2017-2018 Season
During the 2017-2018 season, the S.E.M. Ensemble explored its past, focusing on the music of John Cage, Julius Eastman and Morton Feldman, all of whom had long relationships with the ensemble. There were also premieres of new works by Petr Kotik, and a successful Emerging Composer's Workshop. Below are pictures and descriptions of the SEM's 2017-2018 season.
SEM Looks back : September 18, 2017
SEM Looks Back: Eastman, Cage, Kotik
Friday November 18, 2017; 8:00 pm
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Willow Place Auditorium, 26 Willow Pl., Brooklyn Heights
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Julius Eastman, Roberto Lanieri, Jan Williams, and Petr Kotik ca. 1971, photo by Jim Tuttle, SUNY Buffalo Ahead of its September 27th performance at the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Krakow, Poland, SEM presented a free preview concert nearly identical to those from the ensemble’s early days in the 1970s. During this time, founding members Petr Kotik, Julius Eastman, and Jan Williams presented avant-garde performances in Buffalo, Albany, and later New York and began collaborating extensively with John Cage. Included in this program was Cage’s Song Books (1970), the first extended ensemble performance of which was realized by SEM. |
Program
John Cage – Song Books I, II (1970)
Petr Kotik – There is Singularly Nothing (1971 -72)
Julius Eastman – Joy Boy (1972)
Julius Eastman – Macle (1971 -72)
Julius Eastman – Our Father (1989)
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Director
Petr Kotik - flute, voice
Christopher McIntyre - trombone, voice
Joseph Kubera - piano, voice
Jeffrey Gavett, Charlotte Mundy, Nathan Repasz - voice
Paula Cooper Gallery: December 7, 2017
Cage, Kotik, and Eastman: 1972 / 2017
December 7, 2017; 8PM
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Paula Cooper Gallery
543 West 21st St, Manhattan
This program, originally presented 45 years ago – Song Books I, II, There is Singularly Nothing, and Macle – demonstrates the vitality of the forward-looking programming of SEM. The program was conceived for SEM’s first European tour in January and February of 1972, with concerts at WDR Cologne Funkhaus, the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, the Gemeindesaal in Düren, as well as concerts in Aachen and Geneva.
SEM started to study and perform Song Books in 1971, when Petr Kotik received a copy of the piece from John Cage, at that time still in manuscript form. There is Singularly Nothing is the first composition that Kotik wrote for SEM. It was the first time that Kotik composed music for voice, writing specifically for Julius Eastman’s three-octave vocal range. It took some time for Kotik to find a suitable text and he decided on Gertrude Stein, whose texts he used for each of his compositions until 1978. Julius Eastman composed Macle for Petr Kotik and the S.E.M. Ensemble in 1972.
Program
John Cage – Song Books I, II (1970)
Petr Kotik – There is Singularly Nothing (1971 -72)
Julius Eastman – Macle (1971 -72)
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Director
Petr Kotik – flute, voice
Christopher McIntyre – trombone, voice
Will Lang – trombone, voice
Matilda Sakamoto – movement
Voices: Kamala Sankaram, Jeffrey Gavett, Jake Ingbar, Adrian Rosas, Nathan Repasz
The Kitchen: January 25, 2018
That Which is Fundamental
Femenine + Joy Boy with the S.E.M. Ensemble
January 25, 2018; 8PM
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The Kitchen
512 West 19 St, Manhattan
Program
Julius Eastman: Joy Boy (1974)
Julius Eastman: Femenine (1974)
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Director
Petr Kotik – Flute
Sara Schoenbeck – Bassoon
Christopher McIntyre – Trombone
James Johnson – Synthesizer
David Miller – Vibraphone / Marimbaphone
Robert Boston – Piano
Conrad Harris – Violin
Pauline Kim Harris – Viola
Voices: Kamala Sankaram, Jeffrey Gavett, Nathan Repasz
Emerging Composers Workshop 2018
Emerging Composers Workshop 2018
Tues. February 13, 2018, 8:30 pm
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Willow Place Auditorium, 26 Willow Pl., Brooklyn Heights
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Petr Kotik conducts during the 2017 Workshop concert.
The S.E.M. Ensemble’s Reading of New Compositions was initiated in 1997 and has continued, every season, to the present. During the four-day workshop each composer is provided with time and space to work directly with the conductor and musicians. The workshop culminates in a reading-performance, open to the public. This year’s reading included works by an international group of composers: Jay (Yair) Vilnai, Joel Kirk, Peter Kramer, Pauline Kim Harris, Jack Callahan, James Falzone, and Dongryul Lee.
Program
Jay (Yair) Vilnai - E.P.
Joel Kirk - reflection of light is either specular or diffuse
Peter Kramer - Unfinished Bridge
Pauline Kim Harris - dongmae
Jack Callahan - 106 Kerri Chandler Chords
James Falzone - Normal Deviate
Dongryul Lee - quasi una macchina
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Director
Willow Place Auditorium: March 10
The Depth of Simplicity
Morton Feldman's For Philip Guston
Sat. March 10, 2018, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
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Willow Place Auditorium, 26 Willow Pl., Brooklyn Heights
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Petr Kotik, Joe Kubera, and Chris Nappi performing Feldman's Why Patterns? in 2010 at Paula Cooper Gallery. |
In the lead-up to SEM's performance at MaerzMusik in Berlin on March 25, the S.E.M. Ensemble performed Morton Feldman's five-hour long masterpiece For Philip Guston at Willow Place Auditorium on March 10th. For Philip Guston is rarely performed live due to its extreme duration (the last US performance by SEM was in 2000).
Program
Morton Feldman - For Philip Guston
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Director
Petr Kotik - Flute
Joe Kubera - Piano
Chris Nappi - Percussion
MaerzMusik: March 25
The Long Now
MaerzMusik Festival, Berlin
Sat. March 25, 2018, 11:30 AM - 4:30 PM
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Kraftwerk Berlin
Köpenicker Str. 70, 10179 Berlin, Germany
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Tickets Here
Chris Nappi, Joe Kubera, and Petr Kotik at the first SEM performance of For Philip Guston. Paula Cooper Gallery, 1988. |
SEM performed Morton Feldman's five-hour long masterpiece For Philip Guston at the MaerzMusik Festival in Berlin on March 25. This performance was part of "The Long Now," the festival's 30-hour closing concert.
Program
Morton Feldman - For Philip Guston
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Director
Petr Kotik - Flute
Joe Kubera - Piano
Chris Nappi - Percussion
DOX: April 7th
Essential Feldman
Sat. April 7, 2018, 7PM
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DOX Centre for Contemporary Art
Dox+, Poupětova 3, Prague 7, Czech Republic
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Petr Kotik conducted The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra on April 7th at DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague. The concert was the first European performance dedicated entirely to Morton Feldman's large-scale orchestral compositions. |
Program
Morton Feldman - Piano and Orchestra (1975)
Morton Feldman - Structures (1960-62)
Morton Feldman - Violin and Orchestra (1979)
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Petr Kotik, Conductor
Conrad Harris, Violin
Daan Vandewalle, Piano
Bohemian National Hall: April 28th
Master-Pieces
Sat. April 28, 2018, 8:30PM
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Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73rd St, New York, NY 10021
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Program
Petr Kotik - Master-Pieces (2014-18)
S.E.M. Ensemble
Christina Kay, Soprano
Steven Wilson, Tenor
Jose Pietri-Coimbre, Baritone
Nicholas Hay, Bass
Pauline Kim Harris, Violin
Liuh-Wen Ting, Viola
Jeffrey Reinhardt, English Horn/Oboe
Tim Leopold, Trombone
Amanda Gookin, Cello
Chris Nappi, Percussion
Debra Kay Anderson, Narrator
James Falzone, Narrator
Kerry Wolf, Narrator
Roulette: May 3rd
Interpretations: Thomas Buckner
Works by Malcolm Goldstein, Jacques Bekaert, Bun Ching Lam
Thurs. May 3, 2018, 8PM
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Roulette Intermedium
509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
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Program
Jacques Bekaert - Requiem
Thomas Buckner, Baritone
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Conductor
Roberta Michel, Flute
Sara Schoenbeck, Bassoon
Kate Amrine, Trumpet
Tim McCarthy, Horn
Jen Baker, Trombone
Chris Nappi, Timpani
Pauline Kim Harris, Violin
Jake Charkey, Cello
Troy Rinker, Contrabass
Jacques Bekaert - A Distant Harmony
Thomas Buckner, Baritone
S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Conductor
Roberta Michel, Flute
Liuh-Wen Ting, Viola
Tierney O'Brien, Bass Clarinet
S.E.M. Ensemble’s 2017-2018 season was made possible with the generous support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.; The Phaedrus Foundation; The Low Road Foundation; The Fifth Floor Foundation; Ronald Feldman Fine Arts; Rackstraw Downes; Noni Pratt; Virginia Dwan; Raymond Learsy; Martina and Milos Forman; C. Andrew Reynolds; William and Priscilla Newbury; Julian Lethbridge. Special thanks to Paula Cooper, Mark di Suvero, Jasper Johns, Werner Kramarsky, and NYC Councilmember Stephen T. Levin.
NODO 2018
NODO 2018
New Opera Days Ostrava
Sun. June 24, 2018 - Thurs. June 28, 2018
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Ostrava, Czech Republic
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SEM performs John Cage's Song Books I, II at NODO, June 28th, 2018. |
June 24
Alois Hába - Thy Kingdom Come (1939-1942)
ONO / Ostravská banda
with members of the S.E.M. Ensemble
June 25
Alois Hába - Thy Kingdom Come (1939-1942)
ONO / Ostravská banda
with members of the S.E.M. Ensemble
June 26
Salvatore Sciarrino - Luci mie traditrici (1998)
Ostravská banda
with members of the S.E.M. Ensemble
June 27
Julius Eastman - Macle (1971-1972)
S.E.M. Ensemble
Daniel Lo - A Woman Such as Myself (2018)
Ostravská banda
Petr Kotik, Conductor
June 28
John Cage - Song Books I, II (1970)
S.E.M. Ensemble
This engagement was supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.