by David Kulma
The Syndicate for the New Arts has evolved from its origin as a contemporary classical ensemble and has slowly become a local presenting organization in the genreless underground music scene. With the most recent offering on Tuesday, June 19 at Historic St. Johns in Ohio City, wholly pre-composed music fit the new curating Syndicate’s zeitgeist, but even with some raucous weirdness, this evening was one of its tamest. [Read more…]
by Delaney Meyers
The Syndicate for the New Arts has brought a host of interesting artists and groups to the Cleveland area this summer, including the Buffalo, NY-based Sotto Voce Vocal Collective. On Saturday afternoon, June 9, the ensemble presented a dazzling program of not-often heard contemporary vocal music in the dreamy acoustic of Ohio City’s St. John’s Episcopal Church, the oldest-standing religious building in Northeast Ohio. [Read more…]
by Alice Koeninger
Many of the sounds heard at the Re:Sound New Music Festival performances at the Bop Stop and CODA on Saturday, June 9 were reminiscent of noises made by ‘90s computers and played on old science fiction space TV shows. Relying heavily on electronics and other sound-manipulation techniques, each artist or group gave festivalgoers a taste of their music in a series of increasingly strange and interesting pieces. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
Maybe in the future, a barcode will be slapped on every piece of music, and you’ll just whip out your handy scanning device to identify any and all genres at play. Until then, listeners will have to settle for being delightedly mystified by the sounds of Atlanta-based septet Faun and a Pan Flute and Cleveland-based Duo Decibel System. That double-bill will give a concert this Tuesday, June 19 at 8:00 pm at St. John’s Ohio City, presented by Syndicate for the New Arts.
Faun and a Pan Flute is a band of cello, alto saxophone, guitar, bass guitar, marimba, percussion, and tuba (Benjamin Shirley, Peter Webb, David Gray, Dan Bailey, Chris Childs, John Gregg, and Julian Hinshaw). They draw on rock, impressionistic jazz, and modern classical music, and over the years have ranged in size from four to twelve members.
Collectively they lead, and collectively they compose.
I recently spoke with John Gregg, the group’s friendly, laid-back percussionist, who had just been watering some of his herbs when he picked up the phone. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
A year and a half ago, saxophonist Noa Even and cellist Sophie Benn got together to discuss ways to promote new music in Cleveland. They soon brought drummer Stephen Klunk and Bop Stop manager Gabe Pollack into the conversation, and the idea of starting a new music festival in the city was born. Beginning on June 7 and running through June 10, the inaugural Re:Sound Festival of new music will feature twenty-seven musical acts across seven concerts at five venues.
“An aspect of the festival we like to emphasize is just how new the music is,” Noa Even said during a telephone conversation. “All of it is from 2000 or later, so it’s truly a showcase of what people are creating today, improvised and composed. ‘New music’ encompasses so many styles and influences, and hopefully the Festival will capture that diversity.”
The performers were chosen from a pool of over 100 applicants who responded to the organizing committee’s call for proposals. Those included soloists and existing chamber music ensembles ranging from duos to sextets, as well as composer/performers and experimental artists.
by Mike Telin
It’s one thing for a group of musicians to meet for the first time during the rehearsal of a work that is known to them all. It’s another thing for musicians to come together for the first time during a public improvised performance and create a cohesive musical trajectory on the spot. On Saturday, April 21 at Historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ohio City, Syndicate for the New Arts, in cooperation with New Ghosts, presented two groups who did just that. The results were thrilling. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
A co-founder of Splinter Reeds, a San Francisco-based reed quintet, improviser and educator Dana Jessen has also performed with San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Dal Niente, Calefax Reed Quintet, and Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Orchestra.
On Saturday, April 21 at 8:00 pm at Historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ohio City, the bassoonist will join bassist Jaribu Shahid and pianist Josh Harlow for a performance of free improvisations. Presented by the Syndicate for the New Arts in cooperation with New Ghosts, the free concert will also feature improvisation by the newly-formed trio of saxophonist Bob Bucko Jr., violinist Alex Cunningham, and drummer Alexander Adams.
What can listeners expect to hear? “Probably a lot of sounds that are new to their ears,” Jessen said during a recent telephone conversation. “I’ve never played with Jaribu and I’m really excited about it. He’s a phenomenal bass player who is associated with the Chicago-based AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). He’s played with all the heavy hitters of that organization like Roscoe Mitchell and Anthony Braxton, so I’m excited to get to work with him.”
by David Kulma
The Syndicate for the New Arts kicked off their new Transmitter series at Historic St. John’s on Tuesday night, April 10. Focusing on a collaboration among experimental noise musicians and video and performance artists, this first night had the Parish Hall both visually and aurally glowing. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Since 2014, the Grammy Award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony has sponsored NEOSonicFest, a festival of new music performed by musicians from Northeast Ohio and beyond. The 2018 festival will run from April 5 through 11 (see below for concert dates and times).
Clarinetist Carol Robinson and trumpeter Nate Wooley will kick things off by performing selections from Éliane Radigue’s Occam Ocean on April 5 at MOCA. The composer describes her work as “an ongoing acoustic work with influences ranging from electromagnetic waves, to William of Ockham’s philosophies, to science fiction mythologies.”
The always creative No Exit will return to the Festival on April 6 at Heights Arts. The ensemble was founded by composer Timothy Beyer as an outlet for the commissioning and performance of contemporary avant-garde concert music. No Exit is committed to promoting the works of living composers, particularly the music of young and emerging artists who haven’t yet received either the opportunities or exposure of their better-known counterparts. (Works by Leo Ornstein, Ty Emerson, Per Nørgård, James Praznik, Andrew Rindfleisch & Tristan Murail).
by David Kulma
This past Friday evening, the Parish Hall at Ohio City’s Historic St. John’s Episcopal Church buzzed with egalitarian noise brimming with vigorous life during the three-set free-improvisation concert presented by the Syndicate for the New Arts and New Ghosts. The first half hour was filled with the sweeping sounds of electronic musician Judy Jackson. [Read more…]