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Board & Administration

Talea Administration

Adrian Morejon
Executive Director

Stephanie Liu
Director of Development and Marketing

Matthew Gold
Director of Operations

Victoria Cheah
Director of Production

David Adamcyk
Technical Director

Board of
Directors

Jeremy Shatan, Chair
Tanya Kalmanovitch
Katharina Pistor
Norman Ryan
Steven Takasugi

Artistic
Advisory Board

Anthony Cheung, co-founder
Julian Anderson
George Benjamin
Unsuk Chin
Jason Eckardt
Fabien Levy
Wang Lu
Alexandre Lunsqui
Olga Neuwirth
Matthias Pintscher


About Talea

Heralded as “a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere” by the New York Times, the Talea Ensemble is comprised of nineteen of New York City’s finest classically-trained musicians, with a mission 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 2014 Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Talea has brought to life more than 30 commissions of major new works since it was founded in 2008. Partnering with institutions like the Austrian Cultural Forum or the French American Cultural Exchange, Talea has helped introduce NYC audiences to important works of such esteemed composers as Pierre Boulez, Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Pierluigi Billone, or Georges Aperghis.

 

Praised for their “verve and immaculate virtuosity” by the Washington Post, the Talea Ensemble 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, Chicago’s Contempo series, Royaumont Voix Nouvelles, Vancouver New Music, and many others. Talea’s recordings have been distributed worldwide on the Wergo, Gravina Musica, Tzadik, Innova, and New World Records labels, and been radio-broadcast on ORF (Austria), HRF (Germany), and WQXR’s Q2.

 

Talea assumes an ongoing role in supporting a new generation of composers, and has undertaken residencies in music departments at Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, New York University, and many others.


Ensemble Members

  • Barry Crawford

    Flutes

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    Barry Crawford

    Flutes

     

     

  • Rane Moore

    Clarinets

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    Rane Moore

    Clarinets

    Clarinetist Rane Moore, enjoys a busy international performing schedule as a sought-after interpreter of standard and contemporary repertoire. She is a founding member of Talea Ensemble and also a member of The Callithumpian Consort, Sound Icon, and the award winning wind quintet, The City of Tomorrow. Ms. Moore has given numerous premieres of new works and appeared with International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Guerilla Opera, New York New Music, Wet Ink, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars among many others. She is a frequent guest with Boston-based groups A Far Cry, Emmanuel Music, Boston Musica Viva, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. She is also the principal clarinetist of the Boston Philharmonic, Boston Landmarks Orchestra and Co-Artistic Director of Winsor Music, a Boston-based concert series and outreach organization. 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.

    ranemoore.com

  • Marianne Gythfeldt

    Clarinets

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    Marianne Gythfeldt

    Clarinets

    Clarinetist Marianne Gythfeldt has played a central role in the music scene of New York City over the past 30 years. Areas of special focus include contemporary chamber music and electroacoustic music performance, new music advocacy and teaching. Winning the Naumburg chamber music award with New Millennium Ensemble in 1995 launched a wide-ranging career as clarinetist with Ensemble Sospeso, Da Capo Chamber Players, Collide-o-scope Music, Zephyros Winds and Talea Ensemble. As a freelance performer, she has performed with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and many others. Academic positions include William Paterson University, the University of Delaware and Brooklyn College where she is currently head of woodwinds and the chair of the Conservatory of Music. Ms. Gythfeldt’s recent solo CD release of electroacoustic works written for her on the New Focus label was called “…stunning, Gythfeldt is setting a new standard for her instrument here.” Marianne can also be heard on recordings by CBS Masterworks, CRI, Albany, Innova, New World Records, Koch and Mode Records.

  • Michelle Farrah

    Oboe

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    Michelle Farrah

    Oboe

  • Adrian Morejon

    Bassoon

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    Adrian Morejon

    Bassoon

  • Karen Kim

    Violin

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    Karen Kim

    Violin

    Grammy Award-winning violinist Karen Kim is widely hailed for her sensitive musicianship and passionate commitment to chamber and contemporary music. Her performances have been described as “compellingly structured and intimately detailed” (Cleveland Classical), “muscular and gripping” (New York Classical Review), and having “a clarity that felt personal, even warmly sincere” (The New York Times). She has performed in such prestigious venues and series as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Zankel and Weill Recital Halls; the Celebrity Series of Boston; the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society; the Vienna Musikverein; London’s Wigmore Hall; the Musée d’Orsay in Paris; the Seoul Arts Center; and Angel Place in Sydney, Australia. She received the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance in 2011 for her recordings of the complete quartets of György Ligeti.
    Esteemed for her versatility across a broad spectrum of musical idioms and artistic disciplines, Ms. Kim has collaborated with artists ranging from Kim Kashkashian, Jörg Widmann, and Shai Wosner to Questlove & The Roots and the James Sewell Ballet. She is a member of the Jasper String Quartet, winners of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award and the Professional Quartet-in-Residence at Temple University’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians. She is also a member of the critically acclaimed Talea Ensemble, Ensemble Échappé, and Deviant Septet, and she is a founding member of the “forward-looking, expert ensemble” Third Sound (The New Yorker).
    Ms. Kim received a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Violin Performance, as well as a Master’s degree in Chamber Music from the New England Conservatory, where she worked with Donald Weilerstein, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Roger Tapping, Paul Katz, and Dominique Eade. She is a supporter of the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation.

  • Hannah Levinson

    Viola

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    Hannah Levinson

    Viola

    Violist Hannah Levinson is an in-demand performer of contemporary and classical music based in New York City. She has recently been featured as a soloist and chamber musician at Carnegie Hall, The Stone, 92Y, Miller Theater, Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival, June in Buffalo, and the Andy Warhol Museum, and at international festivals including the Kroch Festival (Stockholm), Musikprotokol Festival (Graz), Projektgruppe Neue Musik (Bremen), and Festival Musica (Strasbourg). Dedicated to working with living composers, Hannah has commissioned and premiered over 40 chamber and solo works and is currently editing the solo viola works of Lucia Ronchetti. Hannah is a founding member and Executive Director of the violin/viola duo andPlay, described by I Care If You Listen as “enthusiastic champions for new music and collaboration.” In addition to the Talea Ensemble, Hannah is a member of the Fair Trade Trio and the Albany Symphony Orchestra. She also frequently performs with contemporary ensembles including either/or, counter)induction, Heartbeat Opera, and Cantata Profana. Hannah is currently Music Artist Faculty at NYU Steinhardt and Viola Faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege. She studied at Oberlin College and Conservatory (BM in Viola Performance, BA in Russian East European Studies), Manhattan School of Music (MM in Contemporary Performance), and NYU Steinhardt (PhD in Performance).
    www.hannahlevinsonmusic.com
    Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

  • Chris Gross

    Cello

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    Chris Gross

    Cello


    Cellist Christopher Gross’ performances have been praised by The New York Times (“beautifully meshed readings….lustrous tone”) and The Strad Magazine (“…the tone of Gross’ cello enveloped the crowd [as he] showed energy and intonational accuracy, even when racing around the fingerboard”). He is a founding member of the Talea Ensemble, a member of the Da Capo Chamber Players, and has appeared at venues and festivals throughout the US and Europe including Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Disney Hall, Darmstadt Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, Wien Modern, the Composers Conference and many others. As a soloist and ensemble member his premieres of new works are numerous, including works by Pierre Boulez, Milton Babbitt, Charles Wuorinen, Georg Friedrich Haas, Brian Ferneyhough, Olga Neuwirth, James Dillon, Augusta Read Thomas, and many others. He has appeared on recordings on various labels, including Bridge, New Focus, Tzadik, and New World. As an orchestral musician, he has played with the New York Philharmonic and the Riverside Symphony. An active educator, he is a Teaching Artist with the New York Philharmonic and has given classes and lectures at Harvard University, Peabody Conservatory, Sydney Conservatory, Cleveland Cello Society, Brooklyn College, and the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. He is also the creator of Cello Solos Today (www.cellosolostoday.org), which commissions new works for young cellists and creates online educational resources. He received his doctoral degree from Juilliard in New York and teaches at Lehigh University, where he was the university’s Horger Artist-in-Residence in 2016-17.
    chrisgrosscello.com

  • Greg Chudzik

    Double Bass

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    Greg Chudzik

    Double Bass

    Bassist Greg Chudzik has performed premieres by Steve Reich, Steve Coleman, Brian Ferneyhough, Johnny Greenwood, Mark Appelbaum, Alex Mincek, Eric Wubbels, Sam Pluta, 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.

    www.gregchudzik.com

  • Sam Jones

    Trumpet

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    Sam Jones

    Trumpet

    Trained as a musician in idioms both traditional and unorthodox, American trumpeter Sam Jones has been praised by the New York Times for his “remarkable playing” and “riveting dialogue.” With NYC as a home base, Jones works with a wide range of artists: from La Monte Young and Liza Lim to William Kentridge and Matthias Pintscher, he appears in roles both soloist and guest musician alike with many groups including Talea Ensemble and The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

    Working with new composers, Sam Jones has premiered and recorded several works with Charles Wuorinen and The Group For Contemporary Music. Additionally, since being awarded the interpretation prize at the Stockhausen Courses in Kürten, Germany, he gave the U.S. premiere of the late composer’s “Erwachen,” a trio with trumpet alongside Cellist Jay Campbell and the late saxophonist Ryan Muncy.

    Other highlights include performances at festivals across the world: Lincoln Center, Helsinki, Lucerne, Ostrava, Leipzig, Grafenegg, Gardincourt, and Darmstadt among many others. Sam Jones appears on albums with Alarm Will Sound, International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Charles Wuorinen, Louis Karchin, the Kyle Athayde Dance Party, TILT Brass, Wang Lu, Nina C. Young, Zosha Di Castri, and Ensemble Échappé.

    Originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, Sam Jones (b. 1993) is a graduate of The Juilliard School. His major teachers are Mark Gould and Håkan Hardenberger.

  • Mike Lormand

    Trombone

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    Mike Lormand

    Trombone

    New York City based trombonist Mike Lormand is a performer of eclectic contemporary and classical music. He is a member of the Talea Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, Deviant Septet, IRIS Orchestra, Riverside Symphony, and Weather Vest. He appears frequently with groups such as Argento Chamber Ensemble, NOVUS NY, Wordless Music Orchestra, Metropolis Ensemble, TILT Brass, and Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. Lormand’s love for the orchestral repertoire has led to performances with the Metropolitan Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, The Knights, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater, American Symphony Orchestra, New York Pops, Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, he has commissioned numerous new works, with notable premieres at the Ojai Music Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, American Trombone Workshop, and International Trombone Festival. He recently performed the long-delayed U.S. premiere of Marius Constant’s 1977 trombone concerto, Gli Elementi, with the Riverside Symphony at Alice Tully Hall. A graduate of Manhattan School of Music (MM) and the University of Southern Mississippi (BM), Lormand studied with Per Brevig, David Taylor, Marta Hofacre, and Robert Schmalz.

  • Steven Beck

    Piano

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    Steven Beck

    Piano

    A recent New York concert by pianist Steven Beck was described as “exemplary” and “deeply satisfying” by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where his teachers were Seymour Lipkin, Peter Serkin and Bruce Brubaker.
    Mr. Beck made his concerto debut with the National Symphony Orchestra, and has toured Japan as soloist with the New York Symphonic Ensemble. His annual Christmas Eve performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Bargemusic has become a New York institution. He has also performed as soloist and chamber musician at Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, and Miller Theater, as well as on WNYC; summer appearances have been at the Aspen Music Festival and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. He has performed as a musician with the New York City Ballet and the Mark Morris Dance Group, and as an orchestral musician he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and Orpheus.
    Mr. Beck is an experienced performer of new music, having worked with Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle, and Fred Lerdahl. He is a member of the Knights, the Talea Ensemble, Quattro Mani, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His discography includes Peter Lieberson’s third piano concerto (for Bridge Records) and Elliott Carter’s “Double Concerto” on Albany Records. He is a Steinway Artist.

  • Stephen Gosling

    Piano

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    Stephen Gosling

    Piano

  • Sae Hashimoto

    Percussion

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    Sae Hashimoto

    Percussion

    Sae Hashimoto (sa-eh ha-shee-moh-toh) is a Japanese-born percussionist whose multifaceted career extends beyond barriers of genre and classification. Her unique approach to performance is cultivated by her intensive classical training and a decade of freelance experience in NYC performing symphonic, baroque, contemporary, and avant-garde music. In 2021 Sae joined Yarn/Wire, a NYC-based piano/percussion quartet that has pioneered the creative practice of new and experimental music for the over a decade. As an orchestral musician, she has appeared as guest timpanist with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Princeton Symphony, and on Broadway’s production of Sweeney Todd. Since 2016, she has worked extensively with John Zorn, and has premiered more than a dozen of his works for the vibraphone at venues all around the U.S. and Europe. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Daniel Druckman and Markus Rhoten of the New York Philharmonic.

  • Matthew Gold

    Percussion

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    Matthew Gold

    Percussion

    Percussionist Matthew Gold is a performer, ensemble director, and educator committed to presenting innovative and adventurous programs featuring new voices. As the Talea Ensemble’s percussionist and Managing Director, he has performed with the group across the U.S. and at international festivals. He is also a member of the New York-based percussion group, Talujon. 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 appeared as a soloist with such ensembles as Talea, Sequitur, the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, and the Orchestra of the League of Composers, 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 and the Albany Symphony.

  • David Adamcyk

    Electronics

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    David Adamcyk

    Electronics

    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 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.
    http://davidadamcyk.ca

  • James Baker

    Principal Conductor

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    James Baker

    Principal Conductor

    James Baker is Principal Percussionist of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Mr. Baker is of the Talea Ensemble and Director of the Percussion Ensemble at the Mannes College of Music. He was Music Director and Conductor of the Composers Conference at Brandeis University for 14 years.He was the Conductor of the New York New Music Ensemble for a number of years. This season he is conducting the Grossman Ensemble at the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition at the University of Chicago. He has conducted the Orchestra of the League of Composers, American Composers Orchestra, the Slee Sinfonietta at the Institute for 21st Century Music in
    Buffalo, Speculum Musicae, the New York Philharmonic Chamber Ensembles, Ensemble ACJW at Carnegie Hall, the Cygnus Ensemble, the Decoda ensemble, the ensemble Tactus at the Manhattan School of Music, Ensemble 21, Musica Nova at the Eastman School and DaCapo among many others. He has conducted at the Darmstadt, Wien Moderne, Warsaw Autumn, Transit Belgium, Contempuls Prague, June in Buffalo, Nouvelles Voix Royaumont, reMusik St. Petersburg, Russia, Contempo Chicago, Musikprotokoll Graz, and Beijing Modern music festivals. He has both played and conducted at the Bang on a Can Marathon and has conducted at the Monday Night Concerts in Los Angeles and Fromm concerts at Harvard. He has conducted a number of Composers Portrait concerts at Miller Theater in New York including those of Pierre Boulez (where he led the US premier of Derive II), Toru Takemitsu, Jason Eckardt, John Zorn and Chou Wen-chung. Mr. Baker was for many years a conductor of Broadway shows, conducting for The King and I, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Oklahoma and An Inspector Calls among others.


Affiliate Artists

  • Tara Helen O’Connor

    Flutes

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    Tara Helen O’Connor

    Flutes

    Flutist Tara Helen O’Connor is a founding member of the Naumburg Award-winning New Millennium Ensemble, a member of the virtuoso woodwind quintet Windscape and the chamber ensemble Andalucian Dogs.  An artist member of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for the past two seasons she also performs regularly with  at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, the Spoleto Festival USA and Music from Angel Fire. She has appeared on “Live from Lincoln Center” and on A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts.  Among her recent recording projects are Marc Neikrug’s Through Roses with Pinchas Zukerman and actor John Rubenstein, a CD of Bach flute sonatas and a recording of contemporary pieces for flute and piano written for her. She received two 2003 Grammy nominations for her recording of Osvaldo Golijov’s Yiddishbbuk. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, O’Connor teaches masterclasses at the Banff Centre in Canada,  is professor of flute and head of the wind department at Purchase College Conservatory of Music and is on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music and Bard College Conservatory of Music. An avid photographer, she has photo credits in Time OutStrad and Chamber Music America magazines.

  • Alex Lipowski

    Percussion – Former Executive Director

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    Alex Lipowski

    Percussion – Former Executive Director

    An advocate of contemporary music, Alex Lipowski is the founding and former Executive Director of the Talea Ensemble and has performed in ensembles such as the SEM Ensemble, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, ICE, and Wet Ink Ensemble. He has been seen on concert stages throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. As a soloist and chamber musician he has collaborated with composers including Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann, Pierluigi Billone, and John Zorn to name a few. Lipowski has presented guest lectures at the University of Virginia Commonwealth, Denver State College, and UNICAMP, São Paulo, Brazil. Lipowski holds a Bachelors and Masters degree from the Juilliard School.  A career highlight is a tour with Pierre Boulez through Europe and then to Japan performing Boulez’s work, sur Incises. Since 2007, he has performed as Artist-Faculty at the Great Mountains Music Festival in South Korea.  He has recorded works on Gravina Musica, Naxos, and the Living Artists Label.


Founding Members

  • Rane Moore

    Clarinets

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    Rane Moore

    Clarinets

    Clarinetist Rane Moore, enjoys a busy international performing schedule as a sought-after interpreter of standard and contemporary repertoire. She is a founding member of Talea Ensemble and also a member of The Callithumpian Consort, Sound Icon, and the award winning wind quintet, The City of Tomorrow. Ms. Moore has given numerous premieres of new works and appeared with International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Guerilla Opera, New York New Music, Wet Ink, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars among many others. She is a frequent guest with Boston-based groups A Far Cry, Emmanuel Music, Boston Musica Viva, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. She is also the principal clarinetist of the Boston Philharmonic, Boston Landmarks Orchestra and Co-Artistic Director of Winsor Music, a Boston-based concert series and outreach organization. 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.

    ranemoore.com

  • Erik Carlson

    Violin

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    Erik Carlson

    Violin

    Erik Carlson has performed as a soloist and with many chamber and orchestral ensembles throughout Europe and the Americas. He is a highly active performer of contemporary music and has had works written for him by numerous composers, including Karlheinz Stockhausen, Charles Wuorinen, Tom Johnson, and Georges Aperghis.  Mr. Carlson is an enthusiastic proponent of interdisciplinary collaboration, and performs frequently with poets, dancers, actors, and film.  He is the founder of the New York Miniaturist Ensemble and a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, The Trinity Bach Players, and the New Chamber Ballet.  He has recorded for the Tzadik, Mode, Albany, Bridge, and Matador labels.  Also a composer and writer, he has had his musical compositions and short plays performed in a wide variety of halls and theaters.  He studied violin with Jorja Fleezanis, Ronald Copes, and Robert Mann, and holds a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School.

  • Elizabeth Weisser Helgeson

    Viola

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    Elizabeth Weisser Helgeson

    Viola

    Labeled “explosive” by Strad Magazine, new music champion Elizabeth Weisser Helgeson is the violist and President of the Talea Ensemble. She has performed to critical acclaim all over the world including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, LSO St. Lukes, Wiener Konzerthaus while having performed at a wide variety of festivals including Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (Germany), Wien Modern (Austria), Contempuls (Czech Republic) Sacrum Profanum (Poland), Kneisel Hall (US), the Newport Jazz Festival (US) among many others. Ms. Weisser collaborates regularly with a wide range of artists and has worked closely with composers ranging from Pierre Boulez to John Zorn. With her duo partner, violist John Pickford Richards, she performs in Viola Monster, playing newly penned works for two violas. She is also a member of the IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, TN. Ms. Weisser holds a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory, Masters degree Mannes College and an Artist Diploma from SUNY Purchase where she was in residence with the iO Quartet. She has recorded for Mode Records, Bridge, Tzadik, Wergo, Innova, and New World Records.

  • Chris Gross

    Cello

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    Chris Gross

    Cello


    Cellist Christopher Gross’ performances have been praised by The New York Times (“beautifully meshed readings….lustrous tone”) and The Strad Magazine (“…the tone of Gross’ cello enveloped the crowd [as he] showed energy and intonational accuracy, even when racing around the fingerboard”). He is a founding member of the Talea Ensemble, a member of the Da Capo Chamber Players, and has appeared at venues and festivals throughout the US and Europe including Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Disney Hall, Darmstadt Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, Wien Modern, the Composers Conference and many others. As a soloist and ensemble member his premieres of new works are numerous, including works by Pierre Boulez, Milton Babbitt, Charles Wuorinen, Georg Friedrich Haas, Brian Ferneyhough, Olga Neuwirth, James Dillon, Augusta Read Thomas, and many others. He has appeared on recordings on various labels, including Bridge, New Focus, Tzadik, and New World. As an orchestral musician, he has played with the New York Philharmonic and the Riverside Symphony. An active educator, he is a Teaching Artist with the New York Philharmonic and has given classes and lectures at Harvard University, Peabody Conservatory, Sydney Conservatory, Cleveland Cello Society, Brooklyn College, and the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. He is also the creator of Cello Solos Today (www.cellosolostoday.org), which commissions new works for young cellists and creates online educational resources. He received his doctoral degree from Juilliard in New York and teaches at Lehigh University, where he was the university’s Horger Artist-in-Residence in 2016-17.
    chrisgrosscello.com

  • Anthony Cheung

    Piano – Former Artistic Director

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    Anthony Cheung

    Piano – Former Artistic Director

    Anthony Cheung (born 1982, San Francisco) is a composer and pianist.  As an advocate for new music, he is Artistic Director of the Talea Ensemble in New York. Ensembles such as Ensemble Modern, Musiques Nouvelles, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, International Contemporary Ensemble, the French National Orchestras of Lille and Lorraine, the Minnesota Orchestra, eighth blackbird, Dal Niente, and the New York and San Francisco youth orchestras have performed his music. Current and upcoming projects include commissions for the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt and Witten and a Tremplin commission for the Ensemble Intercontemporain/IRCAM in Paris.  Honors include first prize and public prize at the International Dutilleux Competition (2008), the Charles Ives Fellowship and Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2006 and 2003), and several ASCAP awards.  He received his BA in Music and History from Harvard and his MA and DMA from Columbia University, where he taught music history and ear training and served as assistant conductor of the Columbia University Orchestra. He is currently a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. His principal teachers have been Tristan Murail and Bernard Rands for composition and Robert Levin and Paul Hersh for piano, and he studied additionally at Tanglewood, Aspen, Centre Acanthes, Domaine Forget, and Fontainebleau, where he worked with many leading composers. For more information, please visit acheungmusic.com.

  • Alex Lipowski

    Percussion – Former Executive Director

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    Alex Lipowski

    Percussion – Former Executive Director

    An advocate of contemporary music, Alex Lipowski is the founding and former Executive Director of the Talea Ensemble and has performed in ensembles such as the SEM Ensemble, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, ICE, and Wet Ink Ensemble. He has been seen on concert stages throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. As a soloist and chamber musician he has collaborated with composers including Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann, Pierluigi Billone, and John Zorn to name a few. Lipowski has presented guest lectures at the University of Virginia Commonwealth, Denver State College, and UNICAMP, São Paulo, Brazil. Lipowski holds a Bachelors and Masters degree from the Juilliard School.  A career highlight is a tour with Pierre Boulez through Europe and then to Japan performing Boulez’s work, sur Incises. Since 2007, he has performed as Artist-Faculty at the Great Mountains Music Festival in South Korea.  He has recorded works on Gravina Musica, Naxos, and the Living Artists Label.


Repertoire

World Premiere*
US  Premiere**
New York Premiere***


Abrahamsen, Hans Schnee (2006)**
Adamcyk, David Musique Absolue I (2014)*
Adamek, Ondrej Ca tourne ca bloque (2008)**
Adan, Victor Solum [Multiplexor I] (2006)
Adan, Victor & Douglas Repetto Tractus (2011)
Anderson, Julian The Bearded Lady (1994)
The Colour of Pomegranates (1994)
Van Goh Blue (2015)**
Antonellis, Evan Transparent Itineraries (2013)*
Applebaum, Mark Control Freak 3 (2017)
Aperghis, Georges Le Corps a Corps (1978)
Sept crimes de l’amour (1979)
Triangle Carré (1985)
Requiem furtif (1998)
Dans le mur (2007)
Rasch (2001)
Fuzzy Trio (2006)**
Les Guetteurs de sons (1981)
Happy End (2007)
Wild Romance (2012)*
Avram, Ana-Maria Axe (1985)
Penumbra (2009)
Babbitt, Milton Fourplay (1984)
Tutte le Corde (1994)
Baker, Drew Inter (2007)
Baley, Virko Dreamtime (1995)
Bedrossian, Franck Edges (2010)
Benadon, Fernando 2 Cosmicomics (2013)
Berg, Alban Lyric Suite (1926)
Berio, Luciano Sequenza VI (1968)
Duetti (selections) (1979-83)
Sequenza XIV (2002)
Bermel, Derek Language Instruction (2003)
Bettendorf, Carl Klavierstuck No.4 (2010)
Bettison, Oscar An Automated Sunrise (for Joseph Cornell) (2014)*
Biber, Heinrich Ignaz Franz selections from the Mystery Sonatas (ca. 1676)
Billone, Pierluigi Mani de Leonardis (2004)**
Mani.Mono (2008)*
Mani.Matta (2009)***
Mani.Long (2001)**
Δίκη Wall (2012)*
Legno.Edre III.Ini (2003)*
Ebe und Anders (2014)**
Biro, Daniel Peter Sapphire Brickwork (2013)*
Boulez, Pierre 12 Notations (1945)
Le marteau sans maitre (1955)
Improvisation I sur Mallarmé: “Le vierge, le vivace et le bel aujourd’hui” (1957)
Improvisation II “Une dentelle s’abolit” (1957)
Dérive 1 (1984)
Incises (2001)
Dérive 2 (2006)**
Brewaeys, Luc Per André L. 80 (2011)
Brook, Taylor Vocalise (2009)
Against the Morning (2011)
Exploded Views (2016)*
Cage, John Etudes Australes (1975)
Living Room Music (1940)
Carter, Elliott Gra (1993)
Triple Duo (1983)
Cassidy, Aaron the green is either (2003)**
Castri, Zosha Di Cortege (2010)
Cendo, Raphaël Décombres (2006)**
Chasalow, Eric Incident and Scatter (2012)*
Cheung, Anthony Windswept Cypresses (2005)
Enjamb, Infuse, Implode (2006)
Ebbing Flow (2007)
Running the Full Gamut (2008)
Centripedalocity (2008)
Roundabouts (2010)**
Discrete Infinity (2011)**
SynchroniCities (2012)*
Refrain from Riffing (2008)
Character Studies (2016)
Chin, Unsuk ParaMetaString (1996)**
Fantaisie Mécanique (1997)***
Allegro ma non troppo (1998)***
Etudes for Piano (2003)
Time’s Vestiges (2013)
Cleare, Ann eöl (2015)*
Clementi, Aldo Due canoni (1994)**
Luciano Berio (1995)**
Coleman, Steve Synovial Joints (2013)*
Combier, Jérôme Estran (2009)
Curran, Alvin Triadic Limbo (2007)
Czernowin, Chaya Ayre: Towed… (2016)
Davies, Peter Maxwell Eight Songs for a Mad King (1969)
Dawe, Jonathan Fantasey (2014)*
Denyer, Frank Play (1973)
Diaz de Leon, Mario 2.20 (2003)
ii.23 (2006)
Ghost War (2009)*
Trembling Time (II) (2009)*
Chapel Abyss (2011-13)*
Sacrament (2017)*
Diels, Natacha Princess Nightmare Moon (2016)*
Dillon, James String Trio (1990-91)
Siorram (1992)
New York Triptych (2012)*
Djordjevic, Milica one less horror for your mother (2011)
Drummond, Dean Mars Face (1997)
Dumitrescu, Iancu Fur Elize-(Beth) (2009)*
Medium Princeps (1971)**
Dunne, Timothy for B (2016)*
Durieux, Frédéric Frontales (2011) *
Eckardt, Jason 16 (2003)
Aperture (2007)***
Whorl (2017)*
Eggert, Moritz Pong (2002/2012) *
Eizirik, Ricardo Junkyard Piece I (2014/15)
Enescu, George Carillon Nocturne from Suite No.3, Op. 18 (1913)
Felder, David Requiescat (2010)
Feldman, Morton Why Patterns? (1978)
Fennessey, David 13 Factories (2009)
Ferneyhough, Brian Time and Motion No. 2 (1976)
Unity Capsule (1976)
Intermedio alla Ciaccona (1986)
Incipits (1996)
Unsichtbare Farben (1999)
Contraccolpi (2015)*
Fineberg, Josh L’abîme (2016)*
Finnissy, Michael Verdi Transcriptions (selection) (1986)
“Embraceable You” from Gershwin Arrangements (1988)
Franceschini, Matteo Set (2008)**
Francesconi, Luca Viaggiatore Insonne (1983)
Franszon, David Brynjar latitude (2014)*
Fulmer, David String Quartet No. 4 (2010)
Fure, Ashley Rose therefore i was (2012) *
Furrer, Beat Lied (1993)
A due (1997)
Presto (1997)
spur (1998)
FAMA (2005)**
Lotófagos I (2006)
Studie (2011)
Gadenstätter, Clemens Streichtrio II (1992) *
les dernières cris (2015)**
les cris des lumières (2014)**
Semantical Investigations II (2008)**
bersten, platzen (Paramyth 4) (2012)
Gander, Bernhard ö (2004) *
Die Orpheus Akte II (2008)
Take Nine for Twelve (2011)**
Gatonska, Michael Rumbling Iron Cuckoo Bird (2008)
Garuti, Mario Il demone meridiano (1997)**
Gee, Erin Mouthpiece: Segment of the 4th Letter (2007)
Gervasoni, Stefano Tornasole (1993)
Due poesie francesi d’Ungaretti (1994)
Due poesie francesi di Beckett (1995)**
Studio di Disabitudine (1998)**
Drei Aster Leider (2007)**
Giuffre, Jimmy Selections from “Free Fall” (transcribed by Anthony Cheung) (1962/2011)
Globokar, Vinko ?Corporel (1984)
Toucher (1973)
Grisey, Gérard Talea (1986)
Grossman, Jorge Siray (2004)
Pensar Geometric al Trasluz (2005)
Haas, Georg Friedrich La profondeur (2009)
I can’t breathe (2015)**
tria ex uno (2001)
…wie stille brannte das Licht (2009)
Hyena (2016)**
Hamel, Edward Approach Prune Destroy Begin (2014)*
Hassel, Dan Van Ghost in the Machine (2013)
Harvey, Jonathan Be(com)ing (1979)
Nataraja (1983)
Lotuses (1992)
Tombeau de Messiaen (1994)
Heap, Matthew Particle Acceleration (2013)*
Helgeson, Aaron Poems of Sheer Nothingness (2013)*
Henze, Hans Werner Whispers from Heavenly Death (1948)
Sonata (1959)
Hervé, Jean-Luc Reve de vol 1 (1996)**
Hivelä, Jouni Friction Mechanics (2017)*
Hodge, Huck Tetzahuitl (2012) *
Hoffman, Elizabeth Assemblage (2011) *
Holbrook, Geof Smaller Knives (2004)**
Holliger, Heinz (t)air(e) (1983)
Holmes, Jeffrey Hagall (2015)*
Hosokawa, Toshio Landscape No. 1 (1992)
Matsukaze (2011)
Hurel, Philippe Pour Luigi (1994)
Tombeau in Memoriam G. Grisey (1999)
Hurtado, Jose-Luis Diptico (2010)*
Lasciare (2007)
Iglesia, Daniel Contrapositve Antidote (2008)*
Iannotta, Clara Clangs (2012)*
Jacobs, Ed A Function of Memory (2001)
Jodlowski, Pierre Mécano 1 (2004)
This Leads to an Emotional Stasis (2014)*
Kagel, Mauricio Con Voce (1972)
Match (1964)
Sur scène (1959-60)
Klemperer, Ofir A Love Song (2007)
Kranebitter, Matthias Pack the Box (2013)
Kreppein, Ulrich Abendlied (2008)*
Lachenmann, Helmut Trio Fluido (1966)
Pression (1968)
Lang, Bernhard DW 16, Songbook 1 (2004)**
Lanza, Mauro Aschenblume (2002)**
Lazkano, Ramon Ceux à Qui (2014)**
Lehman, Steve Khalid (2012)*
Lerdahl, Fred Oboe Quartet (2002)
Leroux, Philippe Continuo(ns) (1994)
Levy, Fabien a propos (2008)**
Après tout (2012)**
Lewis, George Mnemosis (2012)*
Liza, Lim Songs Found in Dream (2005)
Lucier, Alvin Silver Streetcar for the Orchestra (1988)
Lunsqui, Alexandre Ligare (2003)
Kineticstudies (2010)*
Ruptura(s) (2004)
Topografia Index 3A (2008)*
Topografia Index 2 (2009)*
Maier, Stefan Territories III (2007)*
Malpica, Pedro Taripakuy (2007)
Mantovani, Bruno Bug (1998)
Messiaen, Olivier Quartet for the End of Time (1941)
Mincek, Alex Poco a Poco (2008)
Nucleus (2010)
Color – Form – Line: II (2011)
it conceals within itself (2012)
Morales, Hugo Tonewood (2011)
Motsch, Florent Al margen de las margenes (2011)*
Murail, Tristan Le fou a pattes bleues (1990)***
Clohes d’adieu, et un soirire… (1992)
Les Ruines circulaires (2006)
Seven Lakes Drive (2006)
Attracteurs étranges (1992)
Liber Fulguralis (2008)**
Nakatani, Toru 4_1/128_1 (2007) **
Nielsen, Lewis …in terra aliena… (2015)*
Neuwirth, Olga Akroate Hadal (1995)**
Hooloomooloo (1997)
…ad aduras…in Memoriam H. (1999)
incidendo/ fluido (2000)***
torsion: transparent variation (2001)
In Nacht und Eis (2007)**
un posto nell’acqua (Herman Melville-Skizze) (2009)**
spazio elastico (2005)
Weariness Heals All Wounds I (2014)
Niculescu, Stefan Sincronie No. 4 (1987)**
Nieder, Fabio Sogno 10 lundei (2005)**
Nono, Luigi ”Hay que caminar” soñando (1989)
Nordin, Jesper calm like a bomb (2000)
Nørgård, Per Spell (1973)
Norman, Andrew Sabina (2013)
Parra, Hector String Trio (2006)**
Stress Tensor (2009/2011)
Partch, Harry Barstow, arr. Ben Johnston
Partch, Harry & Marc Sabat November 15, 1935 – Leaving Santa Barbara (2007)
Pesson, Gerard Vexierbilder II (2003)**
Pintscher, Matthias in nomine (1999)
Pluta, Sam Machine Language (2012)
Poppe, Enno Holz (2000)**
Speicher (2013)**
Prabowo, Tony Study No. 1 (2010)*
Rands, Bernard Scherzi (1974)
Reich, Steve New York Counterpoint (1985)
Violin Phase (1967)
Rihm, Wolfgang Klavierstuck No.4 (1974)
Romitelli, Fausto Nell’alto dei giorni immobili (1990)**
La sabbia del tempo (1991)**
Golfi d’Ombra (1993)**
Blood on the Floor, Painting 1986 (2000) **
Professor Bad Trip (2000)**
Domeniche alla periferia dell’impero (2000)**
Amok Koma (2001)**
Trash TV Trance (2002)**
An Index of Metals (2003)**
Rzewski, Frederic Lost and Found (1984)
Qu, Xiaosong Ji No. 7: Motionless Water (1997)
Sabat, Marc 3 Chorales for Harry Partch (1993)
Scelsi, Giacinto String Quartet No. 4 (1964)
Ko-Lho (1966)
Schoenberg, Arnold Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 (1912)
Sciarrino, Salvatore De la Nuit (1971)
Anamorfosi (1981)
L’Opera per Flauto, vol. 1 (1990)
Omaggio a Burri (1995)
Infinito Nero (1998)
Schafer, Dominque Jeu-Parti (2008)
Shapey, Ralph Evocation No. 2 (1979)
Shepherd, Sean Lumens (2005)
These Particular Circumstances (2009)
Sorensen, Bent Funeral Procession (1989)
The Deserted Churchyards (1990)
Stahnke, Manfred Frankfurt Music Box (2003)**
Steiger, Rand A Menacing Plume (2011)*
awhirl (2008)
Elliott’s Instruments (2010)
Résonateur (2005)
Stockhausen, Karlheinz Sonatine (1951)
Zyklus Nr. 9 (1959)
Kontakte (1960)
Mikrophonie I (1964)
Tierkreis (1975)
Stravinsky, Igor Suite Italienne (after Pergolesi) (1933)
Stroppa, Marco Ossia: Seven Strophes on a Literary Drone (2005)**
Takasugi, Steven Strange Autumn (2004)***
Sideshow (2015)
Diary of a Lung (2006-07, rev. 2016-17)
Takemitsu, Toru Rocking Mirror Daybreak (1983)
Tarantino, Todd Cap Malheureux (2012)
Tenney, James Ergodos II (1964)
Koan (1977)
Thomalla, Hans Capriccio (2012)*
Thomas, Augusta Read Caprice (2005)
Tidrow, Thierry Né a l’envers (2008)
Trapani, Christopher Waterlines (2012)*
Tutschku, Hans Under (2013)*
periods of existence (2016)
codification-memory (2017)*
Twining, Toby 9:11 Blues (2003)
Vanoni, Gabriele Septet (2008)*
Van Herck, Bert Adese (2008)*
Intertwinded (2010)*
Verlingieri, Gianluca Alchymiae (2009)*
Vincze, Davour-Branimir Inflection Point (2011)
Vivier, Claude Paramirabo (1978)
Vosecek, Simon Mouses (2012)
Wang, Jen Valence (2012)*
Webern, Anton Satz (1925)
Widmann, Jorg Fantasie (1993)
Wubbels, Eric Tautology and Translation (2012)*
Wuorinen, Charles Percussion Duo (1979)
Piano Trio (1983)
Fast Fantasy (1977)
An Orbicle of Jasp (1999)
Wyner, Yehudi Refrain (2012)
Wyschnegradsky, Ivan String Quartet No. 2 (1931)
Xenakis, Iannis Persephassa (1969)
Charisma (1971)
Embellie (1981)
Kassandra (1987)
Yayalar, Tolga Teraneler (2006)
Zimmermann, Bernd Alois Sonata for Cello Solo (1960)
Ziporyn, Evan Speak, At-Man! (2006)
Zorn, John Rugby (1983)
Le Mômo (1999)
Bateau Ivre (2011)*
Orphee (2004)
Temptations of St Anthony (2012)***
Missa Sine Voces (2012)*
Candlemas Eve (2016)*
Il n’y a plus de firmament (2014)
Oviri (2014)
All Hallows Eve (2012)
Zuraj, Vito Deuce (2008)**

Press

“…a vital part of the New York contemporary-classical scene.”
-New York Times

“Championing works like these, and playing them with a compelling lucidity, are precisely what Talea Ensemble does best.”
-New York Times

“The Talea musicians moved through Mr. Boulez”s music — even works from his most severe period — with astonishing fluidity and warmth.”
-New York Times

“A flexible group that champions toothy modern works and plays them with a compelling lucidity…”
-New York Times

“…meticulously prepared and compellingly rendered.”
-New York Times

“…played with teeming energy and precise control.”
-New York Times

“…the Talea Ensemble gave a fierce performance of Fausto Romitelli’s Professor Bad Trip, a phantasmagorical sprawl of oozing timbres and howling psychedelic guitar.”
-New York Times

“…immeasurably enriched New York’s new-music scene in recent seasons, not least because the commitment with which they embrace even the most forbidding scores makes everything they do communicative.”
-TimeOut New York

“The Talea Ensemble makes modernist music not just accessible but positively engaging through its combination of commanding virtuosity and infectious commitment.”
-TimeOut New York

“…the stage often resembled the site of an athletic event, host to a blindingly high notes-per-measure quotient, fast tempos and a number of special effects. It was a demanding musical gauntlet.”
-Musical America

“…the audience seemed to relish the genre, cheering enthusiastically for every work.”
-Musical America


Contact

General
Contact

Adrian Morejon
Executive Director

adrian@taleaensemble.org

Development
& Fundraising

Stephanie Liu
Director of Development and Marketing

stephanie@taleaensemble.org

Operations

Matthew Gold
Director of Operations

gold@taleaensemble.org

Production

Victoria Cheah
Director of Production

victoria@taleaensemble.org

TALEA
ENSEMBLE

500 Eighth Avenue
#1563
New York, NY 10018