Summertime in the Steel City brings forth some pretty damn good concerts from the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, one of the best new music ensembles in the country, every year and this year isn’t any different. This summer PNME will be performing over twenty new works, including two commissioned world premieres by Houston’s Pierre Jalbert and Chicago’s Stacy Garrop, over the next four weekends under the direction of their executive artistic director, Kevin Noe.
They had their first concert last night, but you can still catch them this evening at the City Theatre (1300 Bingham St.) for an 8pm concert, and, in a sly bit of audience-building, if you attend a Friday show and want to see it again, they’ll let you in fo’ free with your Friday ticket stub – one could only wish other groups did something like that!
It should also be mentioned that there will be a CD release party tonight after the concert celebrating PNME’s newest release “Against the Emptiness” issued by New Dynamic Records featuring works by Jalbert, Kevin Puts, Russell Pinkston and Ryan Francis.
In case you’re curious about whose works they’re performing this summer – I got that right after the jump:
SEXTET
Robert Paterson
TABLE SETTING
David Bithell
TRIPLE CONCERTO
Alejandro Viñao
CRITICAL POINT
Roger Dannenberg
*L’OEIL ÉCOUTE
Pierre Jalbert
PNME WORLD PREMIERE COMMISSION
LOOMING SILVER
John Fitz Rogers
ANIMA FOGLIA
Jérômé Combier
LAST
Philipe Manoury
ADDENDUM
Chick Corea
WOODLAWN DRIVE
D.J. Sparr
HIGH WIRE ACT
Laura Elise Schwendinger
JACKIE’S SONG
Michael Daugherty
CINESHAPE 3
Amy Williams
GERRYMANDER
Russell Pinkston
ELEVEN ECHOES OF AUTUMN
George Crumb
*THE BOOK OF AMERICAN POETRY (ABRIDGED)
Stacy Garrop
PNME WORLD PREMIERE COMMISSION
COURT STUDIES FROM THE TEMPEST
Thomas Adés
LIPSTICK
Jacob Ter Veldhuis
DEATH ANGEL
John Anthony Lennon
RIFF
Alejandro Viñao
THE EVIDENCE
John Fitz Rogers
DANCE/DROP
David Lang