Planning and producing the 2021 Ostrava Days Festival and Institute was in itself a big adventure – therefore the success of the project was surprising. Overall, this year’s Festival had larger audience sizes than two years ago. The Festival featured 12 concerts and events, including an 18-hour continuous program of concerts and site-specific performances in spaces that ranged from outdoors to the great hall of the Jiří Myron Theatre to Ostrava’s central Cathedral. The OD Festival presented 109 compositions (41 world premieres) by three orchestras – ONO (Ostrava New Orchestra), Ostravská banda, and the Prague Philharmonia. Seven chamber ensembles from Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Slovakia, Estonia and Switzerland performed. Resident composers included Alvin Curran (Rome), Raven Chacon (Albuquerque, NM), Petr Kotik (NYC), Bernhard Lang (Vienna), Miya Masaoka (NYC), Mark Sabat (Berlin), Ana Solović (Montreal) and Martin Smolka (Prague). The OD Institute included 24 young composers form 11 countries, including Iran, Israel, USA, and Europe. The festival’s program presented works by these young composers at each concert, including some for large orchestra. Among the soloists were Gareth Davis (bass clarinet), Hana Kotková (violin), Daan Vandewalle (piano), Tamás Pálfalvi (trumpet), and the Czech pianists Ivo Kahánek and Miroslav Beinhauer. There was an evening length tribute to Frederic Rzewski, who twice visited Ostrava Days in the past. Rzewski passed away a few weeks before the start of Ostrava Days. Ostrava Days also included the Minimarathon of Electronic Music at the Galeria of Fine Arts and two Fluxus events directed by Eric Andersen from Copenhagen. To view the full program, please visit:

newmusicostrava.cz/en

S.E.M. ENSEMBLE PRESENTS

“Letters to Olga” by Petr Kotik (1988)

For two narrators, winds and guitars

On text by Václav Havel

And the world premiere of

“The Lost Guitar” by Petr Kotik (2021)

For solo guitar

Wednesday, May 19, 2021 @ 7 pm

WhiteBox @ El Barrio's Artspace PS109 in collaboration with 2B&2C

Thursday, May 20, 2021 @ 7 pm

Kentler International Drawing Space

353 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn

ONE: Emerging Composers Griffin Brown, Hannah Selin, Karl Kim, Ian Davis and Jordan Dykstra
TWO: Henry Threadgill, Lucie Vítková, James Ilgenfritz and Petr Kotik

S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, director
Outdoor Concert*
Saturday, April 3rd, 2021 2:30pm

25 Columbia Place, Brooklyn NY 11201
Entrance Through Playground Gate
* In case of rain, the concert will be held indoors at the Willow Place Auditorium
Entrance 26 Willow Place
 
Free – RSVP REQUIRED! Seating is extremely limited
Please arrive 15 minutes before the concert or your seat will be given to somebody on the waiting list.
On Saturday April 3rd, the S.E.M. Ensemble's annual Emerging Composers Workshop will culminate in a public performance. Members of the S.E.M. Ensemble, under the direction of Petr Kotik, will work with five emerging composers from across the U.S., in preparation of a performance of their composition. This program will also feature works by Henry Threadgill, Lucie Vítková, James Ilgenfritz and Petr Kotik.

PROGRAM:

S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, director
Thomas Buckner, baritone

Griffin Brown Un oltre (parte) (2020) (World Premiere)
Hannah Selin Pieces of Place I: Chesapeake (2021) (World Premiere)
Karl Kim K K C K K G K (2020) (World Premiere)
Ian Davis 3 Canons (2018)
Jordan Dykstra Three Lines & One Chevron (Another Algorithm for Unification) (2016)

Henry Threadgill The Links / The Arab Apocalypse (1999)
Lucie Vítková Jadro (2021) (World Premiere)
James Ilgenfritz Eclipse 5 (2019)
Petr Kotik No Agency (2020) (World Premiere)

Socially Distanced Concert
Outside 25 Columbia Place, Brooklyn NY 11201

Saturday, November 7, 2020 2:00pm

Amina Claudine Myers and Petr Kotik

Plus Guests

PROGRAM:

Jon Gibson Equal Distribution No. 1 (1977)

Petr Kotik No Agency Plus (2020)

Amina Claudine Myers Down on Me (Spiritual)
Song For Mother E
God / Ritual
Chopin's Prelude in C Minor / The Blues
Cameloupe
Soul Funk #2

Socially Distanced Concert
Outside 25 Columbia Place, Brooklyn NY 11201

Saturday, September 26, 2020 3:00pm

PROGRAM:

Michael J. Schumacher Solitary Confinements (2020) (Premiere)

Judith Berkson Chevrusa (2020) (Premiere)

Robert Ashley The Mystery of the River (1991)
Thomas Buckner, baritone; Tom Hamilton, electronics

Morton Feldman Why Patterns? (1978)

Alvin Lucier Love Song (2016)
String Noise

Petr Kotik No Agency / Tuba Mirum (2019 / 2020)

Phill Niblock Exploratory, Rhine Version "Looking For Daniel" (2019) (U.S. Premiere)