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire
Bruce MacCombie: Elegy
Stephen Albert: To Wake the Dead

2012December 15

A Christmas Carol

Back by popular demand, Jon Deak’s marvelous and theatrical setting of Charles Dickens’ seasonal classic, The Passion of Scrooge or A Christmas Carol is joined by another English masterpiece, Benjamin Britten’s incomparable A Ceremony of Carols, to bring the holiday spirit to SAAM.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge or A Christmas Carol

2012December 01

Music for Civil War

Celebrating the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition The Civil War and American Art, the Consort traverses three distinct, multi-media treatments of beloved tunes from the American Civil War, by William Brehm, Charles Ives and Stephen Rush, along with Igor Stravinsky’s music theater masterpiece.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

William Brehm: Civil War Images and Echoes(Premiere)
Charles Ives: The Alcotts from Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord”
Stephen Rush: U.S. Grant – a Fluxkit Opera
Igor Stravinsky: The Soldier’s Tale

2012October 27

Election Special: Music for Uncivil Discourse

In honor of the November elections, the Consort circles the American democratic process with Fred Rzewski’s paean to Latin liberty in The People United Will Never be Defeated, Jon Deak’s setting of Orwell in Greetings from 1984, and, to remind us of our own revolution, Peter Maxwell Davies’ over-the-top, semi-staged portrait of George III, Eight Songs for a Mad King.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Frederick Rzewski: Selections from The People United Will Never Be Defeated
Jon Deak: Greetings from 1984
Peter Maxwell Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King

2012May 05

Music of Games

“The Art of Video Games” is one of the first exhibitions to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. Who better to explore and comment on this new realm than SAAM’s Consort in residence?.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Peter Buffett: Video Music
Laura Karpman: Common Tone
John Adams: Road Movies
Dan Visconti: The Clear Light
John Chowning: Voices
Paul Schoenfield: Four Music Videos

2012February 11

Multiplicity Multiplicity

The concept of making multiple images from one matrix has been integral to printmaking, yet each impression is considered to be an original of art. Consider the musical and visual series of contemporary impressions as explored by these American composers.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Luke DuBois/Paul Moon: Multimedia Work
Mark Kuss: Power Synth
Robert Beaser: Variations
David Froom: Colors Passing Through Us
David Crockett: Wet Ink
James Matheson: Falling

2011December 03

. . . Hall of Wonders

Charles Dickens’ marvelous, supernatural Christmas story, in the irresistible setting by American composer Jon Deak, is also an indictment of industrialization. A 19th century, romantic sensibility pervades Dickens’ countryman Nicholas Maw’s lush piano trio.

(EXHIBITION: THE GREAT AMERICAN HALL OF WONDERS)

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Nicholas Maw: Piano Trio
Jon Deak: The Passion of Scrooge

2011November 05

The Great American . . .

Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson were the voices of 19th century American transformation. Their poetry and period are points of departure for these compositions of our own time.

(EXHIBITION: THE GREAT AMERICAN HALL OF WONDERS).

Read the printed program now for this concert.

John Harbison: Songs America Loves to Sing
William Brehm, Mario Davidovsky, Joan Tower, Richard Markowitz: A Whitman Sampler
David Froom: Emerson Songs
Miguel Del Aguila: Clocks

2011April 16

Carpe Diem

Taking Time for what it is: nature’s way of keeping everything from happening at once, in this music reflecting artist Robert Rauchenberg’‘s works at American Art.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Joan Panetti: The Instant Gathers
John Cage: The Seasons
Jordan Kuspa: Time Crunch
Paul Moon: Projections
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

2011February 11

Fable

Artist Alexis Rockman depicts the natural world with virtuosity and wit while exploring concerns about the world’s fragile ecosystems. The Consort performs fantastic, ferocious, futuristic music for Rockman’s “A Fable for Tomorrow.”

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Igor Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
Paul Schoenfield: Cowbird Quartet
Jennifer Furr: Imaginary Animals
Bruce MacCombie: Light Upon the Turning Leaf
Jacob Druckman: Lamia

2010December 04

Unruly Landscapes

Photographer John Gossage focused on the the non-heroic landscape of our everyday surroundings, revealing the grace and elegance in places caught between the urban and natural worlds. The exhibition is the point of departure for a musical exploration of horizons near and far.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Bright Sheng: The Stream Flows
David Froom: Piano Trio “Grenzen”
Charles Ives: Thoreau (from Concord Sonata)
Donald Crockett: to be sung on the water
Alan Mandel: Steps to Mt. Olympus
Donald Crockett: Horn Quintet “La Barca”

2010October 23

As American As . . .

Norman Rockwell introduced unlikely heroes in his one-frame vignettes about America that celebrate ordinary people, love of country and the value of family. The Consort salutes the exhibition with musical apple pie and adventure.

Read the printed program now for this concert.

Samuel Barber: Dover Beach
Jordan Kuspa: Fantastic Stuff: A Suite for Viola
John Deak: Wager at the El Dorado Saloon
William Brehm: Inaugural Suite
Mark Kuss: My Favorite Things
Aaron Copeland: Old American Songs / Music from films

2010May 08

Characters

The universal language of music plays with the language of letters, their form, meaning, and creation. Tonight includes the world premiere of Thomas Albert’s setting of Amy Young’s poetry, with projection design by Wendall Harrington.

Mark Kuss: My Favorite Things
Unsuk Chin: Acrostic Wordplay—Seven Scenes from Fairy Tales
Steve Reich: Typing Music
Thomas Albert: Characters

2010March 13

Flora and Fauna

Four fantastical forays into the plant and animal life of our minds.

Kaija Saariaho: Six Japanese Gardens
Scott Wheeler: Dragon Mountain
Evan Chambers: The Barnacle and the Nautilus
Robert Parris: The Book of Imaginary Beings

2009December 05

Currier and Ives

The Consort performs the work of two New England composers who, a century apart, have contributed to the American Musical landscape.

Sebastian Currier: Scarlatti Cadences; Brainstorm; Verge
Charles Ives: Piano Trio

2009October 24

Nicholas

A tribute to the late composer Nicholas Maw, soprano Lucy Shelton, baritone William Sharp, and Consort members perform Maw’s intensely lyrical music.

Nicholas Maw: Head of Orpheus; Ghost Dances; Roman Canticle; La Vita Nuova

2009April 04

Music Of Magic And Light

Hesketh, Kenneth: Aphorisms
Froom, David: Three Love Songs on Poetry of Sue Standing
Feldman, Morton: Projection I; Four Songs to e.e. cummings
Druckman, Jacob: Glint
Saariaho, Kaijo: Changing Light
Welcher, Dan: Spirit Realms
Doppmann, William: Spring Songs

2009February 21

Recalling Valentines

Druckman, Jacob: Valentine
Maw, Nicholas: Voice of Love
David Froom: Aubade
Thomas, Augusta Read: Love Twitters
Richard Wernick: Poison Tree
Krash, Jessica: Valentine

2009February 21

Recalling Valentines

Druckman, Jacob: Valentine
Maw, Nicholas: Voice of Love
David Froom: Aubade
Thomas, Augusta Read: Love Twitters
Richard Wernick: Poison Tree
Krash, Jessica: Valentine

2008December 06

Natural Affinities

Copland, Aaron: Fantasy
Saariaho, Kaija: Petals
Tower, Joan: And They’re Off/Holding a Daisy/Big Sky
Thomas, Augusta Read: a circle around the sun/ Moon Jig

2008October 25

October Surprise

Moe, Eric: Three Ways to Relieve Tension
Deak, Jon: Lucy and the Count
Kuss, Mark: Fear (Premiere)
Gruber, Hk: Frankenstein

2008April 05

Music Of Color And Light

Chambers, Evan: Rothko-Tobey Continuum
Larsen, Libby: By a Departing Light
Wourinen, Charles: Iridule
Maccombie, Bruce: Color and Time
Froom, David: Lightscapes
Primosch, James: Dark the Star (Premiere)

2008February 23

Swan To Stone

Moss, Lawrence: The Swan
Deak, Jon: The Ugly Duckling
Albert, Stephen: TreeStone

2007December 08

A Child’s Christmas In Wales

Thomas, Dylan: A Child’s Christmas in Wales
Warlock, Peter: Balulalow
Crumb, George: A Little Suite for Christmas; Frederico’s Little Songs for children
Schoenfield, Paul: Slovakian Children’s Songs

2007October 27

Imaginary Landscapes

Ives, Charles: Patriotic Songs; Three Landscape Songs
Krash, Jessica: Undisclosed Locations; Four Lives Cut Short
Behrman, David: Protest, 1917-2004
Ran, Shulamit: Mirage
Cage, John: In a Landscape
Kellogg, Daniel: Grand Canyon Hymns

2007April 07

Games People Play

Albert, Thomas: Illuminations (Premiere)
Alexander, Peter: Headlock
Bolcom, William: 2nd Sonata for Violin and Piano
Bolling, Claude: Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio
Fry, James: A Little Cartoon Music (Premiere)
Horne, David: Spike
Krash, Jessica: Her and Him (Premiere)

2007February 03

Error Of The Moon

Moravec, Paul: Tempest Fantasy
Wernick, Adam: Hymns, Sighs & Shadows
Botti, Susan: Talaio: Desdemona

2006December 03

Sound Objects

Morrill, Dexter: Fantasy Quintet for Piano/Electronic Sounds
Patton, Christopher: Eleven-ninety-nine
Primosch, James: From A Book of Hours
Schoenfield, Paul: Elegy, Rag and Boogie
Wernick, Richard: Sonata for Cello and Piano

2006October 21

American Retrospeculative

Cage, John: Suite for Toy Piano in Five Movements
Froom, David: Amichai Songs (Premiere)
Ives, Charles &Amp; Others: Song-set: Charles Ives and his Sources
Varese, Edgard: Poeme Electronique

2006April 29

Near Myth

Louis Ballard: Four American Indian Piano Preludes
Richard Wernick: In Praise of Zephyrus
Jon Deak: Rapunzel
Harrison Birtwistle: Ring a Dumb Carillon
Thomas Flaherty: When Time Was Young

2006February 11

Time And Memory: Celebrating The Hirshhorn’s Hiroshi Sugimoto Exhibition

Scott Wheeler: Dream Palace (world premiere)
John Cage: Cheap imitation, String Quartet
David Froom: Down to a Sunless Sea

2005December 10

4 Hands, 18 Feet

Kari Henrik Juusela: Natai Boogie
Joan Tower: Stepping Stones
Witold Lutoslawski: Pagannini Variations
Frances Poulenc: Sonata for Two Pianos
John Adams: Hallelujah Junction

2005November 05

Homage

Arthur Benjamin: Le Tombeau de Ravel
Paul Schoenfield: Camp
Nicholas Maw: Personnae #VI
Stephen Jaffe: Homage to the Breath

2005June 30

Visual Music

A series of four summer programs in connection with the Hirshhorn Museum’s exhibition “Visual Music,” including premieres by Thomas Albert, Christopher Patton and Bruce MacCombie and works by Messiaen, Schoenberg and others.

2005April 16

Expanding Universe

Robert Gibson: Four Haiku
Igor Stravinsky: Three Japanese Lyrics
Toru Takamitsu: Between Tides
Kenji Bunch: Paraphraseology
Joseph Schwantner: Sparrows

2005March 13

Time For Three Plus One

Music by Paul Schoenfield and Time for Three

2005January 22

Homage

Nicholas Maw: Narrations
Stephen Jaffe: Homage to the Breath
Arthur Benjamin: Le Tombeau de Ravel
Paul Schoenfield: Camp Songs

2004October 16

Flute Of The Moon

Randall Woolf: Quicksilver
Fred Cohen: That Which Binds Us
Lowell Liebermann: Flute Sonata
Sebastian Currier: Night Time
Joseph Schwantner: Wild Angles of the Open Hills

2004October 16