- Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted musical organization based in
New York City . It was founded in1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors:Julia Wolfe , David Lang, and Michael Gordon. It is a major force in the presentation of new concert music, and has presented hundreds of musical events worldwide.The San Francisco Chronicle has called Bang on a Can "the country's most important vehicle for contemporary music."It is perhaps best known for its Marathon Concerts [http://www.bangonacan.org/marathon] during which an eclectic mix of pieces are performed in succession over the course of many hours while audience members, who are encouraged to maintain a "jeans-and-tee-shirt informality," are welcome to come and go as they please. For the twentieth anniversary of their Marathon Concerts, Bang on a Can presented twenty-six hours of uninterrupted music at the
World Financial Center Winter Garden Atrium in New York City.Among the many Bang on a Can events were performances by
John Cage , premieres ofGlenn Branca ’s epic symphonies for massed electric guitars, and fully staged operas ofHarry Partch , featuring the composer's original instruments.In
2002 , Bang on a Can began the yearly Summer Institute of Music [http://www.bangonacan.org/summer_festival] , a program at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) for young composers and performers. This program is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Banglewood" in reference to the nearby, but far more traditional Tanglewood Music Festival.The three artistic directors occasionally collaborate by jointly composing a large work, often without revealing which sections each contributed. Examples include:
*The Carbon Copy Building — a "comic book opera" with words and drawings by MacArthur Grant recipientBen Katchor . It was the winner of the 2000Obie Award for Best New American Work.
*Lost Objects — a contemporary oratorio, with a libretto byDeborah Artman . It is a fusion ofbaroque music and modern soundscapes, rendered in performance by theoriginal instruments ensemble Concerto Köln with four electronic instruments, three solo vocalists, a choir, and a liveremix generated byDJ Spooky .
*The New Yorkers — a staged multimedia concert with additional contributions by filmmakers and visual artists including: Ben Katchor, Bill Morrison,Doug Aitken , andWilliam Wegman .
*Shelter — a multi-media work that in the words of librettist Deborah Artman, "evokes the power and threat of nature, the soaring frontier promise contained in the framing of a new house, the pure aesthetic beauty of blueprints, the sweet architecture of sound and the uneasy vulnerability that underlies even the safety of our sleep."In the past, Bang on a Can released recordings on Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI), Sony Classical, Point Music (Universal), and Nonesuch, but now the majority of its recordings are found on its own record label, Cantaloupe Music [http://www.cantaloupemusic.com/] . In addition to releasing works by Gordon, Wolfe, and Lang, the label releases CDs of music by composers and musical groups affiliated with the organization, including
Evan Ziporyn ,Phil Kline ,Alarm Will Sound ,Icebreaker ,Ethel ,Gutbucket ,R. Luke DuBois , andDon Byron .Bang on a Can has commissioned and premiered pieces by composers including
Terry Riley ,Michael Nyman ,Somei Satoh ,Iva Bittová ,Ornette Coleman , andBun-Ching Lam . In1998 the organization began the People's Commissioning Fund [http://www.bangonacan.org/peoples_commissioning_fund] which supports the creation of new musical compositions by pooling contributions from numerous member-commissioners whose donations range from $5 to $5,000. To date, this fund has commissioned:*
1998 —Virgil Moorefield ,Pamela Z ,Dan Plonsey
*2000 —Marc Mellits ,Edward Ruchalski ,Miya Masaoka ,Toby Twining
*2001 —Jeffrey Brooks ,Sussan Deyhim ,James Fei ,Keeril Makan
*2002 —Eve Beglarian ,John King ,Matthew Shipp
*2003 —Annea Lockwood ,Ingram Marshall ,Thurston Moore
*2005 —Cynthia Hopkins ,Carla Kihlstedt ,J.G. Thirlwell
*2006 —Yoav Gal ,Annie Gosfield ,John Hollenbeck Bang on a Can is associated with the whimsical SPIT Orchestra, and a preeminent chamber ensemble, the Bang on a Can All-Stars [http://www.bangonacan.org/all_stars] which in
2005 was named "Ensemble of the Year" by the Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts. The personnel and instrumentation of the Bang on a Can All-Stars isEvan Ziporyn ,clarinet andsaxophone ; Mark Stewart,electric guitar ; Wendy Sutter,cello ; Robert Black,double bass ; Lisa Moore, keyboards; and David Cossinpercussion .External links
* [http://www.bangonacan.org/ Bang on a Can website]
* [http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/performer.pl?ens=2 Art of the States: Bang on a Can Festival]
* [http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/performer.pl?ens=3 Art of the States: Bang on a Can All-Stars]
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