Festival Presences 2025 #6. Two Ensembles collaborate on a concert of World Premieres.
More details soon.
Wet Ink Ensemble premieres Second Nature by Eric Wubbels on the Lawrence University New Music Series.
Second Nature is a new concert-length music and video work from composer/performer and Wet Ink Ensemble Co-Director Eric Wubbels, an artist who “brings meticulous poise to his experimentalism,” and whose music, “with references to many traditions, sounds like nothing by any other composer” (The New York Times).
Written for and developed in long-term collaboration with Wet Ink Ensemble members Erin Lesser and Ian Antonio, Second Nature is an extended meditation on cycles of growth, decay, and regeneration, drawing on ancient, contemporary, and futurist perspectives, instruments, and technologies.
Wet Ink performs Kate Soper’s IPSA DIXIT at the Big Ears Festival.
Hailed as “a composer of trenchant, sometimes discomfiting power” (The Boston Globe), and praised for her “lithe voice and riveting presence” (The New York Times), composer/soprano Kate Soper creates works at the intersection of expressivity, intelligibility, and sense, with a focus on the wonderfully treacherous landscape of the human voice. Soper is a co-director and performer for Wet Ink, a New York-based new music ensemble dedicated to seeking out adventurous music across aesthetic boundaries. Soper will present Ipsa Dixit, an evening-length work of chamber music theater for voice, flute, violin, and percussion that explores music, language, and meaning through blistering ensemble virtuosity and extended vocal technique. Forged in the uniquely intense creative atmosphere of the “sublimely exploratory” Wet Ink Ensemble (The Chicago Reader) with stage direction by Ashley Kelly Tata, Ipsa Dixit represents the cutting edge of contemporary chamber music and vocal performance.
Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, Meredith Monk and members of her acclaimed Vocal Ensemble join forces with Alarm Will Sound for a night of works spanning her singular career, including Night, Realm Variations and the world premiere of The Five Jewels and Hands in the Dirt from Indra’s Net (instrumental suite), an all-orchestral adaptation of music from her latest evening-length performance work.
Composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music-theater works, films and installations, Meredith Monk is a pioneer in what is now called “extended vocal technique” and “interdisciplinary performance.” Celebrating her 60th Season of performing and creating, she has been hailed as one of National Public Radio’s 50 Great Voices and “one of America’s coolest composers.” She founded Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble in 1978 to expand her groundbreaking exploration of the human voice.
Alarm Will Sound performs Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy’s newest evening-length work, in which Dennehy explores the interplay of light and time across Ireland’s mercurial seasons of the year. Join us for a special midwinter evening in our beautifully-lit JL Greene Theatre for this magical and immersive orchestral performance.
From the composer:
The Latin name for Ireland was Hibernia which translates as ‘land of winter.’ I suppose the country seemed cold to the Romans. It seems cold to many, especially in July. In a way it is the quality of light that demarcates the seasons, from the shorter days of either grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer, longer but mercurial light of summer. I like this play between light and time, and it inspires this piece that plays with a connection between time (expanding and contracting temporal processes) and light (harmony, often overtone-hued). Occasionally, the resonance of the term ‘land of winter’—something perennially stuck in its last cycle—engenders a terrifying force in the piece (the linear push towards death, perhaps, or even a kind of climate endgame). Comfort and regeneration are found in the circular recurrences. Structurally, the piece is divided into twelve sections (which I consider as months) connecting to each other continuously. The piece starts in December, and culminates at the end of November, ready to start all over again in winter, as it were. An advent chorale by Bach lurks behind the surface occasionally, influencing the larger harmonic motions, and sometimes working as a generator of upper partials that remain on the musical surface after the chorale itself is erased. In the final movement, November, the chorale itself is gradually revealed in looping windows that create a new, slowly evolving modal harmony out of its re-constituted chronology.
Alarm Will Sound performs Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy’s newest evening-length work, in which Dennehy explores the interplay of light and time across Ireland’s mercurial seasons of the year. Join us for a special midwinter evening in our beautifully-lit JL Greene Theatre for this magical and immersive orchestral performance.
From the composer:
The Latin name for Ireland was Hibernia which translates as ‘land of winter.’ I suppose the country seemed cold to the Romans. It seems cold to many, especially in July. In a way it is the quality of light that demarcates the seasons, from the shorter days of either grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer, longer but mercurial light of summer. I like this play between light and time, and it inspires this piece that plays with a connection between time (expanding and contracting temporal processes) and light (harmony, often overtone-hued). Occasionally, the resonance of the term ‘land of winter’—something perennially stuck in its last cycle—engenders a terrifying force in the piece (the linear push towards death, perhaps, or even a kind of climate endgame). Comfort and regeneration are found in the circular recurrences. Structurally, the piece is divided into twelve sections (which I consider as months) connecting to each other continuously. The piece starts in December, and culminates at the end of November, ready to start all over again in winter, as it were. An advent chorale by Bach lurks behind the surface occasionally, influencing the larger harmonic motions, and sometimes working as a generator of upper partials that remain on the musical surface after the chorale itself is erased. In the final movement, November, the chorale itself is gradually revealed in looping windows that create a new, slowly evolving modal harmony out of its re-constituted chronology.
An atmospheric phenomenon created by refracted light, a sun dog is striking proof that, when natural conditions are right, familiar elements can shift the way we see the world. This prismatic collaboration similarly allows us glimpses of another realm, bringing together inspired composer and filmmaker pairs to create short-format films presented alongside newly-created music for live orchestra. Featuring compositions by Arooj Aftab, Devonté Hynes, and more performed by the electrifying new-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, this boundless exploration of image and sound imagines how stories can be told both musically and visually from equal footing.
An atmospheric phenomenon created by refracted light, a sun dog is striking proof that, when natural conditions are right, familiar elements can shift the way we see the world. This prismatic collaboration similarly allows us glimpses of another realm, bringing together inspired composer and filmmaker pairs to create short-format films presented alongside newly-created music for live orchestra. Featuring compositions by Arooj Aftab, Devonté Hynes, and more performed by the electrifying new-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, this boundless exploration of image and sound imagines how stories can be told both musically and visually from equal footing.
An atmospheric phenomenon created by refracted light, a sun dog is striking proof that, when natural conditions are right, familiar elements can shift the way we see the world. This prismatic collaboration similarly allows us glimpses of another realm, bringing together inspired composer and filmmaker pairs to create short-format films presented alongside newly-created music for live orchestra. Featuring compositions by Arooj Aftab, Devonté Hynes, and more performed by the electrifying new-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, this boundless exploration of image and sound imagines how stories can be told both musically and visually from equal footing.
An atmospheric phenomenon created by refracted light, a sun dog is striking proof that, when natural conditions are right, familiar elements can shift the way we see the world. This prismatic collaboration similarly allows us glimpses of another realm, bringing together inspired composer and filmmaker pairs to create short-format films presented alongside newly-created music for live orchestra. Featuring compositions by Arooj Aftab, Devonté Hynes, and more performed by the electrifying new-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, this boundless exploration of image and sound imagines how stories can be told both musically and visually from equal footing.
An atmospheric phenomenon created by refracted light, a sun dog is striking proof that, when natural conditions are right, familiar elements can shift the way we see the world. This prismatic collaboration similarly allows us glimpses of another realm, bringing together inspired composer and filmmaker pairs to create short-format films presented alongside newly-created music for live orchestra. Featuring compositions by Arooj Aftab, Devonté Hynes, and more performed by the electrifying new-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, this boundless exploration of image and sound imagines how stories can be told both musically and visually from equal footing.
Convergence: two ensembles, nine new pieces, one vision
Lawrence University Flute and Trombone Ensembles collaborate with LU alum, Isaac Mayhew and the Millenium Composers Collective for an evening of new music that combine two unlikely instrument pairs into one voice.
WMTA has teamed up with Lawrence University to co-commission Nicolas Bizub in honor of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music’s 150th anniversary. Nicolas Bizub graduated from Lawrence University in 2016 with a BMus in Composition and a BMus in Viola Performance. He received his DMA in Composition from CCM in 2021 and now works as Associate Director of Growth Marketing for the New York Philharmonic. Nicolas is an active professional composer and private teacher of composition. His website can be accessed by clicking HERE.
He has been commissioned to write a piece for small ensemble and soprano totaling 15-20 minutes in length. Lawrence faculty will perform the work during the Friday evening conference concert. Members of the Lawrence and Appleton community will be invited to join conference attendees.
This exciting “continuous concert” features Lawrence students performing in both large and small vocal and instrumental ensembles. It offers a rare glimpse into all aspects of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in a lively, engaging evening that showcases student talent.. The LU flute ensemble will perform Raga Sept Double by composer, Derek Charke.
Alarm Will Sound and the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond are pleased to present the WORLD PREMIERE of What Belongs to You, an opera by GRAMMY-nominated composer/librettist David T. Little, based on the celebrated novel by Garth Greenwell. This performance features the Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman, the 2019 GRAMMY-winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
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What Belongs to You, a new opera by David T. Little, is an adaptation of Garth Greenwell’s stunning debut novel of desire and its consequences. With lyric intensity and startling eroticism, this indelible story explores the ways our pasts and cultures, our scars and shames can shape who we are and determine how we love. Tenor Karim Sulayman portrays the protagonist over the lush score performed by chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound. Helmed by famed director and choreographer Mark Morris, this presentation is a World Premiere and Modlin Center Commission. This opera is intended for mature audiences.
Alarm Will Sound and the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond are pleased to present the WORLD PREMIERE of What Belongs to You, an opera by GRAMMY-nominated composer/librettist David T. Little, based on the celebrated novel by Garth Greenwell. This performance features the Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman, the 2019 GRAMMY-winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
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What Belongs to You, a new opera by David T. Little, is an adaptation of Garth Greenwell’s stunning debut novel of desire and its consequences. With lyric intensity and startling eroticism, this indelible story explores the ways our pasts and cultures, our scars and shames can shape who we are and determine how we love. Tenor Karim Sulayman portrays the protagonist over the lush score performed by chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound. Helmed by famed director and choreographer Mark Morris, this presentation is a World Premiere and Modlin Center Commission. This opera is intended for mature audiences.
Alarm Will Sound returns to the Time:Spans festival. Known for their adventurous programming and virtuosic performances, Alarm Will Sound promises an evening of groundbreaking music that pushes the boundaries of the classical genre.
This year’s performance showcases an eclectic mix of works from some of the most dynamic and thought-provoking composers of our time including Andrew Norman, Claude Baker, Chelsea Komschlies, Felipe Tovar-Henao, Kelley Sheehan, and Marcos Balter.
The Lawrence Chamber Music Festival is tailored for advanced instrumentalists and pre-formed ensembles ages 18 and up. The festival offers a rich environment for artistic and professional development. Participants will engage in:
Daily rehearsals, coachings, private lessons, and symposia with world-class faculty
Performance opportunities across diverse venues, including Lawrence University’s Memorial Chapel, Gibson Music Hall, and the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
A chance to curate and perform unique programs in collaboration with local singer-songwriters from the Mile of Music Festival
Alarm Will Sound returns to the Mizzou International Composers Festival. For the finale of the 2024 Festival, AWS will perform music by the festival residents composers Benjamin Scheuer, Claire Hu, Davor Vincze, Ess Whiteley, Lila Meretzky, Liu Yingting, Lukáš Janata, and Mahbod Shirvani.
Alarm Will Sound returns to the Mizzou International Composers Festival. For the opening concert of the 2024 Festival, AWS will perform music by the festival guest composers George Lewis and Mary Kouyoumdjian, as well as works by Stefan Freund and Andrew Norman.
Praised for her “spellbindingly beautiful” (Time Out New York) and “fresh and engaging” (New York Times) performances, Erin Lesser has collaborated with composers including Steve Reich, Marcos Balter, Tyshawn Sorey, John Luther Adams, Kate Soper, Pierre Boulez, and David Lang, as well as experimental groups Medeski Martin & Wood and the Dirty Projectors. A member of Wet Ink Ensemble and Alarm Will Sound, Lesser is a founding member of the Argento Chamber Ensemble and won the 2008 National Flute Association chamber music competition with her flute and percussion duo Due East. Her program features new works for flute by composition students Megan DiGeorgio, Benjamin Penwell, Gen Tanaka, and Konstantinos Baras.
Alarm Will Sound returns to The Clarice to play the Pulitzer Prize winner’s Music for 18 Musicians, one of the most influential minimalist works of all time. With Erin Lesser performs Vermont Counterpoint.
Steve Reich has been called “the most original musical thinker of our time” (The New Yorker) and “among the great composers of the century” (The New York Times). Starting in the 1960s, his pieces It’s Gonna Rain, Drumming, Music for 18 Musicians, Tehillim, Different Trains and many others helped shift the aesthetic center of musical composition worldwide away from extreme complexity and towards rethinking pulsation and tonal attraction in new ways.
Alarm Will Sound returns to The Clarice to play the Pulitzer Prize winner’s Music for 18 Musicians, one of the most influential minimalist works of all time. With Erin Lesser performs Vermont Counterpoint.
Steve Reich has been called “the most original musical thinker of our time” (The New Yorker) and “among the great composers of the century” (The New York Times). Starting in the 1960s, his pieces It’s Gonna Rain, Drumming, Music for 18 Musicians, Tehillim, Different Trains and many others helped shift the aesthetic center of musical composition worldwide away from extreme complexity and towards rethinking pulsation and tonal attraction in new ways.
Alarm Will Sound returns to Carnegie Hall with HEARD, a program that intertwines music and storytelling to share how composers convey their personal narratives through music. This performance also highlights the breadth of Alarm Will Sound’s stylistic range and musical omnivorousness with works ranging from Tania León’s Toque, inspired by Cuban dance to Hanabi by Alarm Will Sound members Chris Thompson and Miles Brown, a piece inspired by electronic dance music and drum line. Alarm Will Sound will be joined by special guests, including Bora Yoon for her work Casual Miracles and Damon Davis for the premiere of an excerpt from his science-fiction opera Ligeia Mare. Also on the program is the NY premiere of Līlā by Texu Kim, a work supported by the Barlow Prize and written for AWS, the London Sinfonietta, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. This concert marks the beginning of a remarkable series curated by León, holder of Carnegie Hall’s 2023–2024 Debs Composer’s Chair.
Alarm Will Sound returns to Missouri with HEARD, a program that intertwines music and storytelling to share how composers convey their personal narratives through music. This performance also highlights the breadth of Alarm Will Sound’s stylistic range and musical omnivorousness with works ranging from Tania León’s Toque, inspired by Cuban dance to Hanabi by Alarm Will Sound members Chris Thompson and Miles Brown, a piece inspired by electronic dance music and drum line. Alarm Will Sound will be joined by special guests, including Bora Yoon for her work Casual Miracles and Damon Davis for the premiere of an excerpt from his science-fiction opera Ligeia Mare. Also on the program is Līlā by Texu Kim, a work supported by the Barlow Prize and written for AWS, the London Sinfonietta, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Alarm Will Sound is joined by Haitian-American artist, performer, composer, and flutist Nathalie Joachim who uses the vibrant tapestry of her voice and electro-acoustic elements to explore her family’s history — and violinist/vocalist Alyssa Pyper, whose debut album, Salt Crust (2021) is a genre-bending dive into the trauma of being Mormon and gay, a grappling for footing while stepping into adulthood. The program will also feature Candied Inferno by Eartheater, Queens-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and vocalist.
An excerpt of a recent work by Kate Soper was performed by the Wet Ink Ensemble as part of a special concert that featured a performance of the music followed by a discussion with the composer and performing artists involved. Wet Ink performed segments of Soper's "IPSA DIXIT," a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. The concert was part of an inaugural set of "Piece Offerings: Focused Encounters with Recent Music," along with a work by Roger Reynolds. Following the performance by Wet Ink, the musicians had an onstage discussion with the Library's David Plylar. Hear the full version of the concert that focused on Kate Soper's music for a limited time.
Southern Exposure New Music Series presents the Wet Ink Ensemble
Named “The Best Classical Music Ensemble of 2018” by the New York Times, Wet Ink Ensemble’s work is rooted in an ethos of innovation through collaboration, extending from the music and the unique performance practice developed in the “band” atmosphere of Wet Ink’s core octet of composer-performers, to projects with a broad range of renowned creators, from Evan Parker to George Lewis to Peter Ablinger, and committed performances of music by young and underrepresented composers, from today’s most promising emerging voices to the next generation of artists.
Alarm Will Sound will perform Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy’s new evening-length work, Land of Winter. The title of the work comes from the Latin name for Ireland, Hibernia, which translates as “land of winter.” This exciting new work will explore the play between light and time as they relate to the seasons of the year.
Alarm Will Sound premiered Land of Winter in 2022 at Beethovenfest Bonn in Bonn, Germany.
Alarm Will Sound performs Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy’s new evening-length work, Land of Winter. The title of the work comes from the Latin name for Ireland, Hibernia, which translates as “land of winter.” This exciting new work will explore the play between light and time as they relate to the seasons of the year.
Alarm Will Sound premiered Land of Winter in 2022 at Beethovenfest Bonn in Bonn, Germany.
Presto! (Tour of Houston, TX with performances at MATCH and area high schools)
“Night of the Four Moons,” George Crumb
