Young Yalies United Will Never Be Defeated

New Yawkers could do worse at 8 p.m. on March 1st, than drop by Roulette, plunk down a $10 and slurp-munch free refreshments, all while checking out this great little posse of 80’s-born composers’ music:

Timothy Andres will present two recent works: Play it By Ear (2007), for a mixed chamber group of nine players, and Strider (2006), “ambient music” for vibraphone and piano. Both pieces will feature the best young musicians from the Yale School of Music, with the composer on piano.

Lainie Fefferman has a new electric guitar quartet called Tounge of Thorns (2007), which she describes as a “7-minute giant pulsing sound inspired by the Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus In Furs’”. Tounge of Thorns will be played by Dither. Lainie and Alex will also perform a brand-new piece with Lainie singing and Alex playing melodica and piano.

Jennifer Stock will perform on laptop in her piece The High Line (2006), based on sounds recorded around the abandoned High Line railway structure in Manhattan. The piece also features soprano Ali Ewoldt, who recently made her Broadway debut in Les Misérables, and star cellist Ezra Seltzer. We’ll also see and hear Grainery (2006), a video project with processed piano soundscape.
 
Alex Temple will contribute The Last Resort Party Band (2006), “cabaret music from an alternate universe,” featuring composer Emilia Tamburri on alto saxophone and Yale musicians. Next comes a new piece for clarinet and electric guitar, Slightly Less Awkward People (2007), featuring James Moore (of Dither) and Sara Phillips Budde (of NOW Ensemble). Alex will also perform his David Lynch-inspired Inland (2007), for melodica and piano. (Why the preponderance of melodica? “Despite being a silly-looking instrument,” says Alex, “the melodica can be used to make serious music.” I hear you, Alex. I had one next to me all through my own college years…)

This is all a production from IGIGI (pronounced “ee-ghee-ghee”), a close-knit group of composers formed at Yale College. They work with the best New York and New Haven-area musicians to premiere new works, give repeat performances, and put on concerts featuring all genres of “cutting-edge” music. IGIGI produces the annual New Music Marathon, an all-night concert at Yale featuring student works, contemporary favorites, improvisation, and performance art. IGIGI’s history stretches back at least thirty years; its predecessor was called A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, which gave rise to the Bang on a Can All-Stars.