Juilliard Announces Its Contemporary Music Performances in 2019-20 Featuring the New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM

Thursday, Jul 25, 2019
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New Juilliard Ensemble Performs Premieres in 2019-20 and Opens the Focus Festival

AXIOM Presents Three Free Concerts in the 2019-20 Season

The 2020 Focus Festival Is Trailblazers: Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century

NEW YORK –– Juilliard announces its 2019-20 contemporary music performances featuring the New Juilliard Ensemble, conducted by Joel Sachs, and AXIOM, conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky.

The New Juilliard Ensemble (NJE), led by founder and director Joel Sachs and now in its 27th season, celebrates the diversity of today’s music, focusing primarily on repertory of the last decade and presenting international composers who write in the most varied styles. In the 2019-20 season, Sachs and the ensemble will present premieres in three free concerts and open Juilliard’s 36th annual Focus festival, Trailblazers: Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century.

NJE’s opening concert on Tuesday, October 1, 2019, at 7:30pm, in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, features the U.S. premiere of …Between the Lines (2013) by Alexander Goehr (U.K.); Die ReAlisierung einer komPosition (2013/2018, world premiere of the new version) with rapper Mike Braugher, a fourth-year drama student, and ensemble with electronics by Balázs Horváth (Hungary); Souvenir (2010) by Magnus Lindberg (Finland); and Fault Line (2005-6) by Shulamit Ran (Israel/U.S.).

The series continues on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, at 7:30pm in the Bruno Walter Studio 309 with NJE performing small ensemble, chamber, and solo music. The program includes the New York premiere of Van Gogh Blue (2015) by Julian Anderson (U.K.); Vestige (1993) by Oleg Felzer (Azerbaijan/U.S.); How to Make the Water Sound (1997, New York premiere) by Deirdre Gribbin (Northern Ireland); Far From Home (2004) by Narong Prangcharoen (Thailand); the U.S. premiere of Resistencia y resiliencia (2018) by Alfredo Rugeles (Venezuela); and Afterwards (2012, New York premiere) by Eric Tanguy (France).

Juilliard’s 2020 Focus festival, Trailblazers: Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century, takes place from Friday, January 24 to Friday, January 31, 2020. The festival, co-curated by Odaline de la Martinez and Sachs, commemorates the women’s suffrage centennial and celebrates groundbreaking female composers who chose composition as a profession. There will be special tributes to Sofia Gubaidulina, Thea Musgrave, Betsy Jolas, and Jacqueline Fontyn, four women born in the 1920s and ’30s who are still actively composing.

The New Juilliard Ensemble opens the Focus festival on Friday, January 24, 2020, at 7:30pm in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater with Méandres (2009-10, U.S. premiere) by Jacqueline Fontyn (Belgium); 6 Tempi (1957) by Elisabeth Lutyens (U.K.); Girasol (Sunflowers, 1990) by Ursula Mamlok (Germany/U.S.); Three Songs, low female voice (1930-32) by Ruth Crawford Seeger; and Octet (1990) by Galina Ustvolskaya (U.S.S.R.).

To close the festival, Anne Manson conducts the Juilliard Orchestra on Friday, January 31, 2020, at 7:30pm in Alice Tully Hall. The program features Betsy Jolas’ A Little Summer Suite (2015, New York premiere); Grażyna Bacewicz’s Cello Concerto No. 2 (1963) with Juilliard cellist Samuel DeCaprio; Ethel Smyth’s On the Cliffs of Cornwall, (Prelude to Act II of The Wreckers) (1904); Thea Musgrave’s Rainbow (1990); and Sofia Gubaidulina’s The Rider on the White Horse (2002, New York premiere) (organ soloist to be announced).

NJE performs its third and final concert of the academic year on Monday, April 13, 2020, at 7:30pm in Alice Tully Hall. The program features five world premieres, composed for the NJE by Juilliard composers Evan Anderson (U.S.) and Marc Migó Cortés (Spain) and by Diana Syrse (Mexico/Germany), Ye Xiaogang (China), and Yao Chen (China).

AXIOM, led by founding director Jeffrey Milarsky and dedicated to performing the masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries, presents three free concerts during the 2019-20 season. The season opens on Friday, November 1, 2019, at 7:30pm in Alice Tully Hall with a program featuring works by Harrison Birtwistle, Igor Stravinsky, and Toru Takemitsu. AXIOM will perform Stravinsky’s Three Pieces (1920), Three Japanese Lyrics (1912-13), Elegie (1944), and Pribaoutki (1914); Takemitsu’s Archipelago S (1993); and Birtwistle’s Silbury Air (1977).

The AXIOM season continues on Saturday, November 23, 2019, at 7:30pm in Alice Tully Hall with works by Elliott Carter (faculty 1966-84), George Lewis, Morton Feldman, and Philip Glass (Diploma ’60, MS ’62, composition). The program features Carter’s Mosaic (2004), Lewis’ Ikons (2011), Feldman’s Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety (1970), and Glass’ The Hours: A Suite in Three Movements (arr. by Michael Riesman).

AXIOM concludes its season Thursday, February 27, 2020, at 7:30pm in Juilliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater with works by Toru Takemitsu, faculty member Melinda Wagner, Pierre Boulez (faculty 1972-75), and Thomas Adès. AXIOM will perform Takemitsu’s Rain Spell (1982), Wagner’s Wing and Prayer (1996), Boulez’s Messagesquisse (1976), and Adès’ Living Toys (1993).

 

Contemporary Music Performances

Featuring the New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM

2019-20 Calendar of Events

 

Tuesday, October 1, 2019, 7:30pm, Peter Jay Sharp Theater

New Juilliard Ensemble

Joel Sachs, Conductor

Alexander GOEHR (U.K.)…Between the Lines (2013)

Bálazs HORVÁTH (Hungary) Die ReAlisierung einer komPosition (2013/2018, world premiere of the new version)

Magnus LINDBERG (Finland) Souvenir (2010)

Shulamit RAN (Israel/U.S.) Fault Line (2005-6)

 

Friday, November 1, 2019, 7:30pm, Alice Tully Hall

AXIOM

Jeffrey Milarsky, Conductor

Igor STRAVINSKY Three Pieces (1920)

STRAVINSKY Three Japanese Lyrics (1912-13)

Toru TAKEMITSU Archipelago S (1993)

STRAVINSKY Elegie (1944)

STRAVINSKY Pribaoutki (1914)

Harrison BIRTWISTLE Silbury Air (1977)

 

Tuesday, November 12, 2019, 7:30pm, Bruno Walter Studio 309

New Juilliard Ensemble

Joel Sachs, Conductor

Julian ANDERSON (U.K.) Van Gogh Blue (2015, New York premiere)

Oleg FELZER (Azerbaijan/U.S.) Vestige (1993)

Deirdre GRIBBIN (Northern Ireland) How to Make the Water Sound (1997, New York premiere)

Narong PRANGCHAROEN (Thailand) Far From Home (2004)

Alfredo RUGELES Resistencia y resiliencia (2018, U.S. premiere)

Eric TANGUY (France) Afterwards (2012, New York premiere)

 

Saturday, November 23, 2019, 7:30pm, Alice Tully Hall

AXIOM

Jeffrey Milarsky, Conductor

Elliott CARTER Mosaic (2004)

George LEWIS Ikons (2011)

Morton FELDMAN Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety (1970)

Philip GLASS The Hours: A Suite for Three Movements (arr. Michael Riesman)

 

Friday, January 24, 2020, 7:30pm, Peter Jay Sharp Theater

Opening Night of Juilliard’s 2020 Focus Festival

Trailblazers: Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century

Co-curated by Odaline de la Martinez and Joel Sachs

New Juilliard Ensemble

Joel Sachs, Conductor

Jacqueline FONTYN (Belgium) Méandres (2009-10, U.S. premiere)

Elisabeth LUTYENS (U.K.) 6 Tempi (1957)

Ursula MAMLOK (Germany/U.S.) Girasol (Sunflowers, 1990)

Ruth Crawford SEEGER (U.S.) Three Songs, low female voice (1930-32)

Galina USTVOLSKAYA (U.S.S.R.) Octet (1950)

 

Friday, January 31, 2020, 7:30pm, Alice Tully Hall

Closing Night of Juilliard’s 2020 Focus Festival

Trailblazers: Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century

Juilliard Orchestra

Anne Manson, Conductor

Samuel DeCaprio, Cellist

Betsy JOLAS A Little Summer Suite (2015, New York premiere)

Grażyna BACEWICZ Cello Concerto No. 2 (1963) (soloist to be announced)

Ethel SMYTH On the Cliffs of Cornwall (Prelude to Act II of The Wreckers) (1904)

Thea MUSGRAVE Rainbow (1990)

Sofia GUBAIDULINA The Rider on the White Horse (2002, New York premiere) (organ soloist to be announced)

 

Thursday, February 27, 2020, 7:30pm, Peter Jay Sharp Theater

AXIOM

Jeffrey Milarsky, Conductor

Toru TAKEMITSU Rain Spell (1982)

Melinda WAGNER Wing and Prayer (1996)

Pierre BOULEZ Messagesquisse (1976)

Thomas ADÈS Living Toys (1993)

 

Monday, April 13, 2020, 7:30pm, Alice Tully Hall

New Juilliard Ensemble

Joel Sachs, Conductor

Featuring five world premieres:

Evan ANDERSON new work (2020)

Marc Migó CORTÉS new work (2020)

Diana SYRSE new work (2020)

YE Xiaogang Strophe (2020)

YAO Chen new work (2020)

 

Ticket and Box Office Information

Tickets for New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM concerts are free and will be available beginning September 19, 2019, at juilliard.edu/calendar.

 

About the Artists

About the New Juilliard Ensemble

The New Juilliard Ensemble, led by founding director Joel Sachs and in its 27th season, presents music by a variety of international composers who write in diverse styles. The ensemble appears regularly at MoMA’s Summergarden, has been featured four times at the Lincoln Center Festival, and has premiered some 100 compositions.

Concerts in the 2018-19 season featured works by Josefino Chino Toledo, Sunbin Kevin Kim, Virko Baley, Akira Nishimura, Ursula Mamlok, Robert Sierra, Betty Olivero, György Ligeti, Michael Tippett, Sato Matsui, Ross Griffey, Jukka Tiensuu, and Zygmunt Krauze.

In 2014, the New Juilliard Ensemble collaborated with Carnegie Hall on UBUNTU: Music and Arts of South Africa. A highlight of the 2013-14 season was a collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s bicentennial celebration with the U.S. premieres of works by Magnus Lindberg and Judith Weir. In 2012, NJE collaborated with Carnegie Hall on Voices From Latin America; in 2011, with Carnegie Hall’s Japan/NYC festival; and in 2009, with Carnegie Hall’s Ancient Paths, Modern Voices festival.

The New Juilliard Ensemble performs in Juilliard’s Focus festival; recent Focus festivals have included: On the Air!: A Salute to 75 Years of International Radio Commissioning (2019), China Today: A Festival of Chinese Composition (2018); Our Southern Neighbors: The Music of Latin America (2017); Milton Babbitt’s World: A Centennial Celebration (2016); and Nippon Gendai Ongaku: Japanese Music Since 1945 (2015).

About Joel Sachs

Joel Sachs, founder and director of the New Juilliard Ensemble, performs a vast range of traditional and contemporary music as a conductor and pianist. As co-director of the internationally acclaimed new music ensemble Continuum, he has appeared in hundreds of performances in New York, nationally, and throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He has also conducted orchestras and ensembles in Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, El Salvador, Germany, Iceland, Mexico, Switzerland, and Ukraine, and has held new music residencies in Berlin, Shanghai, London, Salzburg, Curitiba (Brazil), Newcastle Upon Tyne (U.K.), Helsinki, and the Banff Centre (Canada).

One of the most active presenters of new music in New York, Sachs founded the New Juilliard Ensemble in 1993. He produces and directs Juilliard’s annual Focus festival and has been artistic director of Juilliard’s concerts at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) since 1993.

A member of Juilliard's music history faculty, Sachs wrote the first full biography of the American composer Henry Cowell, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. Sachs often appears on radio as a commentator on recent music and has been a regular delegate to Netherlands Music Days and other international music conferences.

A graduate of Harvard, Sachs received his PhD from Columbia University. In 2011, he was made an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa at Harvard University for his work in support of new music, and received the National Gloria Artis Medal of the Polish Government for his service to Polish music. In 2002, he was given Columbia University’s Alice M. Ditson Award for his service to American music.

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 student-created group has established itself as a leading ensemble in New York City’s contemporary music scene with performances throughout Lincoln Center, in addition to 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.

Last season, AXIOM performed Andriessen’s De Staat as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Art of Andriessen Festival, celebrated faculty member John Corigliano’s 80th birthday, and concluded its season with works by Xenakis, Caroline Shaw, and Steve Reich (’61, composition).

Highlights of the 2017-18 season included programs dedicated to Jacob Druckman (BS ’54, MS ’56, composition; faculty 1956-72), Luciano Berio (faculty 1965-71), and a concert featuring Hans Abrahamsen’s complete Schnee.

In the 2016-17 season, AXIOM performed 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.

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 U.S. 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 IRCAM in Paris. 

Milarsky has a long history of premiering, recording, and performing American composers and in keeping with that, in 2013 was 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, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony. He has recorded extensively for Angel, Bridge, Teldec, Telarc, New World, CRI, MusicMasters, EMI, Koch, and London records.

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

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Conductor Jeffrey Milarsky and AXIOM
AXIOM Performs Three Free Concerts in 2019-20 (photo by Richard Termine)