ClevelandClassical.com Header
Ad
Ad
Ad

No Exit Presents: Patchwork, Audra Duo, and the Cleveland State Percussion Ensemble

by

by Mike Telin

On Saturday, March 22 “No Exit Presents” welcomes Patchwork — Noa Even, saxophone and Stephen Klunk, drums — back to Cleveland for a free 7:00 pm concert at  Praxis Fiber Workshop.

The performance, which is part of the Duo’s 10th Anniversary tour, will feature works by Jason Charney, Hong-Da Chin, Erin Rogers, and Osnat Netzer.

In an interview with No Exit’s Laura King, Even said that Charney’s Interstittch is one of their earlier commissions and the most melodic, rock-inflected piece on the program.

She added that the other three works are drawn from their debut album, released in May 2020 by New Focus Recordings. “You’ll hear some similar sounds in these pieces — the term “extended technique” seems almost antiquated when multi-phonics, slap tonguing, and superball mallets are now as much a part of the basic vocabulary of our instruments as major scales and drum rudiments are… but each of the composers we worked with use those sounds in their own unique voice and syntax. Hong-Da Chin’s  …time was not passing… it was turning in a circle… is a musical reflection on the cyclical nature of humanity’s path through history. Erin Rogers is a saxophonist herself, and Fast Love has a lot of the eclectic, noisy, improvisatory playing for which she’s known.

[Read more…]

CD Review
Collage Project: Off Brand

by

by Jarrett Hoffman

There’s a fascinating and colorful gray area between jazz and contemporary classical music, as evidenced by this past summer’s album Off Brand from the Collage Project. Joining bassist Aidan Plank, electric guitarist Dan Bruce, and guitarist Daniel Lippel are three guests — drummer Nathan Douds, saxophonist Noa Even, and trombonist Chris Anderson — together harvesting a bounty of unique and compelling combinations of sound.

[Read more…]

No Exit launches new season online October 2

by

by Mike Telin

The show must go on! Although the 19th-century phrase was originally associated with circuses, its spirit lives on to this day as performing arts groups across Northeast Ohio and around the world figure out how to bring their shows to the public.

On Friday, October 2 at 7:00 pm, the area’s premier new music ensemble, No Exit, will present the debut performance of their 12th season online. The program will feature William Grant Still’s mystical Seven Traceries (solo piano), Villa-Lobos’ Deux Chôros (violin and piano), Harald Genzmar’s Sonata (solo flute), Adam Roberts’ Bell Threads (solo viola), and the world premiere of Downfall by No Exit percussionist Luke Rinderknecht. Listeners can access the free, pre-recorded concert and download the concert program by visiting the ensemble’s website or Facebook page.

“COVID-19 has forced us all to rethink how we live, work, and go about our lives,” No Exit artistic director Tim Beyer said during a recent telephone conversation. “At the moment, the members don’t feel comfortable playing together as a group, and since I am one to err on the side of safety, that’s where the idea for solo pieces came from.”  

Although a program of mostly solo works is a little out of the ordinary, Beyer sees it as the perfect opportunity to showcase each of the ensemble’s musicians. “About mid-summer we commissioned some talented composers to write solo works for all of the members of the group. So as we move forward, we’ll have a healthy supply of new music to present.”

[Read more…]

CD Review — Patchwork

by

by Mike Telin 

On their recent, self-titled debut album, the Cleveland-based duo Patchwork — Noa Even and Stephen Klunk — present five commissioned works that draw on free jazz, metal, progressive rock, and the avant-garde. Released on New Focus Records, the album takes you to a sonic world never dreamed possible from a saxophone and drum set duo. As we have come to expect from Even and Klunk, the five works are an exploration of extended techniques. More importantly, their performances are bewitching — ensemble playing at its best.

[Read more…]

Noa Even brings her 
Atomic project to fp Creative

by

by Mike Telin 

Although saxophonist Noa Even has spearheaded many commissioning projects for her duos Ogni Suono and Patchwork, she had not commissioned one for herself. That was until events surrounding the 2016 presidential election got her thinking about how humans connect to one another.

On Thursday, December 12 at 7:00 pm at Snap House Studios, Even will give the first Cleveland performance of Atomic, which features four solo works for saxophone, interactive electronics, and video that explore themes of human connection. The event is part of fp Creative’s concert series. As always, admission is a sliding scale: $0-$15 (at the door). RSVP here.

Even, who co-founded the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP) and serves as assistant professor at Kent State University, where she teaches saxophone and co-directs the school’s New Music Ensemble, said in a recent interview that she did not give any stipulations to the composers other than that the works should explore the broad topic of human connection. “Some people chose social justice themes and others chose themes that are more personal to them.”

[Read more…]

fp Creative launches new season at Snap House Studios November 14

by

by Mike Telin

After an extraordinary debut concert season, Fresh Perspectives founder Devin Hinzo and program manager Justin Gunter spent the past summer thinking about how to bring to fruition the organization’s goal of creating an incubator for area musicians to develop projects. That thinking was turned into action, and this week audiences can experience what the organization now known as fp Creative is all about.

On Thursday, November 14 beginning at 7:00 pm at Snap House Studios in Cleveland, fp Creative will present “Pretty in Green #galaforthepeople.” Audiences are invited to wear their best green-hued or nature-inspired fashion, with prizes for those “with the freshest cuts.” Enjoy earthly delights, take pictures with interactive installations, and hear fp Creative’s inaugural emerging artists-in-residence, Catharsis Winds, in concert.

The program includes Piazzolla’s Libertango (arr. Jeff Scott), Gabriela Ortiz’ Puzzle-tocas, and David Maslanka’s Quintet No. 1. Installation and performance artist Susie Underwood will be on hand creating something special for the event. General Admission costs zero to fifteen dollars at the door. RSVP here. [Read more…]

Karel Paukert & Noa Even open Ars organi II at St. Paul’s (Sept. 29)

by

by Timothy Robson

Karel Paukert has been an intrepid and fierce advocate for contemporary music in Cleveland for the better part of fifty years. Although he has retired from his position as Curator of Musical Arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art, he continues as the organist and choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights. Now in his 80s, Paukert is still commissioning and performing new music. His latest venture is Ars organi II, an eight-concert series at St. Paul’s continuing through October 20. [Read more…]

Karel Paukert presents Ars Organi II at St. Paul’s, Cleveland Heights

by

by Daniel Hathaway

Organist Karel Paukert said in a recent telephone conversation that he often runs into people who tell him they miss the organ recitals he used to give during his tenure as curator of musical arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art. “I tell them, well just come to St. Paul’s.”

Paukert is referring to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, where he continues to serve as organist and choirmaster after retiring from the Museum. He plays occasional Sunday afternoon recitals there on the church’s two organs — the 1952 Holtkamp instrument at the front of the nave, and the 1986 Hradetzky Italian Baroque-style instrument in the back gallery.

Last fall, he launched a mini-festival of music for organ, voice, and instruments called Ars Organi. The second edition of that festival will span seven free events from September 29 through October 20.

The first concert on Sunday, September 29 at 4:00 pm will feature saxophonist Noa Even, who heads up new music activities at Kent State University. [Read more…]

Re:Sound Festival of New and Experimental Music — concerts one & six

by

by Mike Telin

It’s hard to believe that it was only a year and a half ago that area audiences were introduced to the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP). With all of the high-quality programs they have produced since that time, the organization already feels like a trusted friend. Founded by saxophonist Noa Even and cellist Sophie Benn, CUSP’s engaging programming brings together the new music enthusiast and the new music curious. One way that is accomplished is through the annual Re:Sound Festival of New and Experimental Music, which ran from June 6 through June 9 and included six concerts featuring fourteen soloists and ensembles from across the United States at venues around the city. I attended the opening and closing events. [Read more…]

No Exit with Patchwork at SPACES (Dec. 14)

by

by Nicholas Stevens

Music fans tend to look back fondly on the moments when love took root. Rarer, and less often commented on, are the occasions when a concert or first listen sticks in the mind because it rekindles, rather than sparks, a passion for a particular style, genre, or format. For lovers of fresh, provocative, enchanting new chamber music, No Exit new music ensemble’s December 14 performance with Patchwork at SPACES offered a reintroduction to the fundamental appeal of the art and its scene. Listeners heard eleven expert performers render five world premieres, all within the bright intimacy of four art-lined gallery walls. [Read more…]

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us