Harlem Chamber Players & the Talea Ensemble—Julius Eastman's "Feminine"

HARLEM CHAMBER PLAYERS & TALEA ENSEMBLE JULIUS EASTMAN’S FEMENINE

Saturday, October 9, 2021, 7:30PM Harlem Stage Gatehouse Address: 150 Convent Avenue at West 135 Street, New York, NY 10031 Phone: 212.281.9240 ext. 19 | Website: www.harlemstage.org

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ABOUT THE EVENT Harlem Stage is proud to present The Harlem Chamber Players and The Talea Ensemble who will perform a nearly lost work by a nearly forgotten artist.

Avant-garde composer and pianist Julius Eastman, whose music bonds minimalism, jazz, and pop, was considered one of the most controversial and progressive composers of the 1970s and ’80s.

He was a loud and proud Black queer artist who struggled with racism and homophobia throughout his career. Eastman also struggled with mental illness and addiction. His music was nearly lost forever when evicted from his New York City apartment in the early ’80s. After years of destitution and frequent homelessness, he died alone in 1990. Eastman’s music and scores have lived on mainly through those who knew him and are now being discovered and appreciated worldwide. Eastman’s work FEMENINE was first performed in 1974 and is a mesmerizing piece of music that is fast becoming a modern classic.

Tonight, The Harlem Chamber Players and The Talea Ensemble will perform Julius Eastman’s FEMENINE. After the performance, music director and Talea Ensemble member Christopher McIntyre will join scholar Isaac Jean-Francois in a brief discussion of Julius Eastman’s work and influence.

Thank you for joining us.

This performance is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

THE HARLEM CHAMBER PLAYERS Harlem’s acclaimed chamber music series Music at St. Mary’s began in 2008 as a partnership between clarinetist Liz Player and the late violist Charles Dalton. They met while performing at a Black History Month gala concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Inspired and encouraged by the late Janet Wolfe, founder of the New York City Housing Authority Symphony Orchestra and long-time patron of minority classical musicians, Ms. Player and Mr. Dalton created a summer music festival in Manhattanville/ West Harlem presenting dynamic chamber music concerts in the neighborhood.

Following the enthusiastic reception of the festival, the former rector, Rev. Dr. Earl Kooperkamp, of the historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church welcomed and supported the creation of an ongoing series. After the departure of Mr. Dalton in 2010, Liz joined forces with Carl Jackson, an East Harlem native, to form The Harlem Chamber Players.

The Harlem Chamber Players have performed at many different venues including Aaron Davis Hall, the Apollo Theater, the Cotton Club, Convent Avenue Baptist Church, Miller Theatre at Columbia University, St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University, Merkin Concert Hall, Symphony Space, the DiMenna Center, The Greene Space at WNYC/WQXR, the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Katonah Museum of Art’s Sculpture Garden at the Caramoor Festival, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, at Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, and Zankel and Weill Recital Halls at Carnegie Hall.

The Harlem Chamber Players have also partnered with many organizations including the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Harlem School of the Arts, Harlem Opera Theater, Columbia University, Goddard Riverside Community Center, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Opus 118 Harlem School of Music, American Opera Projects, Morningside Opera, On-Site Opera, ChamberMusicNY, Newark School of the Arts, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s CHAMPS Program and visual artist Kehinde Wiley at the Brooklyn Museum.

Our chamber music series has been called “a series of which we can be proud” by the late Raoul Abdul from the Amsterdam News.

The Harlem Chamber Players have also been mentioned in articles in the New York Times, Harlem News, The Wall Street Journal, on NPR, in The Guardian and on “Here and Now” on ABC. A comprehensive list of our past activities can also be found under Past Performances.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

THE TALEA ENSEMBLE Heralded as “a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere” by the New York Times, the Talea Ensemble’s mission is to champion musical creativity, cultivate curious listeners, and bring visionary new works to life with vibrant performances that remain in the audience’s imagination long after a concert.

Recipients of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Talea has brought to life more than 40 commissions of major new works since it was founded in 2008. Talea has helped introduce NYC audiences to important works of such esteemed composers as Pierre Boulez, Georg Friedrich Haas, Steve Coleman, Olga Neuwirth, Unsuk Chin, and Hans Abrahamsen.

Praised for their “verve and immaculate virtuosity” by the Washington Post, Talea is sought after both in the U.S. and Europe for its range, precision, risk-taking, and superior performance quality. Recent festival engagements include performances at Lincoln Center Festival, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, the Fromm Concerts at Harvard University, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Wien Modern, Vancouver New Music, and many more.

The ensemble has also partnered with institutions from across disciplines, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, the City of Ideas Festival in Mexico, or the Storm King Art Center.

Talea’s recordings have been distributed worldwide on the Kairos, Wergo, Gravina Musica, Tzadik, Innova, and New World Records labels, and been broadcast on ORF (Austria), HRF (Germany), and WQXR’s Q2.

BIOGRAPHIES MATTHEW BEAUGÉ

VIOLINIST

Matthew Beaugé is a New York City freelance violist and teaching artist.

He has performed nationally as an orchestral and chamber musician with the West Village Quartet, Soulful Symphony, the 8-Bit Big Band, and South Shore Symphony. In 2019, he had the privilege of recording the original motion picture soundtrack of “Joker”. Matthew earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University School of Music. He is currently studying at DePaul University for his M.M in Performance.

CLAIRE CHAN

VIOLINIST

Claire Chan, born in Detroit, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University, where she earned musical honors and a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. Changing Photo by Jeremy Folmer course, she continued her studies on the violin at The Juilliard School. As a scholarship student of Joseph Fuchs, she completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees. She taught at the Juilliard School as an assistant to both Professor Fuchs and the Juilliard String Quartet and later served on the faculty in Beijing at the Central Conservatory and the Capital Normal University. Currently, she teaches at Third Street Music School Settlement and at the Chamber Music Center of New York and performs at Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and with the Harlem Chamber Players Quartet. As an avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with several award-winning groups such as the Essex Quartet, the Beijing Quartet and Chamber Players and the Kneisel Trio. She also performed as a member of New York City Opera and with such varied artists as Sam Smith, 50 Cent, Katy

HARLEM CHAMBER PLAYERS Perry, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennet, Hall and Oats, Andrea Bocelli and Placido Domingo. She can be heard on labels of RCA Victor, Centaur, Convivium, Annsam, ESS.A.Y, and Death of Classical.

ASHLEY HORNE VIOLINIST

A native of Los Angeles, violinist Ashley Horne has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician around the world. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he is known for his “bright Photo by Bob Curtis tone and fine overall sense of style” (Dennis Rooney of Strad Magazine). He has performed regularly with American Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Bard Festival Orchestra, Westchester Symphony, West-Park Chamber Society, Gateways Music Festival, Dance Theater of Harlem Orchestra and New York City Opera, as well as on Broadway’s The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Wild Party, Carousel, The Producers and On the Town. He has been the featured soloist and concertmaster of numerous ensembles, including The New Black Repertory Ensemble, The Antara Ensemble of NY, Cascade Festival Orchestra, and Aspen Young Artists Orchestra and has served as the music director of The Antara Ensemble. His recording of Henry Cowell’s Fiddler’s Jig with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra can be heard on Koch International. Mr. Horne has been a recitalist at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Solo and chamber music performances have taken him to many interesting parts of the globe, such as Spain, Portugal, the Azores Islands, Odessa and Istanbul. Filmgoers can see Mr. Horne in “Le Mozart Noir,” the PBS documentary of violinist and composer Chevalier de Saint George, as well as in Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America.”

COREISA JANELLE LEE FLUTIST

Coreisa Janelle Lee, born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, is a recipient of the Manhattan School of Music Pablo Casals award, awarded for extreme musical accomplishment and Photo by Ruben Thomas human endeavor. Having 19 years of classical and jazz education, she has made multiple tv appearances and is internationally known. Performing in over 300 venues across the world, Ms. Lee has had many great performance opportunities, including: touring to Russia as a featured soloist, touring to Spain as principal flutist of the New York Youth Symphony, performing multiple times at Carnegie Hall, a solo performance at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, and multiple private shows with cast from Broadway’s “Hamilton” and “The Great Comet.” Coreisa has had the chance to perform for the United Nations 69th anniversary alongside classical pianist, Lang Lang, and Pop singer, Sting.

Coreisa has gone on to receive her Bachelors from Manhattan School of music, her Masters from Bowling Green State University, and currently, Coreisa is receiving her Doctorate in Music as a provost fellow at West Virginia University—studying under Nina Assimakopoulos. Contributing to her success, she has had the pleasure of working with: James Galway, Billy Ray Cyrus, Misty Copland, Jimmy Kimmel, Meredith Vieira, Ian Clarke, Lang Lang, Sting, and many more. Her past teachers include: Dr. Conor Nelson (MM, BGSU), Linda Chesis (BM, MSM), Kim Scott Strickland and Dr. Frank E. Adams.

DAVID SAPADIN CLARINET

David Sapadin is a New York City based freelance musician known for his lyrical clarinet playing and engaging teaching style. He has played with the Metropolitan Opera, Photo by Rob Davidson American Ballet Theater, The New York City Opera, The Knights, The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Albany Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Stamford Symphony, and internationally with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

David considers teaching central to his work as an artist. He is on faculty at Montclair State University, The Mannes School of Music, and Kinhaven Music School. As a clinician, he has led masterclasses across the country and teaches clarinetists from 1st grade to graduate school.

David is well known for experimenting with new instrument technologies and he enjoyed recording these sonatas on a crystal mouthpiece similar to one played on by his childhood clarinetist idol Pete Fountain. David studied with clarinetists Yehuda Gilad, Mitchell Lurie, David Krakauer, and Ricardo Morales.

BIOGRAPHIES CHRISTOPHER MCINTYRE MUSIC DIRECTOR AND SYNTH PLAYER

Christopher McIntyre’s primary artistic activity is performing on trombone and electronics in various contexts (from improvisative to interpretive) within the protean NYC music community. He is Photo by Cameron Kelly Director and Co-Founder of Brooklyn’s TILT Brass, curates programs for Either/Or Ensemble, teaches contemporary brass chamber music at Mannes School of Music at The New School, and frequently performs in groups such as TILT, Either/Or, SEM and Talea Ensembles, among many others. He can be heard on recordings released by New World, Tzadik, XI, Mode, Edition Modern, POTTR, zOaR, and Non-Site Records. McIntyre has contributed to the revival of composer Julius Eastman’s music, having transcribed and/or created score realizations for several works since 2006 including Stay On It (1973), Trumpet (1971), and Femenine (1974). He also composes for various media and instrumental forces, often employing creative systems suggested by the work of visual artists (particularly Robert Smithson.) His work has recently been heard at Gagosian Gallery (an event entitled Sounding Serra) and ISSUE Project Room (during long-time collaborative ensemble Ne(x)tworks’ farewell concert.)

DAVID ADAMCYK SOUND ENGINEER

David Adamcyk is a Canadian composer, sound artist, electronic musician, and sound engineer living in New York. He creates musical works and installations for the concert hall and theatrical stage, often incorporating technology.

His music has been played in North America, South America, Australia, and Europe and has won numerous prizes, including four from the SOCAN Foundation composer’s competition and was a

TALEA ENSEMBLE finalist at the CBC/SRC Evolution composition competition. He has received support from the American Composer’s Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. As a collaborator/assistant, he has worked with composers Martin Matalon, Philippe Leroux, Denys Bouliane, Zosha Di Castri, and Natacha Diels, as well as with visual artists Julia Randall, Ben Hagari, and Julia Sherman. David’s expertise in concert music electronics has led him to work with leading ensembles and institutions including the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Ircam, Juilliard’s Axiom Ensemble, ICE, NYNME, Ekmeles, Yarn/Wire, Ensemble Cairn, Esprit Orchestra, Quasar, and the SMCQ. In addition to having completed Ircam’s cursus, David holds a doctorate in composition from McGill University and was a SSHRC funded postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University’s Computer Music Center. He is currently the technical director of Talea Ensemble, and teaches sound recording, 20th and 21st-century music analysis, live sound, and electronic music at Columbia University and the Manhattan School of Music.

GREG CHUDZIK ELECTRIC BASSIST

Bassist Greg Chudzik has performed premieres by Steve Reich, Steve Coleman, Brian Ferneyhough, Johnny Greenwood, Mark Appelbaum, Alex Mincek, Eric Wubbels, Sam Pluta, Photo by Hannah Devereux (UK) Ted Hearne, Anthony Cheung, Dan Deacon, Paula Mathieson, Anna Clyne, and Fay Kween Wang.

In the past he has performed at Carnegie Hall, La Philharmonie, The Village Vanguard, Disney Hall, Darmstadt Music Festival, and Saalfalden Jazz Festival. He performs regularly with Ensemble Signal, Talea Ensemble, ICE Ensemble, and Wet Ink Ensemble as well as the bands Empyrean Atlas, and the Briars of North America.

In 2019 he released his second album “Solo Works Vol. 2” for double bass on Panoramic Recordings.

MATTHEW GOLD PERCUSSIONIST

Percussionist Matthew Gold is a performer, ensemble director, and educator committed to exploring new sounds and presenting innovative and adventurous programs featuring new Photo by Eric Berlin voices. He is a member of the New York-based contemporary music group Talea Ensemble, with whom he appears across the U.S. and at international festivals, and of the Talujon percussion group. Mr. Gold is an Artist in Residence in Percussion and Contemporary Music Performance at Williams College where he directs the Williams Percussion Ensemble and the I/O New Music Ensemble, and is the Artistic Director of the annual I/O Festival of New Music. He serves on the faculty of the Composers Conference and Contemporary Performance Institute at Brandeis University and is an Artist in Residence at the Walden School’s Creative Musicians Retreat. Mr. Gold has been a featured artist on recent festivals including Time:Spans 2019, Le Festival les Musiques in Marseille, and Festival Musiques Démesurées in Clermont-Ferrand, and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic on its “Philharmonic 360” program at the Park Avenue Armory. He performs regularly with, among others, the Mark Morris Dance Group, the New York City Ballet, and the Albany Symphony, and serves as Talea Ensemble’s Production Manager.

RANE MOORE

CLARINETIST

Clarinetist Rane Moore enjoys an active performing schedule at home and abroad.

She is a member of the Talea Ensemble, Callithumpian Consort, Sound Icon, the award-winning wind quintet The City of Photo by Shawn Read Tomorrow and is the Co-Artistic Director of Winsor Music. Ms. Moore has given numerous premieres of new works and appeared with International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Guerilla Opera, New York New Music, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars among many others. She is a frequent guest with Boston-based groups Emmanuel Music, Boston Musica Viva, Boston Modern Orchestra

Project and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. She is also the principal clarinetist of the Boston Philharmonic and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. Ms. Moore has recordings on over a dozen labels including Tzadik, Pi, Wergo, and ECM records and is on faculty at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Longy School of Music of Bard College. Critics have praised her “enthralling,” “tour-de-force,” and “phenomenal” performances.

IMRI TALGAM PIANIST

Pianist Imri Talgam has played as soloist throughout the world, winning recognition for his “extreme virtuosity” (Classica magazine). Since winning first prize in the Concours de piano d’Orléans Photo by Jean-Baptiste Millot (France) in 2014, Talgam has performed widely, including in venues such as Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Bouffes du Nord (Paris), KKL Lucerne, Shanghai Conservatory, Alice Tully hall, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Talgam was also awarded the Yvar Mikhashoff commissioning prize (2017) together with Yair Klartag.

As soloist, he recently appeared with Ensemble Modern, Radio Orchestra of Saarbrücken, and the Israeli Contemporary Players, and has worked with composers including Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann, Enno Poppe, Unsuk Chin, and Peter Eötvös. He plays regularly with Talea and the Metropolis ensembles in NYC. He holds a doctorate from City University of New York’s Graduate Center and has taught in several CUNY Colleges.

BIOGRAPHIES MODERATOR ISAAC JEAN-FRANÇOIS Isaac Jean-François (he/him) is a doctoral student in the joint degree program with African-American Studies and American Studies at Yale University. Jean-François’s research interests include black studies, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, queer theory, and sound studies. His research on composer and performer Julius Eastman is featured in an issue of Current Musicology in an essay titled, “Julius Eastman: The Sonority of Blackness Otherwise” (July 2020).

RECOMMENDED READING Ellie Hisama. “‘Diving into the Earth’: The Musical Worlds of Julius Eastman.” In Rethinking Difference in Music Scholarship, edited by Olivia Bloechl, Melanie Lowe, and Jeffery Kallberg, 260-86.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (2015) Renée Levine Packer and Mary Jane Leach, editors. Gay Guerilla: Julius Eastman and His Music. Rochester: University of Rochester Press. (2015) Federica Bueti, Antonia Alampi, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, editors. We Have Delivered Ourselves From the Tonal –– Of, Towards, On, For Julius Eastman. Berline: Archive Books. (2020)

OUR SUPPORTERS

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council.

Harlem Stage’s Programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.”

ABOUT HARLEM STAGE Harlem Stage is the performing arts center that bridges Harlem’s cultural legacy to contemporary artists of color and dares to provide the artistic freedom that gives birth to new ideas.

For nearly 40 years our singular mission has been to perpetuate and celebrate the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture.

We provide opportunity, commissioning, and support for artists of color, make performances easily accessible to all audiences, and introduce children to the rich diversity, excitement, and inspiration of the performing arts.

We fulfill our mission through commissioning, incubating, and presenting innovative and vital work that responds to the historical and contemporary conditions that shape our lives and the communities we serve.

Board of Directors Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President Jamie Cannon, Vice President Michael Young, Secretary Mark Thomas, Treasurer Neal Baer Stefany Bergson Angela Glover Blackwell

JoAnn K. Chase Patricia Cruz Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes Trevor Gale Jenette Kahn LaChanze Sapp-Gooding Tamara Tunie

Administration Staff Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director & CEO MANAGEMENT Eric Oberstein, Managing Director DEVELOPMENT Shamar Hill, Director of Development Shanté Skyers, Associate Director of Development Julia Marrero, Development Associate MARKETING Deirdre May, Senior Director of Digital Content and Marketing Andre Padayhag, Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer BOX OFFICE Daniel Im, Box Office Manager PRODUCTION Amanda K. Ringger, Director of Production Yolanda Royster, Stage Coordinator Orlando Alvarado, Audio Engineer Julio Collado, Audio Crew David Barrett, Deck Clarence Taylor, Lighting Operator OPERATIONS Rodney Bissessar, Director of Operations Lamont Askins, Operations Assistant Acey Anderson Sr., Maintenance

ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE Ncheng LLC, Accountants/Advisors Michelle Blankenship, Principal Aaron Lam, Supervising Senior

Accountant CONSULTANTS Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY) Claudia Kaufman, Insurance Digital Video Services—BriGuel Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C. —Lisa Davis Itelagen, IT Consultant Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants Madison Consulting Group, —Matt Laurence Manchester Benefits—Greg Martin Marc Millman Photography Digital Video Services —Jess Medenbach PR Canvas Public Relations & Marketing RL Stein Group—Robyn L. Stein Development Consultant The Whelan Group Incorporated —Charles Whelan USHERS Toma Carthen, Nobar Deleon, Miriam Hernandez, David Pierce, Chloe Wilson, Robert Gibbons TALEA ENSEMBLE PRODUCTION Caitlin Cawley, Stage Manager David Adamcyk, Sound Engineer