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Event
Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, New York City Chapter, Inc. AACM 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FESTIVAL!!!!
AACM New York City Chapter, Inc.
Presents
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* AACM 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FESTIVAL!!!! *
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October 9, 2015, SIX PM
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AACM 50TH ANNIVERSARY PANEL DISCUSSION
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Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams, Thurman Barker,
Iqua Colson, Roscoe Mitchell,
Amina Claudine Myers, Reggie Nicholson,
Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Threadgill
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ROSCOE MITCHELL/MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS DUO
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Roscoe Mitchell, saxophone
Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams, piano
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Reception to Follow
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October 16, 2015, EIGHT PM
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WADADA LEO SMITH'S SEXTET
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Wadada Leo Smith, composer, trumpet
Bobby Naughton, vibraharp
Yuko Fujiyama, piano, Brad Jones, bass violin
Reggie Nicholson, drums, percussion
Thurman Barker, drums, percussion
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THURMAN BARKER'S QUINTET
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Thurman Barker, drums, percussion
James Emery, guitar
J.D. Parran, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Noah Barker, piano, Dean Torrey, bass
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October 23, 2015, EIGHT PM
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GEORGE LEWIS: IMPROMPTUS
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Thurman Barker, Eli Fountain, percussion
Tyshawn Sorey, drums, piano, trombone
George Lewis, trombone
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STEVE & IQUA COLSON "40 YEARS IN THE MOMENT"
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Adegoke Steve Colson, piano, Iqua Colson, vocals
Marlene Rice, violin, Reggie Workman, bass
Andrew Cyrille, drums
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October 30, 2015, EIGHT PM
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REGGIE NICHOLSON SOLO
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Reggie Nicholson, percussion
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AACM ALL STAR BAND
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Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams, piano
LaRoy Wallace McMillan, saxophone
Amina Claudine Myers, piano
Leonard Jones, bass
Reggie Nicholson, drums
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* * * THE COMMUNITY CHURCH OF NEW YORK * * *
40 EAST 35TH STREET, NYC
(BETWEEN MADISON AVENUE AND PARK AVENUE)
GENERAL ADMISSION - $30.00
SENIOR CITIZENS/STUDENTS - $15.00 W/VALID I.D.
(EACH NIGHT OR PURCHASE A FESTIVAL PASS)
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UNDERWRITING SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE ROBERT D. BIELECKI FOUNDATION, WITH GRANTS FROM: THE NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS WITH THE SUPPORT OF GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO AND THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE, THE CARY NEW MUSIC PERFORMANCE FUND, THE PHAEDRUS FOUNDATION, AND THE EDWIN H. CASE CHAIR IN AMERICAN MUSIC, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.
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AACM 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CONCERT SERIES!!!!
AACM New York Members Performer's Bio's:
Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams
World renowned pianist and composer Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams has been in the forefront of the contemporary music scene for well over forty years. Muhal is a co-founder of The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), founder of The AACM School of Music and President of The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, New York City Chapter. Muhal was the first recipient of the grand international jazz award, "The JazzPar Prize", which was awarded to him in 1990 by the Danish Jazz Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1999 Muhal was presented a proclamation by Richard M. Daley, Mayor of the City of Chicago, declaring April 11, 1999 as Muhal Richard Abrams Day in Chicago. In 2009 Muhal was selected to be a USA Prudential Fellow by United States Artist. In 2010 Mr. Abrams was chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts to be a NEA Jazz Master, and Mr. Abrams was also inducted into the Downbeat Magazine "Jazz Hall of Fame". In 2012, Muhal received the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa, from Columbia University. Also in 2012, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation presented Dr. Abrams with The BNY Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award at The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. Dr. Abrams was the recipient of the 2014 Walter Dyett Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Institute of Chicago, an organization in which Dr. Abrams was one of the co-founders. In 2015 Dr. Abrams received a PhD. in Humane Letters, honoris causa from DePaul University and also in 2015 Dr. Abrams received the Doris Duke Artist Award. Except for a brief period of study at Chicago Musical College and Governors State University in Chicago, Illinois where he studied electronic music, Dr. Abrams is predominately a self-taught musician who as a result of many years of observation, analysis and practice as a performing musician, has developed a highly respected command of a variety of musical styles both as a pianist and composer. The versatile Dr. Abrams and members of The AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) are responsible for some of the most original new music approaches of the last four decades
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Peggy Abrams
Peggy Abrams, composer, is a founding member of the AACM. She studied Music Composition with Muhal Richard Abrams, and composed for The Experimental Band in the early 1960's. Her association with the AACM dates back to 1965 when she assisted in developing the initial structure of the AACM. In 1983 Peggy participated in the establishment of the AACM New York City Chapter. In addition to her work as a composer, Ms. Abrams also serves as the Chief Financial Officer, Board Member and Secretary of the
AACM New York City Chapter.
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Richarda Abrams
AACM member Richarda Abrams is an Actress/Singer/Playwright, Lifetime member of the Actors Studio, Board member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, a member of New York Women in Film and Television, Black Theatre Network, Urban Artists Collective, Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA. Richarda is an alumna of Professional Children's School (PCS). While attending PCS she worked professionally as an actress and singer and also studied voice privately with Amina Claudine Myers and music theory with Muhal Richard Abrams. Richarda received a Bachelors in Fine Arts degree with honors in Acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and a Master of Arts degree in Educational Theatre from New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Theatrical Performances include: FIRST BY FAITH: THE LIFE OF MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE, written & performed by Richarda Abrams, HARRIET'S RETURN a solo performance play about Harriet Tubman (Acting Company), VIEUX CARRE directed by Austin Pendleton, Suzan-Lori Parks' 365DAYS/365PLAYS (Public Theater), INSURRECTION writer/director Robert O'Hara, VAGINA MONOLOGUES at HERE Arts Center, HOME and SASSY MAMAS (HADLEY Players) that garnered Richarda two of AUDELCO's Excellence in Black Theater Awards for "Outstanding Ensemble Performance", FEAR ITSELF (Crossroads Theatre) ASCENSION (Cherry Lane Theatre), BLIND SIGHT -Yara Arts: a resident theatre company of Ellen Stewart's La Mama Experimental Theatre Club (UKRAINE's Berezil International Theatre Festival). Film and television performances include: ABC's ONE LIFE TO LIVE, CBS' AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS' COSBY, LIFETIME's SHERRI, SHOWTIME's OREOS WITH ATTITUDE, SESAME STREET's NOISES IN THE DARK and independent films. Richarda sings with Amina Claudine Myers Voice Choir in the USA and abroad and sang at the Music Festival Sons D'hiver in Paris, France and on the AACM NYC Concert Series. Richarda has also performed in concert with Muhal Richard Abrams' Ensemble at Roulette in NYC and can be heard singing the title song on Muhal Richard Abrams' cd "Song for All" (Blacks Saint Records). Richarda is also the announcer for the AACM New York City Chapter Concerts. Richarda remains dedicated to the work as a full time performing artist on stage, in film and television, locally and abroad. www.RichardaAbrams.com
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Thurman Barker
Master percussionist Thurman Barker has been a member of the AACM since it's inception. He began his professional career at the age of sixteen playing for blues singer Mighty Joe Young and has performed as backup drummer for Billy Eckstein, Marvin Gaye, Bette Midler and Vicki Carr. Thurman has recorded with Cecil Taylor, Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Myers, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Sam Rivers, Billy Bang, Joseph Jarman and Henry Threadgill. In 1994 Thurman's work "Dialogue" which was commissioned by the World Music Institute was premiered at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra premiered two pieces of Mr. Barker's: "Expansions" in May, 1999 and "Time Factor " in October, 2000. Mr. Barker has produced two recordings on his own record label, Uptee productions. "The Way I Hear It" was released in January of 1999 and his first album "Voyage" was reissued in CD format in November, 1999. In the fall of 1999 Thurman was given the honor of being the guest lecturer at the Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since 1993 he has served as Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Bard College in Annandale -on-Hudson, New York.
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Adegoke Steve Colson and Iqua Colson
Steve & Iqua Colson "40 Years in the Moment" presents the Colsons' music spanning the 40+ years since having met at Northwestern University School of Music in the 70s. Live and on air performances during the past few months have featured some of the extraordinary musicians they have worked with over time including Rasul Siddick, Ernest Dawkins, Dushun Mosley, Kelvyn Bell, Oliver Lake, Tyshawn Sorey. The celebration of this personal milestone includes observing the 50th Anniversary of the AACM. Adegoke Steve Colson joined the AACM in the early 70s; Iqua shortly after. They became part of a thriving AACM. Steve was Chairman and later Business Manager when the AACM 12th and 13th Anniversary International Festivals were produced, bringing press and fans from around the globe. Iqua represented the AACM on the early Boards of the Jazz Institute of Chicago and worked with the Museum of Contemporary Art on the AACM's 14th Anniversary celebration. In the early 80s they left Iqua's native Chicago for Adegoke's home state. As a pianist and composer Adegoke works with many renowned artists. He performs internationally as a soloist and leader of ensembles ranging from trios to orchestras, and composes for theater, dance and multi media presentations. His diverse commissions include the National Lost Jazz Shrines Project with writer Amiri Baraka, and artist Willie Cole. Iqua is an acclaimed vocalist and composer recognized by Billboard Magazine for her writing. Both are committed to arts education - Steve teaching college courses in Piano, Jazz and World Music; Iqua is the Arts Supervisor in Steve's hometown, East Orange, NJ. She has been the architect of several projects, consulting on initiatives that use arts as catalyst for educational and/or social change. Her work is seen in The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing & Fine Arts - a Demonstration Project that has been distinguished as a Model School of the Arts. The Colsons are ahead of the "indie' movement having started their record company in 1979. Their recording "Hope for Love" was nominated for a Grammy and their CD The Untarnished Dream, with jazz masters Workman and Cyrille, ranked high the Jazz Critics Poll. Adegoke's solo piano recording "Tones For" is being released this Fall.
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Leonard E. Jones
Leonard E. Jones, bassist, a member of the AACM since its founding in 1965. He has lived in Europe, Germany since 1980. Jones has performed with both European and American musicians in a variety of combinations over the years. He has also worked in theater productions, rhythm and blues, and gospel constellations and has earned some credits for his photography in recent years. His photographs are part of the AACM 50th anniversary exhibitions Free at First: The Audacious Journey of AACM, the Du Sable Museum of African American History and the Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music 1965 to Now, the Museum of Contemporary Art, both in Chicago.
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George E. Lewis
George E. Lewis is the Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music at Columbia University. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Lewis has received a MacArthur Fellowship (2002), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2015), a United States Artists Walker Fellowship (2011), an Alpert Award in the Arts (1999), and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Lewis studied composition with Muhal Richard Abrams at the AACM School of Music, and trombone with Dean Hey. A member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1971, Lewis's work in electronic and computer music, computer-based multimedia installations, and notated and improvisative forms is documented on more than 140 recordings. His work has been presented by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonia Orchestra, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Talea Ensemble, Dinosaur Annex, Ensemble Pamplemousse, Wet Ink, Ensemble Erik Satie, Eco Ensemble, and others, with commissions from American Composers Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Harvestworks, Ensemble Either/Or, Orkestra Futura, Turning Point Ensemble, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad, IRCAM, Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, and others. Lewis has served as Ernest Bloch Visiting Professor of Music, University of California, Berkeley; Paul Fromm Composer in Residence, American Academy in Rome; Resident Scholar, Center for Disciplinary Innovation, University of Chicago; and CAC Fitt Artist In Residence, Brown University. Lewis received the 2012 SEAMUS Award from the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States, and his book, A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music (University of Chicago Press, 2008) received the American Book Award and the American Musicological Society's Music in American Culture Award. Lewis is the co-editor of the forthcoming two-volume Oxford Handbook of Critical Improvisation Studies, and is composing Afterword, an opera commissioned by the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry at the University of Chicago, to be premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in October 2015.
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LaRoy Wallace McMillan
LaRoy Wallace McMillan, early member of the AACM, master saxophonist and flutist, has collaborated with Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Threadgill, and Adegoke Steve Colson and Iqua Colson. Discography includes: THINGS TO COME FROM THOSE NOW GONE (Muhal Richard Abrams), BLUES FOREVER (Muhal Richard Abrams), MAMA AND DADDY (Muhal Richard Abrams), NONAAH (Roscoe Mitchell), SKETCHES IN BAMBOO (Roscoe Mitchell Creative Orchestra), BUDDING OF A ROSE (Wadada Leo Smith's Creative Orchestra), X-75 VOLUME 1 (Henry Threadgill), NO RESERVATION (Colson Unity Troup) and TRIUMPH (Steve Colson and The Colson Unity Troup).
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Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an internationally renowned musician, composer, and innovator. His role in the resurrection of long neglected woodwind instruments of extreme register, his innovation as a solo woodwind performer, and his reassertion of the composer into what has traditionally been an improvisational form have placed him at the forefront of contemporary music for over five decades. Mr. Mitchell is a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and the Trio Space. Mr. Mitchell is the founder of the Creative Arts Collective, The Roscoe Mitchell Sextet, The Roscoe Mitchell Quartet, The Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble, The Sound Ensemble, The New Chamber Ensemble, and the Note Factory. He has recorded hundreds albums and has written hundreds of compositions. His compositions range from classical to contemporary, from passionate and forceful improvisations to ornate orchestral music. Also, for five decades, he has designed the Percussion Cage, an elaborate percussion instrument consisting of instruments from America, China, Tibet, Africa, Australia, Europe, and Turkey, as well as many found instruments. The Percussion Cage, along with some of Mr. Mitchell's paintings, are part of an Art Ensemble of Chicago installation at an exhibition called "The Freedom Principle" which opened on July 11, 2015 and will run through November 22, 2015 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Illinois. Mitchell's honors include a CMA Presenting Jazz grant (2010), multiple grants from National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and Mutable Music. He is a recipient of the Doris Duke Artist Award (2014). He is currently the Distinguished Darius Milhaud Professor at Mills College, Oakland, California. In early 2014, Mitchell premiered his composition "NONAAH for Orchestra" performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony in Glasgow, Scotland, and he released Roscoe Mitchell Conversations with Craig Taborn and Kikanju Baku (Wide Hive).
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Amina Claudine Myers
Amina Claudine Myers,raised in Blackwell Arkansas, Amina Claudine Myers' musical calling came at the age of four. At age seven she began formal piano training and after her family moved to Dallas, Texas, she helped form a preteen gospel group and later served as choir director and pianist in several Dallas and Louisville area churches. Upon returning to Arkansas, she co-founded the Gospel Four and the Royal Hearts, performing in high schools and church choirs. Ms. Myers studied European concert music at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, from which she graduated with a B.A. degree in Music Education. The next stop on her musical journey was Chicago. In addition to teaching music for six years in Chicago's public school system, Ms. Myers joined the AACM in 1966, honing her craft as a composer and performing alongside such visionary artists as pianist, Muhal Richard Abrams, percussionist, Ajaramu (Jerold Donovan) and reedmen, Henry Threadgill and Kalaparusha (Maurice McIntyre). In 1970, Ms. Myers hit the road with Sonny Stitt, followed by a two and a half-year stint with The Gene Ammons Quartet. Since 1976, when she moved to New York City, Ms. Myers continues to perform and compose with her various groups, The Amina Claudine Myers Voice Choir, Trio, Quartet and Sextet. 2001 Ms. Myers was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame and in 2010 Ms. Myers was inducted into the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame. Recently Ms. Myers was commissioned by the Jazz Institute of Chicago to compose a work for a 17 piece Jazz Orchestra in honor of the late pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams' Hundredth Birthday. Ms. Myers has also composed for chamber orchestra as well as pipe organ and has recorded ten cds as a leader.
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Reggie Nicholson
Reggie Nicholson (Drums, Percussion, Composer) was born in Chicago. While performing with many musicians, Nicholson's reputation as an outstanding drummer was established. In 1979, Nicholson became a member of the Association for the
Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). During this time, Nicholson absorbed the musical influences of the AACM through the art of improvisation and the original music compositions of its members. In 1984, Nicholson performed for the first time his compositions for trio, which included AACM members, Light Henry Huff and Yosef Ben Israel. This was the first "Concept" that established Nicholson's own ideology and methodology in his works. In 1987, Nicholson moved to New York City. While in NYC, Nicholson has recorded with AACM members Henry Threadgill (You Know The Number, Easily Slipping Into Another World, Rag, Bush and All), Muhal Richard Abrams (Song For All, Think All Focus One, Family Talk, One Line, Two Views), Amina Claudine Myers (Jumping In The Sugar Bowl, Country Girl, Amina, Women E Motion), and Leroy Jenkins (Live!). In 1988, Nicholson premiered new works for his trio featuring Frank Lowe and Brian Smith at the NYC Knitting Factory. In 1997, Nicholson recorded his first CD of new compositions for his quintet, The Reggie Nicholson Concept, "Unnecessary Noise Allowed". Later, Nicholson experimented with electronics and percussion instruments, and recorded "Percussion Peace" for solo percussion. In 2007, Nicholson composed and performed live "Timbre Suite" (Tone Colors) for The Reggie Nicholson Percussion Concept. Nicholson's latest recording, "Surreal Feel" shows the maturity and growth of his compositional skills with The Reggie Nicholson Brass Concept. Currently, Nicholson is continuing to explore the aesthetics of his musical concept.
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Wadada Leo Smith
Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith: trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser has been active in creative contemporary music for almost 50 years. His systemic music language Ankhrasmation is significant in his development as an artist and educator. Born in Leland, Mississippi, Smith's early musical life began in the high school concert and marching bands. At the age of thirteen, he became involved with the Delta Blues and Improvisation music traditions. He received his formal musical education with his stepfather Alex Wallace, the U.S. Military band program (1963), Sherwood School of Music (1967-69), and Wesleyan University (1975-76). Mr. Smith has studied a variety of music cultures: African, Japanese, Indonesian, European and American. He has taught at the University of New Haven (1975-'76), the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY (1975-'78), and Bard College (1987-'93). For the past twenty years he was a faculty member at The Herb Alpert School of Music at California Institute of the Arts. Until his retirement in 2014, Mr. Smith was the director of the African-American Improvisational Music program. Also, he is a member of ASCAP, Chamber Music America, and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Mr. Smith's awards and commissions include: MAP Fund Award for "Ten Freedom Summers" (2011), Chamber Music America New Works Grant (2010), NEA Recording Grant (2010), Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2009-2010), Other Minds residency and "Taif", a string quartet commission (2008), Fellow of the Jurassic Foundation (2008), FONT(Festival of New Trumpet) Award of Recognition (2008), Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Award (2005), Islamic World Arts Initiative of Arts International (2004), Fellow of the Civitela Foundation (2003), Fellow at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (2001), "Third Culture Copenhagen" in Denmark-presented a paper on Ankhrasmation (1996), Meet the Composer/Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Commissioning Program (1996), Asian Cultural Council Grantee to Japan (June-August 1993), Meet the Composer/Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Commissioning Program (1990), Numerous Meet the Composer Grants (since 1977), and National Endowment for the Arts Music Grants (1972, 1974, 1981). Mr. Smith's music philosophy Notes (8 Pieces) Source a New. World Music: Creative Music has been published by Kiom Press (1973).
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Henry Threadgill
AACM member, Henry Threadgill, is both a composer and multi-instrumentalist. He studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He co-majored in piano and flute, along with composition. He has had a music career for over forty years as both a leader and as a composer.
Threadgill's music has been performed by many of his long lasting instrumental ensembles, including the trio Air, the seven-piece Sextett, Very Very Circus, twenty-piece Society Situation Dance Band, X-75, Make a Move, Aggregation Orb, and his current group Zooid. He has recorded many albums as a leader of various ensembles. Henry Threadgill's works for large orchestras, such as ˜Run Silent, Run Deep, Run Loud, Run High" (conducted by Hale Smith), and "Mix for Orchestra" (conducted by Dennis Russell Davies) were both premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Threadgill has had numerous commissions for theatre, orchestra, solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and dance companies.
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LocationTHE COMMUNITY CHURCH OF NEW YORK (View)
40 EAST 35TH STREET (BETWEEN MADISON AVENUE AND PARK AVENUE)
New York, NY 10016
United States
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| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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