Miller Theatre at Columbia University th Season. Composer Portraits. Heart & Breath. eighth blackbird. Thursday, September 18, 8:00 p.m.

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1 Miller Theatre at Columbia University th Season Composer Portraits Heart & Breath eighth blackbird Thursday, September 18, 8:00 p.m.

2 Miller Theatre at Columbia University th Season Opening Night Thursday, September 18, 8:00 p.m. Heart & Breath New York Premiere by eighth blackbird Duo for Heart and Breath (2012) Richard Reed Parry (b. 1977) Yvonne Lam, viola and Lisa Kaplan, piano Lamento della ninfa (1638/2013) Claudio Monteverdi ( ) arr. Tim Munro Moro, lasso al mio duolo (1611/2013) Carlo Gesualdo ( ) arr. Munro Babys (2009/2013) Bon Iver arr. Lisa Kaplan INTERMISSION Colombine s Paradise Theatre (2013) Amy Beth Kirsten (b. 1972) libretto after the poetry of Isabella Andreini ( ) part one 1. death sweet breath 2. love Harlequin I bind her here in the moonless night I wind her I alone can touch her pain I alone can know my Colombine again Let me eat her Reason: let me swallow every light that blinds her and feast upon the stars that find her -inspired by Sonnet 4

3 part two 3. bass drum moon #1 (variation 2) 4. comfort 5. my charming murderer what a charming fatal wound: the charming hurt is quick the charming healing slow I sigh and after I yearn - a delirium more handsome than ever turns his gaze on me then like lightening bolts so my soul stirs - and heart breaks -after Madrigal 5 part three 6. bass drum moon #2 (variation 1) 7. snare / shiver part four 8. bass drum moon #3 (Pierrot s theme) one thing alone is real 9. night swallows light (triangulation) 10. Colombine my heart come Colombine my heart come - I desire I love not because your brutal beauty binds me no, sweet siren. I desire I love because there beneath your chest beats my heart and I can t live without my heart: a desire to live urges me to this - a desire for life Colombine my heart come to wander we two in the light of the moon -after Madrigal 51, and Variations (1904) by Théodor de Banville part five 11. she comes undone (finale) This program runs approximately two hours, including intermission. Please note that photography and the use of recording devices are not permitted. Remember to turn off all cellular phones and pagers before tonight s performance begins. Miller Theatre is ADA accessible. Large print programs are available upon request. For more information or to arrange accommodations, please call

4 Colombine s Paradise Theatre Colombine: Lisa Kaplan, piano Cast The Harbinger: Nicholas Photinos, cello Harlequin: Tim Munro, flute Michael Maccaferri, clarinet Yvonne Lam, violin Pierrot: Matthew Duvall, percussion Creative Team Composer and Librettist: Amy Beth Kirsten Director and Production Designer: Mark DeChiazza Lighting Designer: Mary Ellen Stebbins Costume Designer: Sylvianne Shurman Production Stage Manager and Lighting Director: Rachel Damon Sound Designer and Engineer: Ryan Ingebritsen Produced by: eighth blackbird Special thanks to: Carroll Musical Instrument Rental; One Dream Sound; Jack Lynch; and Van Orilia Colombine s Paradise Theatre was generously supported by Elizabeth Liebman, the National Endowment for the Arts, the MAP Fund, and the University of Richmond.

5 From the Executive Director I first heard Amy Beth Kirsten s music live at Miller Theatre as part of the SONiC Festival three years ago, when Tim Munro of eighth blackbird performed her pirouette on a moon sliver. The piece incorporated movement, vocalizations, and, of course, flute, and it was absolutely stunning. At that point, Amy had been on my wish list of composers to work with for several years, but when I saw Tim perform her work live, I knew I had to make it happen. The stars must have aligned that night, because Mark DeChiazza the director and designer of tonight s performance was also in the audience. It was also his first time hearing Amy s music live, and he had the exact same experience I did. That first performance sparked something in both of us, and we wanted more. That was three years ago. Following that concert, Amy and Mark became friends and then collaborators, working together with eighth blackbird to create the theatrical experience that is Colombine s Paradise Theatre, the second part of tonight s program. From there, Mark, the members of eighth blackbird, and their creative team have built this program, selecting works from a variety of styles and eras to complement this amazing piece. Tonight, we also celebrate the musicians of eighth blackbird. They are one of America s most important contemporary music ensembles they are fearless and awesome, and it is an honor to have them here to open Miller s new season. Thank you so much for being part of this journey by joining us tonight. As you listen, I hope that you, too, will have your imagination sparked and who knows what might come out of it? Sincerely, Melissa Smey Executive Director

6 About the Program Notes on Heart & Breath by eighth blackbird The wild vagaries of the heart unite the four works on this disparate first half, which runs without a break. Duo for Heart and Breath by Richard Reed Parry (of indie band Arcade Fire) connects the rhythms of the physical body to the rhythms of the musical performance. Musicians wear stethoscopes, which enable them to play in synch with their own heartbeats. At other times, players are in synch with their own individual breathing. According to the composer, The idea is less about performing and more about directly translating into music the subtle, naturally varying internal rhythms of the individual players. Two italian madrigalists sing keening laments of love and loss. Claudio Monteverdi s Lamento della ninfa sighs in waves of resignation, anger and hope: I want him back, just as he was, if not, then kill me... love mixes fire and ice, sings the solo soprano (recast as viola) while three tenors (flute, clarinet, cello) rock her to sleep: poor woman, poor woman. Carlo Gesualdo s lament, Moro, lasso (originally written for small vocal ensemble), is altogether darker, bleaker, as a lover sinks into the dissonant, chromatic mire: I die in my suffering, and she who could give me life allows me to die. Bon Iver s anthem Babys shines welcome light, perhaps winking at the very different carnival to come in Amy Beth Kirsten s work: Summer comes to multiply, and I m the carnival of peace I ll probably start a fleet with no apologies And the carnival of scenes, it grows more and more appealing But my woman and I know what we re for. Director s Note by Mark DeChiazza When I first began work on Colombine s Paradise Theatre, I wondered what compelled Amy, as a contemporary composer, to revive the iconography of the commedia dell arte. I noticed that she had composed the musicians parts so that an instrument is sometimes the voice of a character while at other times it isn t. For example, the

7 piano can be the voice of Colombine, but sometime it is simply a piano in the mix. I came to realize that this structure is analogous to commedia characters put on a mask, instantly assuming an identity, and when they take of the mask they are simply an actor. Since the mask organizes meaning, it is even possible for more than one actor to wear the same mask simultaneously. The mask conjures a context through which we interpret the expression of a performer s body and voice. But there is a tension between the identity of the performer especially a contemporary performer and that of the commedia character she inhabits. To step into the shell of Colombine the performer must surrender some of herself. Likewise, on stage Colombine occupies a luminous world of constructed fantasy that simultaneously confines and liberates her. I think actors, musicians, dancers all experience this unique dichotomy: the feeling of being wildly free free to explore even the strangest, darkest places and the constraint of being completely contained within and controlled by the shape of a work. Composer s Note by Amy Beth Kirsten Colombine s Paradise Theatre ( ) is a musical fantasy on a 17th-century form of Italian theater known as commedia dell arte and includes well-known characters from that art form Colombine, Harlequin, and Pierrot. Although those characters are an essential part of the work, the piece has its own language and logic, and it is not necessary to know the commedia tradition to follow Colombine s Paradise Theatre. One way to think of this work is as a storybook poem storybook because of its linear structure, colorful characters, and use of imagery; and poem because of its associative and multifaceted relationship to meaning. In other words, information about individual characters as well as the relationships between them are reinforced on many levels. Colombine s Paradise Theatre presents a series of eleven scenes that form a whole: Colombine is caught in a haunted repetitive loop and is lingering in a world between death and life. As she struggles to find her way, she is torn between contrasting forces that orbit around her the narcissistic Harlequin aims to possess her while the benevolent Pierrot tries repeatedly to send her a message of truth. There is a kind of narrator throughout, the Harbinger he serves as a guide as well as a witness to Colombine s struggle. About the Program

8 Why commedia dell arte? The essential elements of commedia are these: it uses stock characters (masked and unmasked) that have exaggerated, archetypal qualities; it is extremely physical and virtuosic; and much of it is improvised. These elements resonate deeply with me in the following ways: First, character is what compels me; I love to create sound worlds that reflect specific characters and their struggles. Next, I often compose music that asks instrumentalists to simultaneously vocalize and play. There are two important consequences to this: the music is deeply tied to breath and also to the body which makes it virtuosic not in the number of notes that are played, but in what is physically required of the performer to render it effectively. Breath and movement indeed inform every aspect of this piece. Finally, like the commedia, Colombine s Paradise Theatre often has an improvisational-sounding quality, though it is all carefully notated and structured. Why eighth blackbird? This is an ensemble of world-class musicians that memorizes new music, that likes to express musical ideas by incorporating movement, and that is made up of individuals who each embody a spirit of fearlessness. When I first heard them perform about ten years ago, a seed of possibility was planted. The result is this new work. eighth blackbird s musicianship and experimentation caused me to want to dig deep and go to unknown places to seriously stretch myself as a composer. To me, there is no other way to walk through the dark than with the light of possibility light that, in this case, a flock of blackbirds helped me find. Colombine s Paradise Theatre would not exist if not for the inspiring and creative partner I found in Mark DeChiazza a collaborator whose ability to delight in the questions enabled all of us to push beyond what we thought was possible. Also many thanks to pianists Paul Kerekes and Daniel Schlosberg for their help with the development of snare.

9 About the Artists eighth blackbird Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinets Tim Munro, flutes Yvonne Lam, violin & viola Matthew Duvall, percussion Lisa Kaplan, piano Nicholas Photinos, cello eighth blackbird combines the finesse of a string quartet, the energy of a rock band and the audacity of a storefront theater company. The Chicago-based, three-time Grammy-winning super-musicians (LA Times) entertain and provoke audiences across the country and around the world. The 2014/15 season s acoustic program, Still in Motion, features new works by The National s Bryce Dessner (the folkinspired Murder Ballades), Lee Hyla, Sean Griffin and rising star Gabriella Smith. eighth blackbird brings this show to Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Washington, and sunny Hawaii. Other highlights include the premiere of Hand Eye, a new work for eighth blackbird by the superstar composer collective Sleeping Giant, their debut at Brooklyn Academy of Music in collaboration with LA Dance Project, and a New Orleansinspired romp with special guest singersongwriter-accordionist Michael Ward- Bergeman at Symphony Space. To top it off, the group will conduct guest residencies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and a multi-visit residency at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. eighth blackbird holds ongoing Ensemble in Residence positions at the Curtis Institute of Music, University of Richmond, and University of Chicago. A decadelong relationship with Chicago s Cedille Records has produced six acclaimed recordings. The ensemble has won three Grammy Awards, for the recordings strange imaginary animals, Lonely Motel: Music from Slide and Meanwhile. eighth blackbird s members hail from America s Great Lakes, Keystone, Golden and Bay states, and Australia s Sunshine State. The name eighth blackbird derives from the eighth stanza of Wallace Stevens s evocative, aphoristic poem, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.

10 After spending a decade playing in clubs and bars in Chicago, singer-songwriter Amy Beth Kirsten entered the graduate program in music composition at Roosevelt University in Those earlier years as a performer and vocalist created the foundation for a compositional language rooted in the voice, breath, and storytelling. Many of Kirsten s chamber works require instrumentalists to vocalize and play simultaneously, and her purely instrumental works often experiment with melody and timbre. Kirsten s current works aim to integrate music, language, and movement in theatrical settings. In her wildly imaginative Colombine s Paradise Theatre, an evening-length, fully-staged work commissioned by the Grammy-winning ensemble eighth blackbird, premiered in Chicago at the MCA; strange pilgrims for string orchestra, chorus, and film commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra premiered in February 2014 in Carnegie Hall. Both of these works were collaborations with director and filmmaker Mark DeChiazza. The duo are now embarking on their next theatrical collaboration, Quixote, a fully-staged work for their own ensemble, HOWL (wearehowl.org), which features three percussion, three female voices, and video. Quixote will premiere and tour in Ms. Kirsten was the recipient of the 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition, a Rockefeller Foundation Artist Fellowship, a Fromm Foundation Commission, as well as project funding from The MAP Fund, ASCAP Foundation, The Leonard Bernstein Family, New Music USA, Chamber Music America, and The National Endowment for the Arts. Also a librettist and published poet, Ms. Kirsten lives and works in New Haven, CT. Mark DeChiazza is a director, filmmaker, designer, and choreographer. Colombine s Paradise Theatre continues a relationship with eighth blackbird that began in 2009 with the acclaimed production of Pierrot Lunaire he conceived and directed for the ensemble. His first collaboration with composer Amy Beth Kirsten explores a heightened interdependency between musical and theatrical ideas in process and performance, which they continue to explore within their new interdisciplinary arts collective, HOWL. Recent projects include staging of the premiere of John Luther Adams Sila at Lincoln Center, directing a concert of Missy Mazzoli s work for Young People s Chorus of NYC and Missy s band Victoire, creating the film component of Amy Beth Kirsten s strange pilgrims, which was premiered by American Composers Orchestra and The Crossing at Carnegie Hall, and designing projections for Visitations: Theotokia and The War Reporter,

11 two chamber operas by Jonathan Berger and presented by both Stanford Live in California and Prototype Festival in New York City. His film A Colloquy with God, with New York Polyphony, was featured on NPR Music. He is currently working with composer Steven Mackey on ORPHEUS UNSUNG: an opera for electric guitar, a large-scale film and music work. Learn more at markdechiazza.com Mary Ellen Stebbins recent New York lighting design credits include The Traveling Imaginary (Orbiting Human Circus), My Machine Is Powered By Clocks, dive, Convergence, That Time, Hold Music, One Arm (Sightline), Walking the Volcano (Royal Family), A Spare Me (Waterwell), and Roost (Ritual Theatre). Regional design credits include Amadeus, Kite Runner (New Rep, Boston), Tracing a Line (Peabody Essex Museum, Salem) Lear on the 2nd Floor (UCSD, San Diego), and The Argument (Interrobang, Chicago), and the touring production of The Orbiting Human Circus Traveling Imaginary. She is the Lighting Director for Monica Bill Barnes & Co., the resident Lighting Designer at Sightline Theater, and a Co- Founder of HelikonRep. Stebbins has an MFA from Boston University and an AB from Harvard College. She was the 2009 Hangar Theatre Lab Company Design Fellow and recieved the 2011 USITT Barbizon Lighting Design Award. Learn more at maryellenstebbinsdesign.com Ryan Ingebritsen has been the audio engineer for eighth blackbird since 1998 when they were graduate students together at the University of Cincinnati. As a composer and sound artist he received his BM in composition from St. Olaf College, master s degree from University of Cincinnati and spent a year of study in Poland as a Fulbright fellow in He has since produced an opera in Poland, spent a summer on a McKnight Fellowship wandering the woods of northern Minnesota and become a dancer and live electronic performer with Erica Mott Productions while maintaining a full time job at the Chicago Culture Center. Learn more at wcawm.com/site Costume Designer Sylvianne Shurman is a Los Angeles-based costume designer working in theater and film. Her recent credits include Sila: The Breath of the World (Lincoln Center Out of Doors), Wingman (Ars Nova), Blind Angels (Theater for the New City), Something Cloudy, Something Clear (Dixon Place), She is King (Incubator Arts- Other Forces Festival), The Lady in Red Converses with Diablo (Arts@Renaissance), and Inexperienced Love (NYC Fringe). She has worked on a variety of feature films and television. She holds a B.F.A. in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University. Learn more at sylvianneshurman.wix. com/design About the Artists

12 About Miller Theatre Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New York City and one of the most vital forces nationwide for innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with a focus on contemporary and early music, jazz, and multimedia. Founded in 1988, Miller has helped launch the careers of myriad composers and ensembles, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known in the U.S. A threetime recipient of the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller continues to meet the high expectations set forth by its founders to present innovative programs, support new work, and connect creative artists with adventurous audiences. Advisory Committee Paul D. Carter Mary Sharp Cronson* Stephanie French* Marcella Tarozzi Goldsmith Karen Hagberg Columbia University Trustees Jonathan D. Schiller, Chair A Lelia Bundles, Vice Chair Mark E. Kingdon, Vice Chair Esta Stecher, Vice Chair Rolando T. Acosta Armen A. Avanessians Andrew F. Barth Lee C. Bollinger, President of the University Mark Jackson Eric Johnson Philip Mindlin Linda Nochlin Peter Pohly William V. Campbell, Chair Emeritus Lisa Carnoy Kenneth Forde Noam Gottesman Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. James Harden Marc Holliday Margo Viscusi* Mr. and Mrs. George Votis* Cecille Wasserman* Elke Weber I. Peter Wolff* * Miller Theatre Advisory Board member Benjamin Horowitz Ann F. Kaplan Jonathan Lavine Charles Li Paul J. Maddon Vikram Pandit Michael B. Rothfeld Claire Shipman Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Columbia University School of the Arts Carol Becker Dean of Faculty Jana Hart Wright Dean of Academic Administration Miller Theatre Staff Melissa Smey Executive Director Brenna St. George Jones Director of Production Nora Sørena Casey Marketing & Communications Associate Katherine Bergstrom, Artistic Administrator Rhiannon McClintock Executive Assistant Charlotte Levitt Director of Marketing & Outreach James Hirschfeld Business Manager Megan Harrold Audience Services Manager Taylor Riccio Production Coordinator Aleba & Co. Public Relations The Heads of State Graphic Design

13 Thanks to Our Donors Miller Theatre acknowledges with deep appreciation and gratitude the following organizations, individuals, and government agencies whose extraordinary support makes our programming possible. $25,000 and above Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts Dow Jones Foundation H. F. (Gerry) Lenfest $10,000 - $24,999 William V. Campbell The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Mary Sharp Cronson $5,000 - $9,999 The Amphion Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music at Columbia University The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation National Endowment for the Arts CLC Kramer Foundation New York State Council on the Arts The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation The Evelyn Sharp Foundation Margo and Anthony Viscusi Craig Silverstein $1,000 - $4,999 Rima Ayas Paul D. Carter Hester Diamond R. H. Rackstraw Downes Claude Ghez Marcella Tarozzi Goldsmith Christine and Thomas Griesa $500 - $999 Oliver Allen Regula Aregger Mercedes Armillas ASCAP Barbara Batcheler Elaine S. Bernstein $100 - $499 Gail and James Addiss Qais Al-Awqati, M.D. Edward Albee Roger Bagnall Sandra and Marc Bernstein Andrew Birsh Jim Boorstein Alexandra Bowie and Daniel Richman Eileen and Adam Boxer Elizabeth and Ralph Brown Caplan Family Foundation Richard Carrick and Nomi Levy-Carrick Ginger Chinn Jennifer Choi Gregory Cokorinos Merry Conway Noah Creshevsky David Demnitz Rosamund Else-Mitchell Randy Ezratty Carol Avery Haber / Haber Family Charitable Fund Karen Hagberg and Mark Jackson Donella and David Held Roger Lehecka Philip Mindlin Linda Nochlin Jeanine and Roland Plottel Cedomir Crnkovic / Cavali Foundation Kristine and Joseph Delfausse Stephanie French Mary and Gordon Gould John Kander Mark Kempson and Janet Greenberg Paul J. Maddon Peter and Joan Faber Marc Gilman June O. Goldberg James P. Hanbury Barbara Harris Bernard Hoffer Alan Houston and Lisa DeLange Frank Immler and Andrew Tunnick William Josephson Rebecca Kennison L. Wilson Kidd, Jr. Sandra Kincaid Nikki Kowalski Daniel Lee Barbara and Kenneth Leish Arthur S. Leonard Richard H. Levy and Lorraine Gallard Peter C. Lincoln Sarah Lowengard Patricia Lowy and Daniel Frank Jessie and Charles Price Peter Pohly Christopher Rothko Cecille Wasserman Janet C. Waterhouse Elke Weber and Eric Johnson Anonymous Marian M. Warden Fund of the Foundation for Enhancing Communities James Sharp J. P. Sullivan Cia Toscanini Kathryn Yatrakis Caroline and Anthony Lukaszewski Gerald McGee Bannon and Barnabas McHenry Rolf Meyershon Susan Narucki Mary and Andrew Pinkowitz Monique Rinere in honor of James F. Rinere Carol Robbins Esther Rosenberg and Michael Ostroff Mariam Said Eliisa Salmi-Saslaw Anita Shapolsky Gilbert Spitzer and Janet Glaser Spitzer Rand Steiger and Rebecca Jo Plant Peter Strauss Jim Strawhorn Larry Wehr Seymour Weingarten Ila and Dennis Weiss Elizabeth Wheeler as of September 5, 2014

14 The Season COMPOSER PORTRAITS A cornerstone of Miller s programming, these evening-length musical profiles offer contemporary artists a space to explore, experiment, and make significant contributions to the field. Thursday, October 2 Chou Wen-chung (b. 1923) Thursday, October 23 Chaya Czernowin (b. 1957) Thursday, November 13 Bernard Rands (b. 1934) Friday, December 5 Keeril Makan (b. 1972) Thursday, February 5 Missy Mazzoli (b. 1980) Thursday, February 19 Stefano Gervasoni (b. 1962) Thursday, March 5 Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964) Thursday, April 23 Anna Clyne (b. 1980) EARLY MUSIC An eclectic and fascinating tour of the musical riches of the pre-classical era from masters of period performance and emerging ensembles. Saturday, October 25 Le Poème Harmonique: The Dark Hours

15 Saturday, November 15 New York Polyphony: Celebrations from the Mediterranean Saturday, December 13 The Tallis Scholars: Sacred Muses Saturday, February 28 Stile Antico: From the Imperial Court Saturday, March 28 Les Délices: Myths & Allegories JAZZ High-profile artists and young virtuosos lend their own style to America s indigenous art form in our wide-ranging four-concert series. Saturday, October 18 Lionel Loueke Trio Saturday, November 1 Cyrus Chestnut Trio Saturday, January 24 Renee Rosnes Quartet Saturday, March 7 Aaron Diehl Quartet BACH, REVISITED Miller s new twist on its ongoing Bach series celebrates J.S. s legacy and continuing influence by pairing Bach with contemporary composers. Thursday, March 12 Michael Gordon + Bach Thursday, April 9 Helmut Lachenmann + Bach Friday, May 8 Sofia Gubaidulina + Bach TICKETS Visit to purchase tickets online, call the Box Office at , or stop by between noon and 6 p.m. Monday - Friday. The Season

16 Upcoming Events September SPECIAL EVENT 3rd Annual Morningside Lights: Odysseus on the A Train Processional Arts Workshop Thursday, October 2, 8:00 p.m. COMPOSER PORTRAITS Chou Wen-chung Saturday, October 18, 8:00 p.m. JAZZ Lionel Loueke Trio Thursday, October 23, 8:00 p.m. COMPOSER PORTRAITS Chaya Czernowin International Contemporary Ensemble Saturday, October 25, 8:00 p.m. Church of St. Mary the Virgin EARLY MUSIC The Dark Hours Le Poème Harmonique Vincent Dumestre, theorbo and artistic director STAY TUNED IN Want to learn about new concerts, special announcements, and more? Join our mailing list at millertheatre.com or scan the QR code below on Twitter 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, MC 1801, New York, NY 10027