Vancouver New Music spotlights international composers

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      Vancouver New Music has announced its 2017-18 season, offering an audio-visual collaboration between Michaela Grill, Karl Lemieux, and Philip Jack, a selection of new works from New York pianist Uri Caine, a showcase of contemporary Japanese music from Sumire Yoshihara and Kazue Sawai, and a selection of spectralist compositions performed by Vancouver’s Plastic Acid Orchestra.

      The annual New Music Festival will be put on hiatus, replaced with a special concert event celebrating the International Society for Contemporary Music’s 2017 World New Music Days. A program of international works for strings will be performed at the Annex on November 3, including pieces from Canada’s Linda Catlin Smith, Japan’s Michiko Fukazawa, Italy’s Serena Teatini, Germany’s American-born Jay Schwartz. The evening’s grand finale will be the Canadian premiere of Japanese-Canadian Suzuki Kotoka’s In Praise of Shadows.

      The season will kick off one month earlier, with a collaborative, improvisational performance at the Annex on October 7 from Austrian video artist Michaela Grill, Canadian filmmaker Karl Lemieux, and British turntablist Philip Jeck. The show will incorporate 16mm film loops, digital video, and audio signals.

      Acclaimed New York pianist Uri Caine will bring his Parallels series to the Roundhouse on November 25, performing improvisations and original compositions accompanied by a string quarter and the Vancouver Electronic Ensemble. Vancouverites are invited to attend two days of rehearsal workshops on November 24 and 25 to watch the master at work.

      In the new year, Vancouver’s Plastic Acid Orchestra offers Spectralism on February 24 at the Annex. Conducted by Giorgio Magnensi, the players will perform works of spectralist masters Giacinto Scelsi, Gérard Grisey, György Ligeti, and a newly commissioned work from Canada’s Mariah Mennie.

      Percussionist Sumire Yoshihara and koto player Kazue Sawai will bring Japanese contemporary music to the Annex on March 17, with a selection of work by Maka Ishii, Michio Kitazume, Teizo Matsumura, and Yoichi Sugiyama.

      Closing out the season, Grammy-Award winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion will perform for the first time ever in Vancouver, with a program that includes Augusta Read Thomas’ Resounding Earth.

      Vancouver New Music will also be offering free events to community members, including Soundwalks in October 1 and 8, April 29, and May 6, guiding participants through the sounds of the urban environment. The Plastic Acid Orchestra is also offering the third installment of the popular One-page Score Project at Pyatt Hall on January 27, with a series of one-page scores based on pictures.

      Four and six-show subscriptions are available at www.brownpapertickets.com. Single tickets will be available starting September 5. 

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