Westerlies Weekend in Seattle: Sept. 20-23

by Gabriela Tedeschi

The Westerlies are a Seattle-bred brass quartet that has gained national acclaim for their genre-defying chamber music. Now, they’re giving back to the community that raised and inspired them with Westerlies Fest: a four-day music festival in Seattle featuring student workshops and concert collaborations with local artists.

The New York-based quartet is made up of Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet with Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch on trombone. Mulherkar, Clausen, and de Koch are childhood friends from Seattle, and Rowlands (their newest member) was also born in Western Washington.

“The festival, for us, is an opportunity to feature all of the elements of what we do in their purest form as we envision them,” de Koch said. “Of course Seattle, being our hometown, seemed like the perfect place to bring together everything that we’ve gleaned from living in New York and traveling around the country performing.”

The festival runs Thursday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 23. During the day on Thursday and Friday, the Westerlies are speaking and performing in schools around Seattle, with an emphasis on teaching in underserved areas. On Saturday and Sunday, they are leading a workshop for high school and college age musicians at Seattle Pacific University.

All four evenings, the Westerlies are performing at different venues around Seattle with a diverse group of collaborators ranging from spoken word poets to jazz singers and music students of all levels and instruments. Learn more about the concerts below:

Poets Troy Osaki (left) and Azura Tyabji (right).

Troy Osaki and Azura Tyabji with The Westerlies
Thursday, Sept. 20, 7:30pm, Wing Luke Museum

In partnership with Youth Speaks Seattle, the Westerlies are inviting local spoken-word poets to perform alongside them. Music will be interspersed between poetry performances, and the quartet will also accompany two poems with original compositions.

“[This performance includes] a lot of exciting young voices from Seattle that we wanted to hear and we wanted to give a platform to,” Mulherkar said.

One poet is Troy Osaki, a friend of the Westerlies from Garfield High School who now serves as a Youth Speaks mentor. Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Azura Tyabji will also perform original works, as will Zora “Rainchild” Seboulisa and Esther Eidenberg-Noppe. Emphasizing identity and examining areas of inequality, these young artists use poetry as a tool for inspiring change in the world.


TORCH with The Westerlies
Friday, Sept. 21, 7:30pm, Nickerson Studios at Seattle Pacific University

Friday’s performance is really two concerts in one: a set from the Westerlies and a set from the Seattle-based chamber ensemble TORCH.

The group is comprised of trumpeter Brian Chin, clarinetist Eric Likkel, double bassist Steve Schermer, and percussionist Ben Thomas (who also plays vibraphone and bandoneon). Like the Westerlies, TORCH is known for combining the intellectual rigor of classical music with a genre-meshing sound. Chin is also the founder and artist director of the nonprofit arts organization Common Tone Arts, a partner for the festival.

“That night really features some of the best of Seattle’s contemporary classical scene,” Mulherkar said. “This is really an opportunity for us to bring what we got from New York and present it right alongside all the amazing music that’s going on in Seattle.”


Kate Davis (left) and Theo Bleckmann (right; photo by Lynne Harty).

Theo Bleckmann and Kate Davis with The Westerlies
Saturday, Sept. 22, 7:30pm, First Free Methodist Church

The Westerlies are joined by two acclaimed guest artists from New York: contemporary classical and jazz singer Theo Bleckmann and singer-songwriter Kate Davis.

The core of Bleckmann’s set will be “Songs of Refuge and Resistance,” a project that the Westerlies and Bleckmann developed this June while in residency at Yellow Barn, an international center for chamber music in Vermont. The project combines songs of refuge and protest pieces to highlight both music’s integral role in resistance movements and its ability to provide solace in the midst of turmoil.

Davis will perform a set of original works showcasing her warm, velvety vocals and inventive lyrics—including a Westerlies collaboration on her song “St. Joseph,” arranged by de Koch.


The Westerlies with Workshop Students
Sunday, Sept. 23, 4pm, Nickerson Studios at Seattle Pacific University

Sunday’s performance will serve as the culmination of the two-day student workshop the Westerlies are hosting for young musicians of all levels, styles, and instruments. The workshop will give students insight into the Westerlies’ unique approach to composition, improvisation, and ensemble practice.

“One thing that we’ve grown to be passionate about as an ensemble is improvising in a way that isn’t idiosyncratic to any genre,”  de Koch said. “The goal is to be able to introduce improvisation in a way that isn’t inhibited by any of the trappings of particular styles of music.”

The Westerlies also want to push young musicians to explore unusual instrument combinations, and to allow creative compatibility to overtake conventional ideas about ensemble work. Given their own history, the Westerlies know that good chemistry can lead to great music with any instrumentation.

“When we formed as a band, we didn’t form with the intention of being a brass quartet,” de Koch said. “We formed because we got along well as friends and admired one another’s personalities and musical tastes.”

At the concert on Sunday, students will perform in ensembles with the Westerlies, playing the music they create themselves through improvisation exercises.


Westerlies Fest runs Sept. 20 through Sept. 23. Thursday and Sunday’s performances are free, but reservations are recommended to guarantee admission. Student discounts and festival passes are available for Friday and Saturday’s concerts. For tickets and more information, click here.

New Music for March: Roomful of Teeth, Women in Music Marathon, and a Sequel to “Become Ocean”

by Maggie Molloy

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Second Inversion and the Live Music Project create a monthly calendar featuring contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in Seattle, the Eastside, Tacoma, and places in between! 

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Keep an eye out for our this flyer in concert programs and coffee shops around town. Feel free to download, print, and distribute it yourself! If you’d like to be included on this list, submit your event to the Live Music Project at least 6 weeks prior to the event and tag it with “new music.”

New Music Flyer - March 2018

 

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electroacoustic music, and sonic experiments. This month: sonic cinema, 12-tone touch guitar, microtonal MIDI, and pantonal piano poetry.
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

UW Modern Music Ensemble: Ludovic Morlot and Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
Ludovic Morlot leads the UW Modern Music Ensemble in a program of contemporary French works, including Tristan Murail’s spectral masterpiece Le Lac and the U.S. premiere of Betsy Jolas’ Wanderlied, with cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir as the soloist. Two of Morlot’s students conduct works by Pierre Boulez and Marc-André Dalbavie.
Thurs, 3/1, 7:30pm, Meany Theater | $10

On the Boards: ‘On Loving the Muse and Family’
Seattle bassist and composer Evan Flory-Barnes presents an evening of original music inspired by the late-night variety shows of the ’50s and ’60s, featuring performances with musicians from the True Loves, the Seattle Girls Choir, Industrial Revelation, the Teaching, and a full chamber orchestra.
Thurs-Sat, 3/1-3/3, 8pm, On the Boards | $15-$30
Sun, 3/4, 5pm, On the Boards |$15-$30

The Tudor Choir: Nico Muhly World Premiere
Cappella Romana presents the Tudor Choir performing the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Small Raine, inspired by the same ancient English tune as another piece on the program: John Taverner’s 16th-century Western Wind Mass.
Fri, 3/2, 8pm, St. Mark’s Cathedral | $39-$49

Sound of Late: Book of the Dark
Amidst a program ranging from Arvo Pärt’s mystical minimalism to Ruth Crawford Seeger’s grittily angular music, Sound of Late unveils the world premiere of Book of the Dark by American composer Alan Shockley.
Sat, 3/3, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $15

Second Inversion Women’s Day Marathon
Celebrate International Women’s Day with Second Inversion’s 24 hour marathon of new and experimental music by women composers. Tune in all day on March 8 to hear works by over 100 women who have helped shape, inspire, and expand the world of classical music, including Meredith Monk, Laura Kaminsky, Du Yun, Angélica Negrón, and many more.

Town Music: Roomful of Teeth
Experimental a cappella ensemble Roomful of Teeth combines yodeling, Broadway belting, Inuit throat singing, and other vocal traditions from around the world to craft a program of thrilling soundscapes that challenge traditional notions of vocal music.
Fri, 3/9, 7:30pm, Seattle First Baptist Church | $15-$20

TORCH: CD Release Concert
Contemporary chamber ensemble TORCH releases their first full-length album with a concert featuring the varied and vibrant sounds of their composer collective.
Sat, 3/10, 7:30pm, Alhadeff Studio at Cornish Playhouse | $10-$15

Women Who Score: HerStory
In honor of International Women’s Day weekend, HerStory celebrates some of music history’s most prolific and influential women composers with a performance of music by Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Louise Farrenc, and Libby Larsen. This special preview concert benefits the Women Who Score’s inaugural season in the Fall of 2018.
Sun, 3/11, 7pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $37

Pacific Northwest Ballet: Director’s Choice
PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal’s annual selection promises modern and experimental music paired with bold, beautiful choreography. PNB dancers perform to music by Francis Poulenc, Richard Einhorn, Gavin Bryars, and Thom Willems.
3/16-3/25, Various times, McCaw Hall | $37-$187

Seattle Pro Musica: Sounds & Sweet Airs
As part of a citywide celebration of William Shakespeare, Seattle Pro Musica performs choral settings of poetry and prose by the Bard of Avon—including world premieres from Northwest composers Jessica French, Don Skirvin, and Giselle Wyers.
Sat, 3/17, 7:30pm, Seattle First Baptist Church | $12-$28

Emerald City Music: In Blue…
Journey to the American South with this concert exploring the influence of blues music on American composers. Hear George Gershwin’s timeless Rhapsody in Blue performed on two pianos alongside music by Leonard Bernstein, Frederic Rzewski, and more.
Fri, 3/23, 8pm, 415 Westlake Ave (Seattle) | $45
Sat, 3/24, 7:30pm, The Minnaert Center (Olympia) | $10-$43

Baltic Centennial: 100 Years of Statehood
Seattle Choral Company, the Mägi Baltic Ensemble, and other Seattle choirs come together to celebrate 100 years of independence for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in a concert featuring 20th and 21st century music from the leading composers of the Baltic states.
Sat, 3/24, 8pm, St. Mark’s Cathedral | $5-$25

Messiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’
Composed in 1941 while captive in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, Olivier Messiaen’s sublime Quartet for the End of Time is one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century and a deeply spiritual work contemplating faith, time, and love. It is performed by Seattle new music luminaries Luke Fitzpatrick, Rose Bellini, James Falzone, and Jesse Myers.
Sun, 3/25, 2pm, St. Mark’s Cathedral | $15-$20

Deceptive Cadence: Celebrating Paul Taub’s 38 Years at Cornish
In celebration of Paul Taub’s decades-long career at Cornish, the flutist performs a program of 21st century works, including music by his late Cornish colleague Bern Herbolsheimer as well as a newly commissioned piece by alumna Beth Fleenor.
Sun, 3/25, 7pm, PONCHO Concert Hall | $5-$10

Seattle Symphony: John Luther Adams ‘Become Desert’
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams created an entire sea of sound with his illustrious Become Ocean, which received its world premiere at the Seattle Symphony in 2013. Now he’s back with a sequel: Become Desert.
Thurs, 3/29, 7:30pm, Benaroya Hall | $22-$122
Sat, 3/31, 8pm, Benaroya Hall | $22-$122

The Spontaneous Combustion New Music Festival in Seattle and Beyond

by Maggie Molloy

The Spontaneous Combustion New Music Festival is lighting up stages around Seattle this month with performances by the likes of Ashley Bathgate, Sandbox Percussion, The City of Tomorrow, and more.

Founded this year by composer Scott Anthony Shell, the festival begins in Seattle with a string of performances spanning from January 19 through February 1, with festival artists also touring through Portland and Eugene, Oregon, and cellist Ashley Bathgate continuing on down the California coast.

“I want this festival to be a performer-centric model rather than composer-centric, in that the performers can program their own repertoire and showcase music they are most comfortable performing,” Shell said. “I also wanted a wide range of genres to be represented within the field of contemporary classical music.”

The festival lineup features Delgani String Quartet, Orlando Cela, Hub New Music, Iktus Duo, Sandbox Percussion, the City of Tomorrow, and Ashley Bathgate. Many of the featured artists are prominent players from New York and the broader East Coast new music scene, and musically they span the gamut from contemporary classical to experimental and avant-garde.

“There are plenty of East Coast transplants and open-minded people on the West Coast so I think there is a receptive audience for new music, even by those unfamiliar with it,” Shell said.

This year’s event features composers ranging from 20th century greats like Lou Harrison, György Ligeti, and Alan Hovhaness to some of the 21st century’s top composers like Andy Akiho, Laura Kaminsky, Steve Reich, and Andrew Norman. And this year is only just the beginning.

“I want the festival to contribute towards the awareness and appreciation of this amazing art form through live performances of these incredible musicians,” Shell said. “I hope it can be an annual event where I would be able to also incorporate other educational tools with a focus on community outreach and community building.”

Let’s meet this year’s performers:

*Please note, dates listed below are for Seattle performances. Click here to explore dates for other cities on the festival tour.

Delgani String Quartet
Friday, Jan. 19, 8pm | Good Shepherd Chapel
This Northwest quartet performs a new work by Benjamin Krause inspired by the Oregon Cascade Range, from the ghostly lava fields to the glorious trees, craters, and crevices. Works by Alan Hovhaness and György Ligeti round out the program.


Orlando Cela
Sunday, Jan. 21, 3pm | Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
Orlando Cela is a Boston-based, Venezuelan-born flutist specializing in contemporary and experimental flute repertoire. For this performance, he explores every timbre and extended technique of the instrument through a virtuosic program featuring music by Roger Briggs, Bryan Ferneyhough, Jean-Patrick Besingrand, Mac Waters, and Robert Dickplus, one of his own original improvisations using Indian Classical music form.


Hub New Music
Monday, Jan. 22, 7:30pm | 18th & Union
With a unique instrumentation of flute, clarinet, violin, and cello, this Boston-based ensemble makes its Seattle debut at Spontaneous Combustion. Their program features a world premiere performance of Robert Honstein’s Soul Horse
, along with Laura Kaminsky’s The Full Range of Blue, a visceral work written in response to the aftermath of 9/11. The program finishes with David Drexler’s Forgotten At Dawn, a winner of the Spontaneous Combustion International Call for Scores.


Iktus Duo
Thursday, Jan. 25, 8pm | Good Shepherd Chapel
Flutist Hristina Blagoeva and percussionist Chris Graham team up for a dynamic program exploring an eclectic mix of styles within the contemporary classical genre, from the Eastern-inspired works of Lou Harrison to the wide-ranging musical musings of Joseph Pereira, Adam Vidiksis, James Romig, and Washington-based composer Bruce Hamilton.


Sandbox Percussion
Saturday, Jan. 27, 7pm | Music Center of the Northwest
A leading proponent of contemporary percussion music, Sandbox Percussion performs pivotal 20th century works and experimental 21st century works alike. For this performance, they lend their mallets to music by Steve Reich, Andy Akiho, Victor Caccese, Jonny Allen, Elliot Cooper Cole, and Thomas Kotcheff.


The City of Tomorrow
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 7:30pm | The Royal Room
The City of Tomorrow is an avant-garde wind quintet that performs contemporary classical and experimental music rooted in environmentalism and humanism. This particular performance explores spatial relationships through music, featuring custom lighting design by Alex Deahl and a graphic score by Seattle-based composer John Teske that is based on topographical maps, which the quintet will use as a basis for improvisation and movement.


Ashley Bathgate
Thursday, Feb. 1, 8pm | Rainier Arts Center
Perhaps best known as the cellist of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Ashley Bathgate is also an extraordinary soloist in her own right, constantly pushing the boundaries of traditional cello repertoire with her performances of contemporary, avant-garde, and experimental works. For this performance she plays works with and without electronics by Steve Reich, Andrew Norman, and many more. For a sneak preview of her playing, check out our in-studio video below of Bathgate performing Michael Gordon’s Light is Calling for cello and audio playback.


The Spontaneous Combustion New Music Festival is in venues across Seattle January 19 through February 1. Click here for tickets and more information on other festival dates and locations down the West Coast.