Bang on a Can All-Stars ~ universities in USA

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Bang on a Can All-Stars

8 p.m., Saturday, January 26, 2013
Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

Image: Bang on a Can Recognized worldwide for their dynamic interpretations of today's most innovative music, the Bang on a Can All-Stars bring their genre-defying live concert performance to the stage of Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at 8 p.m., Saturday, January 26, 2013. Tickets are $35, $30, and $25. The event is sponsored by Venü Magazine and Whole Foods Market. A pre-performance discussion will take place at 7:15 p.m.

Heralded as "the country's most important vehicle for contemporary music" by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Bang on a Can All-Stars have been freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music since their formation in 1992. The All-Stars have consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and around the globe, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today. They were awarded Musical America's Ensemble of the Year in 2005.

Together, the All-Stars have worked in unprecedented close collaboration with some of the most important and inspiring musicians of our time, including Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, Burmese circle drum master Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Tan Dun, DJ Spooky, and many more. The group's celebrated projects include their landmark recordings of Brian Eno's ambient classic "Music for Airports" and Terry Riley's "In C," as well as live performances with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Don Byron, Iva Bittova, Thurston Moore, Owen Pallett and others.

The program for the Quick Center concert features a performance of "Field Recordings," a major new multi-media project featuring nine hot-off-the-press commissioned works by Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix, Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Christian Marclay.

The All-Stars are known for numerous ambitious projects, including the world premiere and recording of Steve Reich's "2x5," including a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall; the group's multiple visits to China for the Beijing Music Festival and Hong Kong Arts Festival; the U.S. tour and Carnegie Hall performance of Julia Wolfe's "Steel Hammer;" an evening-length staged concert with Trio Mediaeval; and commissioned works by Louis Andriessen, Bill Frisell, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. With a massive repertoire of works written specifically for the group's distinctive instrumentation and style of performance, the All-Stars have become a genre in their own right. They record on Cantaloupe Music and have released past recordings on Sony, Universal and Nonesuch.

The Bang on a Can All-Stars evolved from Bang on a Can, a multi-faceted performing arts organization co-founded by Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe, which, since its first Marathon concert in 1987 in a SoHo art gallery, has been developing an international community dedicated to innovative music, wherever it is found. Bang on a Can plays "a central role in fostering a new kind of audience that doesn't concern itself with boundaries. If music is made with originality and integrity, these listeners will come," writes The New York Times. With adventurous programs, it commissions new composers, performs, presents, and records new work, developing new audiences and educating the musicians of the future.

Tickets and subscriptions are available through the Quick Center Box Office: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at www.quickcenter.com.

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Free, secure parking is available. Access for people with disabilities is available throughout the Quick Center for audience members and performers. Hearing amplification devices are available upon request at the Box Office. Fairfield University is located off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions, call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.quickcenter.com.