NYFA ollection CVolume Two Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the New York Foundation for the Arts’ Fellowship Program. the nyfa collection, volume two 1. Laura Andel: Khartes 4 5:33 2. Sylvie Courvoisier Trio: La Cigale 5:56 3. Frank Carlberg: March 11:08 4. John Bacon: The Broken Branch Rag 12:04 5. Mihoko Suzuki: Ode to Number 14 11:35 6. Ben Gerstein: Berl Isaac 7:25 7. Judith Sloan: What’s Your Status? 3:13 8. Svjetlana Bukvich: Tattoo 4:29 9. Anthony Gatto: Sabbath Lily 2:03 10. Yotam Haber: We Were All 9:09 72:57 Produced by Cristian Amigo and Philip Blackburn innova 253 © The Artists. All Rights Reserved, 2015. innova® Recordings is the label of the American Composers Forum. www.innova.mu www.nyfa.org When asked about the importance of a NYFA Fellowship, we often say that we are giving artists the gift of time—time to create, time to inspire, time to be free of some of life’s daily tasks so as to allow the noble and artistic mind to flourish. And flourish it has. Past Fellows have won every possible measure of critical acclaim, including Academy Awards, Tony Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and MacArthur ‘’Ge- nius’’ Fellowships. So in keeping with this gift of time, it is time to acknowledge the 30th Anniversary of NYFA’s Fellowship Award. Over the past three decades, NYFA has awarded over $27 million in unre- stricted cash grants to over 4,400 artists, and it is with both pride and humility that we pause Complete listing of 2013 Music and Sound Fellows to reflect on the artistic output that has flowed (not all artists could be represented in this current volume): from their amazing talents. New York—and the Ramin Amir Arjomand, Laura Andel, Darcy James Argue, John Bacon, Susan Botti, Svjetlana Bukvich, Frank Carlberg, Sylvie world—is a better place for their contributions, Courvoisier, Timothy Dunne, Ben Gerstein, Keith Gurland, Yo- and NYFA is honored to have helped them at tam Haber, Satoshi Kanazawa, Dafna Naphtali, Anna Schuleit, an important time in their creative lives. Judith Sloan, Mihoko Suzuki, and Rodolfo Marcelo Toledo Finalists: Michael Attias, Anthony Gatto, Elizabeth Kosack None of this would be possible without the support and confidence of the New York State Council on the Arts. We thank them for their unwavering trust in NYFA’s experience and expertise to nurture New York artists over the past thirty years, and we look forward to con- tinuing what is a unique and venerable opportu- nity for the artistic community. — Judith K. Brodsky, Board Chair — Michael L. Royce, Executive Director 1. Andel has received grants and awards for her work from Khartes 4 the Rockefeller Foundation, American Music Center, Mas- Laura Andel sachusetts Cultural Council, New York State Music Fund, Laura Andel Orchestra: Edward T. Cone Foundation, BMI Foundation, Unesco-As- Elliott Sharp, electric guitar chberg, Jerome Foundation, Urban Artist Initiative/NYC, Daniel Binelli, bandoneon and the Senate for Culture of the City of Berlin. Her music Carl Maguire, Fender Rhodes has been performed in New York, Boston, Berlin, Caracas, Andrew Drury, drums Buenos Aires, and other cities. She currently lives in Harlem, Laura Andel, conductor New York City. The Laura Andel Orchestra has released 3 CDs to date: Recording Engineer, Stephe Cooper Somnambulist, In::Tension:., and Doble Mano. Mastering, Elliott Sharp www.lauraandel.com Khartes was composed during a Roulette Residency Pro- Khartes (2013) is a 50-minute work in seven parts for four gram, supported with funds from the Jerome Foundation, musicians and a conductor written for an ensemble/orches- and had its world premiere on February 2, 2013 at Roulette tra of eclectic instrumentation. Khartes features musicians in New York City. Thanks to Roulette and the Jerome Foun- from the Buenos Aires and New York music scenes who col- dation. Special thanks to Carl, Andrew, Daniel, and Elliott lectively create a musical crossover of geographies and per- for being my inspiration. sonal languages. By conceptualizing music that balances composition, 2. textural improvisation, and compositional conducting, An- La Cigale del creates unique, sometimes ritualistic, sonic landscapes Sylvie Courvoisier TRIO built from elements drawn from avant-garde and contempo- Sylvie Courvoisier, piano, composition rary classical music. In her pieces, each performer’s distinc- Drew Gress, bass tive voice is a thread in the collective sonic fabric. Julian Sartorius, drums Khartes 4 is the nodal point of this seven-part work— where both freedom and tension peak and where geogra- Recorded live in Warsaw, June 13, 2015. phies overlap in a kind of broken sound map. Sylvie Courvoisier is a Swiss pianist, composer, and impro- Laura Andel is a composer and conductor from Buenos viser who has lived in Brooklyn, New York since 1998. She Aires, Argentina. Andel moved to New York in 2000 after has led several groups over the years and has recorded over living and working in Boston for several years. One of her 25 records as a leader or co-leader for different labels, no- main interests is exploring diverse combinations of instru- tably ECM , Tzadik, and Intakt Records. She has also per- ments and formats for her orchestras, as well as working with formed with and appeared as a sideperson on an additional musicians from different musical and cultural backgrounds. 30 CDs with John Zorn, Mark Feldman, Yusef Lateef, Ikue Her creative process also revolves around the diverse visual Mori, Tony Oxley, Tim Berne, Joey Baron, Joëlle Léandre, manifestations of music and sound by way of original graph- Herb Robertson, Butch Morris, Evan Parker, Mark Dresser, ic scores and drawings that initiate an intimate dialogue be- Ellery Eskelin, Lotte Anker, Fred Frith, Michel Godard, and tween sound and its representation. Tomazs Stanko among others. Currently, Courvoisier is the leader of her TRIO with tras, as well as modern dance companies. Carlberg serves on Kenny Wollesen and Drew Gress. She also regularly per- the faculty at New England Conservatory, is a member of the forms SOLO and since 1997, in DUO with violinist Mark Douglass Street Music Collective, and a partner in the artist Feldman. She co-leads the Sylvie Courvoisier/Mark Feldman run cooperative label Red Piano Records. Quartet with Scott Colley and Billy Mintz. Since 2000, she has been a member of Mephista, an improvising collective 4. trio, with Ikue Mori and Susie Ibarra. She is currently playing The Broken Branch Rag (2010) and touring different projects by John Zorn includingCo - John Bacon bra, Masada Marathon and Bagatelles. She also plays in Erik The SUNY Fredonia Percussion Ensemble, Dr. Karolyn Friedlander’s Trio, Nate Wooley’s Quartet, and with guitarist Stonefelt, director Mary Halvorson. Since 2010, she has been working as a pia- Alec Dube, Juan Herrera, Kyle Scudder, percussion nist and composer for flamenco dancer Israel Galvan’s project la Curva which has had more than 150 performances around Recorded May 3, 2015, Rosch Recital Hall SUNY Fredonia. the world. www.sylviecourvoisier.com Tim Bausch, recording Engineer 3. The piece commemorates the “October Surprise” storm that March occurred on October 14, 2007 in Western New York, in Frank Carlberg which a sudden and uncommon heavy snowstorm occurred Frank Carlberg Big Band before the leaves had fallen from the trees. This resulted in Solos, Gerard Kleijn, Vincent Veneman massive downing of limbs, branches and whole trees through- out the region. The incredible sounds of that evening, crack- Recorded live at the Bimhuis, Amsterdam. ing, breaking and crashing trees, when virtually the entire re- gion was without power and travel was hazardous, were both Originally a native of Helsinki, Finland, Frank Carlberg oc- chilling and impossible to duplicate. Therefore the music is cupies a unique niche in the New York jazz community. As more of a monument than a narrative of the event. This piece a leader, Frank’s groups include the Frank Carlberg Quin- uses some characteristics of ragtime music but also incorpo- tet (performing settings of a wide variety of texts including rates a considerable amount of non-ragtime elements that are poems), the Tivoli Trio (a classic jazz piano trio playing an borrowed from the world of modern percussion music. eclectic mix of Carlberg compositions drawn from cinematic and circus inspirations) and the Frank Carlberg Big Band John Bacon, percussionist and composer, has performed (performing original compositions as well as arrangements with Lester Bowie, Roswell Rudd, Bobby Previte, the Buffalo and re-compositions of standards and folk music). Philharmonic Orchestra, Bobby Militello. He was also a fea- The Brooklyn-based pianist has also been involved in tured soloist with the SUNY Fredonia percussion ensemble. many crossover projects; some of his collaborations include He teaches percussion and directs the Latin Jazz Ensemble at performances and recordings with saxophonist Steve Lacy, SUNY Fredonia. He also teaches at UB and Villa Maria Col- trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, and trumpeter Kenny Wheel- lege in Buffalo, NY. He holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition er. Additionally, Carlberg has been commissioned to write from SUNY Buffalo and a Masters Degree in Music Perfor- music for big bands, small ensembles, and symphony orches- mance from SUNY Fredonia. Equally skilled as a percussionist and trap drummer, he has been a member pieces explore the complex and often contradictory relation- of (hatArt) recording artists and The Maelstrom Percussion ships between humans and the natural world: Litany for the Ensemble, along with leading his own ensembles. His music Animals—a multimedia opera/oratorio; This World—a song has been performed by a diverse collection of musicians, in- cycle with live audio manipulation of amplified water; and cluding The Amherst Saxophone Quartet, Leroy Jenkins, the To the Dogs—a visual-auditory ritual dedicated to 33 dogs on New Jazz Orchestra of Buffalo, the New York New Music En- death row at NYC Animal Care Center.