Say What?

A one-night festival celebrates a world premiere of

MARC MELLITS' AGU

Following the amazing success of the 2002 George Crumb Celebration Festival, American pianist Andrew Russo returns to New York on Friday, September 24 to direct and perform in a new project entitled Say What? at The Cutting Room. The evening's highlight will be the world premiere of Marc Mellits's AGU for speaking pianist. Written for Andrew Russo, don't miss this beautiful setting of 3 poems by Romanian poet Ioana Ieronim. Full evening listings attached:

7 pm BOOM BOX – Andrew Russo, Kevin Gallagher, Jeremy Turner

This concert, in the structure of a boom box, will feature premieres of 2 new works for speaking pianist by Derek Bermel and Marc Mellits (commissioned by Andrew Russo) bookended by 4 works for solo instruments and boom box by the Dutch master Jacob ter Veldhuis. Featured are: TaTaTaTa for cello and boom box; May This Bliss Never End for cello, piano and boom box; Grab It! for guitar and boom box; and The Body Of Your Dreams for piano and boom box.

9 pm NATIVE ECHOES – Jerome Kitzke, Thomas Kolor, Lidia Kaminska, New Jersey Percussion Ensemble

In a mere 50 minutes, the audience will be treated to a menu de dégustation of works by the extraordinary American composer and storyteller Jerome Kitzke. The Aperitif – Breath and Bone for accordion and vocals; the Entrée - Green Automobile for toy piano and vocals; the Plat Principal – The Earth Only Endures for percussion and vocals; and finally for Dessert – the richly evocative The Character Of American Sunlight for vocalising percussion quartet with piano. A truly five star feast!

11 pm DARKNESSE VISIBLE – Thomas Rosenkranz, Samuel Solomon

Taking us to the stroke of midnight will be a trio of works both deep and dark. Beata Moon's “Keepers of Democracy for speaking pianist/toy pianist will lead the way into Frederic Rzewski's epic De Profundis for speaking pianist – a musical dramatization of Oscar Wilde's monumental letter from Reading Gaol to Lord Alfred Douglas. To conclude, Adam B. Silverman's conceptual theater work for vocalizing percussionist Stars, Cars, Bars, which draws on texts from a particularly hallucinatory segment of Nabokov's Lolita.

Friday, September 24, 2004 at The Cutting Room, W. 24th St, New York, NY, USA

Concert Times: 7 pm, 9 pm and 11 pm
To reserve tickets: (+1) 212 691 1900 (pick-up after 3pm only)
Prices: $10/single concert; $25/3-concert pass

SAY WHAT? is underwritten by generous grants from the Gladys Krieble Delmas and James S. Marcus Foundations.

For more information, please contact Moira Johnson Consulting

Tel: (+1) 613 565 0666 Email: majico@magma.ca www.moirajohnson.com