Juilliard’s AXIOM, Led by Jeffrey Milarsky, Performs Works by Xenakis, Shaw, and Reich in Its Final Concert of the Season on Thursday, April 18, 2019, at 7:30pm in Alice Tully Hall

NEW YORK –– Juilliard’s AXIOM, led by founding director Jeffrey Milarsky, performs works by Xenakis, Shaw, and Reich on Thursday, April 18, 2019, at 7:30pm in Alice Tully Hall in its final concert of the season.  The program features Xenakis’ Okho (1989), composed to celebrate the French bicentennial and scored for three percussionists on djembe and bass drum; Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (and 2018-19 Juilliard Creative Associate) Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, composed for the Brentano Quartet and premiered at Princeton University in 2011; and Juilliard alumnus Steve Reich’s Tehillim (1981), a setting of psalms, for four female singers and ensemble. Tehillim will feature guest singers Nina Faia Mutlu, Mellissa Hughes, Kirsten Sollek, and Elizabeth Bates.

Free tickets are available in person only at the Juilliard and Alice Tully Hall box offices.

About AXIOM

AXIOM, led by music director Jeffrey Milarsky, is dedicated to performing the masterworks of the 20th- and 21st-century repertoire. Since its debut in Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) in 2006, the group has established itself as a leading ensemble in New York City’s contemporary music scene with performances throughout Lincoln Center, in addition to frequent appearances at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre and (Le) Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village.

AXIOM is grounded in Juilliard’s curriculum. Students receive a credit in chamber music for performing in the ensemble, and during any four-year period, AXIOM members will have the opportunity to perform works by Adams, Birtwistle, Druckman, Lindberg, and Schoenberg, among other composers. Guest conductors of AXIOM have included Alan Gilbert, Susanna Mälkki, and David Robertson.

Highlights of the 2017-18 season included a program dedicated to former Juilliard faculty member, composer Jacob Druckman; an all-Berio program; and a concert featuring Hans Abrahamsen’s Schnee (complete).

Highlights of the 2016-17 season included programs honoring composer John Adams on his 70th birthday; Steve Reich on his 80th birthday; and a program devoted to the music of Kaija Saariaho. In the 2015-16 season, AXIOM performed works by George Benjamin, Thomas Adès, Harrison Birtwistle, Gerard Grisey, Oliver Knussen, Kaija Saariaho, Giacinto Scelsi, and John Zorn.

About Jeffrey Milarsky

American conductor Jeffrey Milarsky is the founding music director of AXIOM. Known for his innovative programming, he has been hailed for his interpretation of a wide range of repertoire, which spans from Bach to Xenakis. In recent seasons he has worked with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, MET Chamber Ensemble, Bergen Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New World Symphony, and the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. In the United States and abroad, he has premiered and recorded works by many groundbreaking contemporary composers in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and at IRCAM in Paris. 

Milarsky has a long history of premiering, recording, and performing American composers and in keeping with that, he was recently presented with the prestigious Ditson Conductor’s Award. His interest and dedication has brought forth collaborations with esteemed composers such as Adams, Babbitt, Cage, Carter, Corigliano, Crumb, Davidovsky, Druckman, Gordon, Lang, Mackey, Rouse, Shapey, Subotnick, Wuorinen, and an entire generation of emerging composers.

A dedicated teacher, Milarsky serves on the conducting faculty at Juilliard and is a senior lecturer in music at Columbia University, where he is the music director and conductor of the Columbia University Orchestra.

An in-demand timpanist and percussionist, Milarsky has been the principal timpanist for the Santa Fe Opera since 2005. In addition, he has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Symphony. He has recorded extensively for Angel, Bridge, Teldec, Telarc, New World, CRI, MusicMasters, EMI, Koch, and London records.

At Juilliard, Milarsky received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was awarded the Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding leadership and achievement in the arts.

# # #

Program Listing:

Thursday, April 18, 2018, 7:30pm, Alice Tully Hall

AXIOM

Jeffrey Milarsky, Conductor

Elizabeth Bates, Mellissa Hughes, Nina Faia Mutlu, and Kirsten Sollek, Vocalists

 

Iannis XENAKIS Okho (1989)

Caroline SHAW Entr’acte (2011)

Steve REICH Tehillim (1981)

 

Free tickets are available in person only at the Juilliard and Alice Tully Hall box offices.