https://www.ekmeles.com ekmeles Fri, 21 Jul 2023 00:26:41 +0000 https://www.ekmeles.com en https://www.ekmeles.com/about Wed, 12 Jul 2023 18:58:40 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/about <img width="4000" height="3000" width_o="4000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e17f71a358cdca439f3ac14b898dc40c9e9800fa669604b4d8ff147cd7413c4c/230405_Ekmeles-1795.jpg" data-mid="184893759" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e17f71a358cdca439f3ac14b898dc40c9e9800fa669604b4d8ff147cd7413c4c/230405_Ekmeles-1795.jpg" /> <img width="3000" height="4000" width_o="3000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0e91e2e911b4a44bbfe141ace64605a0178fe6bf84a65f1e82af4ea37b35d5f3/230405_Ekmeles-1577-2.jpg" data-mid="184985259" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0e91e2e911b4a44bbfe141ace64605a0178fe6bf84a65f1e82af4ea37b35d5f3/230405_Ekmeles-1577-2.jpg" /> <img width="3200" height="4000" width_o="3200" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d085c88c7bc31448c19c219dd2cf7c900e4dcb09af9eff6e1a97478beeeaec99/230405_Ekmeles-1892.jpg" data-mid="184985314" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d085c88c7bc31448c19c219dd2cf7c900e4dcb09af9eff6e1a97478beeeaec99/230405_Ekmeles-1892.jpg" /> Photos by Bill Wadman ekmeles is a new music vocal group [ɛk'mɛlɛs] ek'melesIn Ancient Greek music theory, tones of indefinite pitch and intervals with complex ratios, tones "not appropriate for musical usage." In New York City, a new vocal ensemble dedicated to breathing life into those disallowed tones, new and old.A "brilliant young ensemble... defining a fresh and virtuosic American sound" - The New Yorker <img width="4000" height="4000" width_o="4000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5254d9645990472832148501215875927e13c3cb3ac56da7ceac166963700fb0/230405_Ekmeles-1820.jpg" data-mid="184894435" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5254d9645990472832148501215875927e13c3cb3ac56da7ceac166963700fb0/230405_Ekmeles-1820.jpg" /> Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works, and gems of the historical avant garde. They have a special focus on microtonal works, and have been praised for their “extraordinary sense of pitch” by the New York Times. They are the recipients of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s 2023 Ensemble Prize, the first American group to receive the honor. As part of their work expanding the possibilities of tuning and technique in vocal music, Ekmeles has given world premieres by composers including John Luther Adams, Taylor Brook, Courtney Bryan, Ann Cleare, Zosha Di Castri, Erin Gee, Georg Friedrich Haas, Martin Iddon, Hannah Kendall, Catherine Lamb, George Lewis, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Christopher Trapani, James Weeks, and Arash Yazdani. In addition to creating their own repertoire, Ekmeles is dedicated to bringing the best of contemporary vocal music to the United States that would otherwise go unheard. They have given US premieres by composers including Joanna Bailie, Carola Bauckholt, Aaron Cassidy, Beat Furrer, Stefano Gervasoni, Georg Friedrich Haas, Evan Johnson, Bernhard Lang, Liza Lim, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, Lucia Ronchetti, Wolfgang Rihm, Rebecca Saunders, Salvatore Sciarrino, Mathias Spahlinger, and Agatha Zubel. Collaborations with other musical ensembles and artists has been a part of Ekmeles’s work from the very beginning. In their first several seasons they gave the US premieres of Luigi Nono’s Quando stanno morendo with AMP New Music, and Beat Furrer’s FAMA with Talea Ensemble. Their collaborations with Mivos Quartet include world premieres by Taylor Brook and Evan Johnson, and the US premieres of Stefano Gervasoni’s Dir - In Dir and Wolfgang Rihm’s concert-length ET LUX. In 2015 Ekmeles joined with members of Tilt Brass and loadbang for the US premiere of Mathias Spahlinger’s monumental über den frühen tod fräuleins anna augusta marggräfin zu baden, and Wolfgang Rihm’s SKOTEINÓS. They returned to the Spahlinger in 2024 on a German tour with composers slide quartet and Ensemble Aventure.&nbsp; Ekmeles also collaborates beyond the traditional concert stage, including the integration of singers into choreographic works by New Chamber Ballet, and a staged memorized performance of David Lang’s the little match girl passion at the MET Breuer Museum directed by Tony award winning director Rachel Chavkin. They also gave sold-out performances with Oliver Beer’s Vessel Orchestra, the first sound-based installation commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Director Jeffrey Gavett performed at the keyboard of this instrument, composed of 32 resonant hollow objects spanning 7,000 years of the museum’s collection. In 2022 they sang as part of John Luther Adams’s installation work Veils and Vesper, broadcast on WNYC’s New Sounds. Ekmeles has taught and premiered works by student composers at Brandeis, Brown, Columbia, University of Florida, Manhattan School of Music, University of New Mexico, NYU, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, and University of Virginia. Their second album We Live the Opposite Daring was released in February 2024 on New Focus Recordings, with works by Zosha Di Castri, Jeffrey Gavett, Erin Gee, Shawn Jaeger, Hannah Kendall, and James Weeks. Textura praised it saying “this ever-intrepid outfit goes places few other vocal ensembles dare venture.” Fanfare calls it “One of the most amazing choral discs to have come my way: a crack vocal ensemble presenting vitally alive music of our time.” In January of 2020 they released their debut album A howl, that was also a prayer on New Focus Recordings, with works by Taylor Brook, Erin Gee, and Christopher Trapani. Fanfare magazine said the album's performances were "beyond expert - almost frightening in their precision.” In the spring of 2020 through May 2021, Ekmeles continued to bring their performances to audiences in authentic ways despite the difficulty of singing together. They performed innovative streaming concerts that combined elements of video art created by members of the ensemble, pre-recorded performances, and live synchronous online performing. Ensemble members performed simultaneously from San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York. https://www.ekmeles.com/singers Wed, 12 Jul 2023 19:40:57 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/singers https://www.ekmeles.com/listen Thu, 20 Jul 2023 22:56:23 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/listen We Live the Opposite Daring by Ekmeles Nonsongs by Ekmeles A Howl, That Was Also A Prayer by Ekmeles <img width="1648" height="1483" width_o="1648" height_o="1483" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/959f09b7b77ae2d831adb4831dadeeb71afb2e32828f43ebf950785755b20e68/neospoliticalcover.jpg" data-mid="239163829" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/959f09b7b77ae2d831adb4831dadeeb71afb2e32828f43ebf950785755b20e68/neospoliticalcover.jpg" /> https://www.ekmeles.com/support Wed, 12 Jul 2023 20:18:39 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/support support ekmelesWe are a 501(c)(3). You can support us with a one-time or recurring donation in the form below. institutional support provided byAmphion FoundationAaron Copland Fund for MusicAlice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia UniversityBMI Foundation, Inc.Chamber Music AmericaErnst von Siemens MusikstiftungFondation SuisaLower Manhattan Cultural Council supported by the Howard Gilman FoundationNew York State Council on the ArtsNew York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City CouncilThe Swiss Arts Council Pro HelvetiaUpper Manhattan Empowerment Zone<img width="589" height="630" width_o="589" height_o="630" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b2b4382b630309fee37562e211ed0fe76bc5911e8be817d731290c45e685e34b/support2526.jpg" data-mid="238125991" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/589/i/b2b4382b630309fee37562e211ed0fe76bc5911e8be817d731290c45e685e34b/support2526.jpg" /> https://www.ekmeles.com/contact Fri, 21 Jul 2023 00:26:41 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/contact For booking and questions email jeff@ekmeles.com Sign up for our mailing list to hear about our upcoming shows https://www.ekmeles.com/Charlotte-Mundy-soprano Wed, 12 Jul 2023 18:58:41 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/Charlotte-Mundy-soprano Toronto-born, Brooklyn based vocalist Charlotte Mundy has been dubbed a "daredevil with an unbreakable spine" (SF Classical Voice), and is the only awardee of the Jan Degaetani prize for Contemporary Song from the Joy in Singing Competition. Past soloist performances include Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Boulez's Le Marteau sans Maître, Feldman's Three Voices, George Benjamin’s Into the Little Hill, Iannis Xenakis’ Akanthos, and a set of music for voice and electronics presented by New York Festival of Song, described as "an oasis of radiant beauty" by the New York Times. In addition to her work as a core member of Ekmeles, Mundy is founding member of TAK ensemble, “one of the most prominent ensembles in the United States practicing truly experimental music” (I Care If You Listen). Her playful, synaesthetic compositions have been performed at Roulette, JACK theater, University of New Mexico, and the Higher Ground festival. charlottemundy.com <img width="1200" height="1693" width_o="1200" height_o="1693" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c687f6a6131f4e80732963e304cc3b3928787ddccdfd24db11ac07eb59c67edd/CharlotteMundy.jpeg" data-mid="215715397" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c687f6a6131f4e80732963e304cc3b3928787ddccdfd24db11ac07eb59c67edd/CharlotteMundy.jpeg" /> https://www.ekmeles.com/Elisa-Sutherland-mezzo-soprano Wed, 12 Jul 2023 19:40:02 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/Elisa-Sutherland-mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano Elisa Sutherland gives detailed, stylistic performances of early and new music with “soul-infused expressiveness and unselfconscious joie de vivre” (New York Music Daily). Elisa is an integral participant in NYC's chamber music scene as a core member of both Ekmeles, a sextet dedicated to exploring microtonal tuning and extended vocal techniques, and Alkemie, medieval specialists who celebrate&nbsp;the vibrant and timeless sounds of the past and present. Elisa's 2025-26 Season includes an astonishing range of high-level music-making with&nbsp;collaborators around the country including ACRONYM, TENET, Quince, The Crossing, Blue Heron, Lorelei, Ampersand, Variant 6, the Choir of Trinity Church, and Seraphic Fire. elisasutherland.com <img width="3696" height="4006" width_o="3696" height_o="4006" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/42f8d6c7928ec59d5099a30feb7da7039dfd085e39c68effe6b0446ccc1c8e83/Headshot-1-portrait.jpg" data-mid="186246146" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/42f8d6c7928ec59d5099a30feb7da7039dfd085e39c68effe6b0446ccc1c8e83/Headshot-1-portrait.jpg" /> https://www.ekmeles.com/Timothy-Parsons-countertenor Wed, 12 Jul 2023 19:48:17 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/Timothy-Parsons-countertenor Timothy Parsons&nbsp;is an acclaimed and GRAMMY®-nominated countertenor &amp; choral conductor.&nbsp;He has travelled and performed extensively – as an ensemble &amp; consort singer, and as soloist – in such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Alice Tully Hall, London’s St John’s Smith Square, Montreal’s Salle Bourgie, and Utrecht’s Tivoli Vredenburg. He has had the great privilege of premiering two Pulitzer-prize winning operas, Ellen Reid’s p r i s m, for LA Opera and the Prototype Festival, and Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone, for the Prototype Festival. He is a former Lay Clerk of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and a longtime member of two GRAMMY®-nominated New York ensembles, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Clarion Choir. Timothy can be heard on numerous recordings, including two works by Benedict Sheehan, recordings of p r i s m and Angel’s Bone, and numerous recordings with Clarion Music Society and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. He is an avid hiker, meditator, and vegan. He resides in Vermont, where he hopes to be bringing concerts of vocal music soon. He teaches voice and ear-training to students of all levels, coaches and teaches masterclasses with choirs as a clinician, and consults on programming and other choral concerns. timothyparsonscountertenor.com <img width="2500" height="1875" width_o="2500" height_o="1875" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a4f628aba51a5fbfa4f6e8290446ab6d928c6225a01bf29eeea8ac31f9f887de/parsonsheadshot.jpeg" data-mid="186568486" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a4f628aba51a5fbfa4f6e8290446ab6d928c6225a01bf29eeea8ac31f9f887de/parsonsheadshot.jpeg" /> https://www.ekmeles.com/Tomas-Cruz-tenor Wed, 12 Jul 2023 19:49:36 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/Tomas-Cruz-tenor Known for his "... mellifluous, pure tone (New York Classical Review),” Tomás Cruz is a regular in the NYC choral and new music scenes. After studying jazz in college, he began his career in the chorus of Philip Glass’ opera Einstein on the Beach. Since then, he has sung for many artists including Leon Bridges, Toshi Reagon, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Reich, Anthony Braxton, Petr Kotik, Judd Greenstein, Damien Rice, The Crossing, Jonsi &amp; Alex, Lyra Pramuk, and Trinity Wall Street, among others. Notable credits include an appearance on SNL and guest vocalist work on jazz composer Arturo O’Farrill’s Grammy Award Winning album Four Questions. Ongoing projects include Ekmeles, pop a cappella group Duwende, and the St. Thomas Choir of Men &amp; Boys. Tomás holds two degrees from The New England Conservatory of Music. tomasvoice.com <img width="2560" height="1707" width_o="2560" height_o="1707" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/20e5b2570fb1c874b7ae1fa4b98245aa0b49558f930176a06637fc9332e1891b/8T6A1607.jpeg" data-mid="186245845" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/20e5b2570fb1c874b7ae1fa4b98245aa0b49558f930176a06637fc9332e1891b/8T6A1607.jpeg" /> https://www.ekmeles.com/Jeffrey-Gavett-baritone-and-director Wed, 12 Jul 2023 19:54:05 +0000 ekmeles https://www.ekmeles.com/Jeffrey-Gavett-baritone-and-director Jeffrey Gavett, called a “brilliantly agile singer” by the New York Times, has performed with a broad array of artists, including Alarm Will Sound, ICE, Meredith Monk, Roomful of Teeth, SEM Ensemble, Ensemble Signal,&nbsp; Talea Ensemble, and Yarn/Wire. He directs Ekmeles vocal ensemble, and as a founding member of loadbang premiered over 450 pieces from 2008-2022. As a recording artist he appears on Bridge Records, Kairos, NEOS, New Amsterdam, and New Focus Recordings, including music written for him by Chaya Czernowin, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, and Charles Wuorinen. He also conducted and music directed for Roomful of Teeth’s CD The Colorado. Theatrical appearances include Rudolf Komorous’s Nonomiya and Petr Kotik’s Master-Pieces at New Opera Days Ostrava in the Czech Republic, Annie Dorsen’s Yesterday Tomorrow at the Holland Festival, in France, and Croatia, and Matt Marks’s Mata Hari on the 2017 Prototype Festival. He appears on video in Judd Greenstein’s opera A Marvelous Order, and in Matthew Barney’s 2023 film installation work Secondary. Mr. Gavett holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and Manhattan School of Music. jeffreygavett.com <img width="1000" height="1500" width_o="1000" height_o="1500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f6e2a2d3c4126b67f13b3929ae69228efc7475007e48f7c60e44c0245cd68722/Jeff-079-3.jpg" data-mid="184897134" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f6e2a2d3c4126b67f13b3929ae69228efc7475007e48f7c60e44c0245cd68722/Jeff-079-3.jpg" />