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Talea Recording Workshop @ Queens College, January 15-20, 2024
Applications Due November 5, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST (extended!)
 
LAUNCH APPLICATION
 

Announcing the Talea Ensemble’s 2024 Recording Workshop! From January 15-20, 2024 at Queens College, Talea will work with a group of early-career composers to workshop recently written pieces and produce a high-quality professional recording for the composer’s future use. New this year: the week will also culminate in a public performance of the workshopped pieces. Free of cost to participants, this program seeks to support early-career composers by addressing the barriers they face in reaching professional milestones.
 
Instrumentation: Talea will workshop and record works of up to 15 minutes for 3-8 players. The following instrumentation is available for this year’s workshop (one of each instrument): Flute, Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, Violin, Cello, Conductor. We are unable to accommodate electronics for the 2024 workshop.
 
Composers/creators of written music of all ages (18+) based in the U.S. may apply. We welcome participants of all musical styles, genres, and educational backgrounds. This program is recommended for composers who identify as in their early stages of their career who have not had extensive experience working with professional ensembles. Composers who have not had their work recorded by professional chamber ensembles are especially encouraged to apply.
 
Each participant will be offered a stipend towards transportation to New York and accommodation, to ensure that travel expenses do not pose a barrier to participation. Feel free to reach out to stephanie@taleaensemble.org with any questions.
 

DATES & DEADLINES
Application Deadline: Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST (extended)
Notification of Applicants: November 20, 2023
Workshop: January 15-20, 2024
 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Through the application, we want to get to know you, your work, and how you feel the workshop will help further your artistic and professional pursuits. It’s free to apply, and applications are due Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 11:59 EST. Here is an overview of the application:
 
Work Samples:
We’ll ask you to share a score to the ensemble work for 3-8 musicians that you would like Talea to record, as well as the score to another recent original work of any instrumentation. In addition to the scores, you have the option to submit recordings (non-professional or midi are fine) in the form of audio/video links. Recordings are not required to apply.

 
Project Statement:
In under 250 words, tell us how participating in this workshop will help you to achieve your artistic and professional goals.
 

Background:
Have you had any of your work recorded by a professional chamber music ensemble? (Yes/No) If yes, please tell us when, and which ensemble.
 
Upload a CV, resume, or bio – it’s up to you.
 

Professional Development:
What topics would you be interested in learning about in the panel discussions and artist talks as a part of the workshop?

 
Availability:
Will you be available to join Talea in-person for the entirety of the workshop from January 15-20, 2024 in New York City?
 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
 

How do you define early-career?
This program is recommended for composers of any age who have not had extensive experience working with professional ensembles. Composers who have not had their work recorded by professional chamber ensembles are especially encouraged to apply.

 
Am I eligible if I’m a student?
Yes, as long as you are over 18.

Will you consider workshop and recording works with electronics or multimedia components?
Normally we love working with electronics, but unfortunately we aren’t able to accommodate works with electronics for the 2024 workshop.

 
What instrumentation is available for the recording?
Talea will workshop and record works of up to 15 minutes for 3-8 players. The following instrumentation is available for the 2024 workshop (one of each player): Flute, Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, Violin, Cello, Conductor
 

Talea Recording Workshop @ Queens College, January 9-14, 2023
Applications Due November 20, 2022 (extended)

 
Launch Application
 

From January 9-14, 2023 at Queens College, Talea will work with a group of early-career composers to workshop recently written pieces and produce a high-quality professional recording for the composer’s future use. Free of cost to participants, this program seeks to support early-career composers by offering them practical career building resources.
 
Composers and creators of written music of all ages (18+) based in the U.S. may apply. We welcome participants of all musical styles, genres, and educational backgrounds. This program is recommended for composers who identify as in their early stages of their career who have not had extensive experience working with professional ensembles. Composers who have not had their work recorded by professional chamber ensembles are especially encouraged to apply.
 
Each participant will be offered a stipend towards transportation and accommodations, to ensure that travel expenses do not pose a barrier to participation. Homestay options in NYC may be available.
 
Feel free to reach out to stephanie@taleaensemble.org with any questions.
 

DATES & DEADLINES

Application Deadline (extended): November 20, 2022 at 11:59 PM
Notification of Applicants: early December 2022
Workshop: January 9-14, 2023
 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Through the application, we want to get to know you, your work, and how you feel the workshop will help further your artistic and professional pursuits. It’s free to apply, and applications are due November 20, 2022.
 

Here are the main application components:

 
Work Samples:
We’ll ask you to share a score to the ensemble work for 3-8 musicians that you would like Talea to record, as well as the score to another recent original work of any instrumentation. In addition to the scores, are welcome to submit recordings (non-professional or midi are fine) in the form of audio/video links.

Project Statement:
In under 250 words, tell us how participating in this workshop will help you to achieve your artistic and professional goals.

Professional Development:
What topics would you be interested in learning about in the panel discussions and artist talks as a part of the workshop?

Background:
CV, resume, or bio – it’s up to you.

 
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

How do you define early-career?
This program is recommended for composers of any age who have not had extensive experience working with professional ensembles. Composers who have not had their work recorded by professional chamber ensembles are especially encouraged to apply.

Am I eligible if I’m a student?
Yes, as long as you are over 18.

Will you consider workshop and recording works with electronics or multimedia components?
Normally we love working with electronics, but unfortunately we aren’t able to accommodate works with electronics for the 2023 workshop.

 
What instrumentation is available for the recording?
Talea will workshop and record works of up to 15 minutes for 3-8 players. The following instrumentation is available for the 2023 workshop (one of each player): Violin, Viola, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Piano, Percussion
 

Will you consider additional instrumentation requests?
In extraordinary circumstances we may consider additional requests outside of the listed instrumentation on a case by case basis. The application allows you to indicate if you have additional requests.

Coming soon! The Talea Ensemble’s Open Forms podcast series looks at the role of contemporary music in our daily lives and how music can offer points of connection to the world around us. Through conversations with guests and artistic collaborators, we explore ways in which music is evolving to fit our world today.


Listen to Open Forms at https://anchor.fm/taleaensemble. Other listening platforms to be announced! Our first episode premieres on Wednesday, March 10th, 2021 and will feature a conversation with composer Alican Çamcı.

Applications Due: September 1, 2020

Apply Here

The Talea Ensemble is pleased to announce our inaugural commissioning program for an early-career composer in the 2020-21 season. Talea will commission the selected composer to create a work for the ensemble, to be premiered in March 2021 in New York City. We would like to work with a composer in the early stages of their career for whom this commission represents a significant professional opportunity.

We welcome composers of all musical styles and genres, ages (18+), and educational backgrounds. Composers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color, as well as women and and gender non-binary composers, are strongly encouraged to apply.

The selected composer will receive:
A commissioning fee of $1,500 for a new chamber ensemble work of 10-15 minutes, a $500 travel stipend to work with Talea in New York City and attend the piece’s premiere, audio documentation of the premiere performance, and promotional support.

We recognize the time and effort it takes to submit your materials for consideration; though we are only able to select one composer in the first year of this program, our team is always seeking out new voices in our repertoire and eager to get to know your work!

Feel free to reach out to alex@taleaensemble.org with any questions.

ELIGIBILITY:
Composers of all nationalities and ages (18+) are welcome to apply.

DATES & DEADLINES:
September 1, 2020: Application due
Late September 2020: Notification of selected composer
March 20, 2021: Premiere in New York City

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Through the application, we want to get to know you, your previous work, and your ideas for a collaboration with Talea. It’s free to apply, and applications are due September 1, 2020.

Here are the main application components:

2 Work Samples: We’ll ask you to share audio/video links and a score to an ensemble work (for 3-15 musicians) and any original work of your choice. We’re looking to get to know your creative voice and the kinds of ideas you might bring to an ensemble piece for Talea.

Project Statement: In under 300 words, tell us about your ideas for a new work for Talea!

Background: CV, resume, or bio – it’s up to you.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

How do you define emerging?
We are looking to work with a composer of any age in the early stages of their career for whom this commission represents a significant professional opportunity.

If chosen, would I have to travel to New York for the premiere?
It’s not required, but we’re encouraging the selected composer to join us in New York City leading up to the premiere. At this time, we’re able to offer a $500 stipend towards the costs of travel and accommodation in New York.

Am I eligible if I’m a student?
Yes, as long as you are over 18.

Will you consider ideas for works with non-traditional notation and/or electronics?
Yes!

What if I don’t have a live recording my work samples?
We understand that it’s not always possible to submit recordings of your previous work. While we prefer live performances, we’ll consider MIDI renditions if a recording is not available.

Do you expect the COVID-19 pandemic to affect plans for the live performance of this piece?
As of now, we’re planning to premiere the piece in March 2021, but we recognize that circumstances may change. If we’re unable to perform the piece in March, we’ll find another performance date in the 2021-22 season.

Apply Here

photo by Astrid Ackermann

In February 2016, the Talea Ensemble collaborates for the fourth time with the Austrian Cultural Forum New York to present “American Immersion“, its annual series offering in-depth portraits of important voices in contemporary composition to American Audiences. This year, Austrian-born and New York-based Georg Friedrich Haas is featured, one of Europe’s major composers today.

This year’s portrait features again chamber and large ensemble programs: the JACK Quartet will perform the 50 minutes long In iij. Noct. (2001) in complete darkness at the ACFNY, while the Talea Ensemble will play a program of Haas’ pieces for larger ensembles at the Bohemian National Hall, featuring the US premiere of his 2009 work for chamber orchestra and soprano …wie stille brannte das Licht.

The introduction to this work states:

The defining feature of Georg Friedrich Haas’ creative work is his work with the minutiae of sound creation. “The love of sound, the love of the sounds that unfold like living beings in time and space“, he wrote in his Notes on Composition, “is for me one of the founding principles of my work“.  Like, for example, Giacinto Scelsi – but with the key difference that he created his tonal effects with precisely noted scores – Haas focuses his attention on the possibilities of microtonality and the complex internal life of sound (for example the combined effects of different overtones or partial tones), creating sound worlds and harmonic colours that go beyond the possibilities of the traditional eleven-note tempered half-tone scale.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER:

Georg Friedrich Haas has emerged as one of the major European composers of his generation. His music synthesizes in a highly original way the Austrian tradition of grand orchestral statement with forward-looking interests in harmonic color and microtonal tuning that stem from both French spectralism and a strand of American experimentalism. The result is an exploratory, uncompromising music that is also sensuously attractive. His music appeals to unusually diverse constituencies, from avant-garde composers for its microtonal investigations to casual listeners for its spacious forms and euphonious harmony.

Haas has composed several operas and concertos and a variety of chamber works, including seven string quartets. His hour-long in vain, for 24 musicians, is widely regarded as one of the most original and path-breaking new compositions in the past quarter century. Another important work is limited approximations, for orchestra and 6 microtuned pianos. He has received numerous national and international prizes, including the Kompositionspreis of the SWR Symphony Orchestra (2010) for limited approximations and the Grand Austrian State Prize for Music (2007), the country’s highest artistic honor.

Since 2013, Haas holds a full-time tenured professorship in composition at Columbia University. Before that he has held dual professorships at the Hochschle für Musik in Basel, Switzerland, and the Kunstuniversität in Graz, Austria.

PROGRAM:

February 24, 2016 at 7:30 PM – JACK Quartet

In iij. Noct (2001)

JACK Quartet

Venue:

Austrian Cultural Forum
11 East 52nd Street
New York, NY
FREE Admission, Tickets at acfny.org

February 26, 2016 at 8:00 PM – Talea Ensemble

La profondeur (2009)
I can’t breathe (2015) *US Premiere
tria ex uno (2001)
…wie stille brannte das Licht (2009)

Talea Ensemble
Tony Arnold, soprano
Gareth Flowers, trumpet
James Baker, conductor

Venue:

Bohemian National Hall
321 East 73rd Street
New York, NY
FREE Admission, Tickets at acfny.org

Presented by the Austrian Cultural Forum

Photo by allerArt Bludenz 2015

Steven Kazuo Takasugi

Sideshow (2009-2015)
for amplified octet and electronic playback in five movements
Written for Alex Lipowski and the Talea Ensemble
Text: Karl Kraus

Sideshow (2009-15) for amplified octet and electronic playback in five movements is Takasugi’s largest and most spectacular work to date.  Largely theatrical in nature, this piece is based on the dark sideshows of Coney Island’s amusement parks in the early part of the 20th century.  Sideshow is a meditation on virtuosity, freak shows, entertainment, spectacle, business, and the sacrifices one makes to survive in the world. A cycle of six aphorisms by the Viennese satirist Karl Kraus (1874–1936) is embedded as a subtext running through the work:

1. “Ein Gourmet sagte mir: was die Crême der Gesellschaft anlange, so sei ihm der Abschaum der Menschheit lieber.”
(A gourmet once told me: he preferred the scum of the earth to the cream of society.)

2. “Wenn Tiere gähnen, haben sie ein menschliches Gesicht.”
(When animals yawn, they have a human face.)

3. “Der Fortschritt macht Portemonnaies aus Menschenhaut.”
(Progress makes wallets from human skin.)

4. “In einen hohlen Kopf geht viel Wissen.”
(Much knowledge fits in a hollow head.)

5. “Die Technik ist ein Dienstbote, der nebenan so geräuschvoll Ordnung macht, daß die Herrschaft nicht Musik machen kann.”
(Technology is a servant who makes such noisy order in the next room that his master cannot make music.)

6. “Wien hat eine schöne Umgebung, in die Beethoven öfter geflüchtet ist.”
(Vienna has beautiful surroundings, to which Beethoven often escaped.)

Takasugi says of his piece:

Sideshow is first and foremost a work of music theater framed in a chamber music performance suggesting a circus sideshow (freak show). It is extreme, sometimes “over the top” in its theatrical depictions and demonstrations, especially for a piece of chamber music in a classical music venue, and yet it is saved by a ruthless containment. Comical, strange, or grotesque elicitations may result from various acts performed on stage, still these are never approached by a performer’s attempt to be silly, cute, melodramatic, or histrionical. Quite the opposite: it is an extremely austere theater, more related to the Japanese Noh Theater or the tea ceremony. (From the characters’ portrayed by the players perspective, there is nothing funny about this theater; on the contrary, something fatalistic or absurdly tragic.) […] Frozen silences or non-activities are performed with the utmost intensity, presence, and concentration, as if holding up the emptiness of the universe simply with one’s gaze.

[…] The performers think of themselves as characters in a sideshow.  The saxophonist is the Sideshow Giant, having bellow-like lungs.  The violist is a sword swallower, expert with a bow sword.  The pianist is the Human Spider, having been born with eight hands.  The percussionist is the Stuttering Midget and Sideshow Proprietor/Announcer.  Each character of this quartet has his or her uncanny double, twin, imposter, accomplice, copycat, deformed clone.

About the composer:

Steven Kazuo Takasugi, born 1960 in Los Angeles, is a composer of electro-acoustic music. This involves the collecting and archiving of recorded, acoustic sound samples into large databases, each classifying thousands of individual, performed instances collected over decades of experimentation and research, mostly conducted in his private sound laboratory. These are then subjecting to computer-assisted, algorithmic composition, revised and adjusted until the resulting emergent sound phenomena, energies, and relationships reveal hidden meanings and contexts to the composer. Against this general project of fixed-media is the addition of live performers, described as an accompanying project: “When people return . . .” This relationship often creates a “strange doubling” playing off the “who is doing what?” inherent with simultaneous live and recorded media: a ventriloquism effect of sorts.

Takasugi received his doctoral in music composition at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently an Associate of the Harvard Music Department and Managing Director of its Summer Composition Institute. He is the Riemen and Bakatel Fellow for Music at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and is the recipient of awards including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, two Ernst von Siemens Foundation Commissions, and a Japan Foundation Artist Residency. His work has been performed extensively worldwide. Takasugi is also a renowned teacher of composition associated with master classes in Singapore, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Darmstadt, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has taught at the University of California, San Diego, Harvard University, California Institute for the Arts, and the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo. Takasugi is also an extensive essayist on music and was one of the founding editors of Search Journal for New Music and Culture. He has organized numerous discussion panels and fora on New Music including colloquia and conferences at Harvard Music and the Darmstadt Forum.

Sideshow Tour Dates:

November 19, 2015, 8 PM
Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik *World Premiere
Bludenz, Austria

December 1, 2015, 8 PM
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University *US Premiere
Cambridge, MA

December 5, 2015, 8 PM
DiMenna Center, Cary Hall
New York, NY
8 PM: Pre-concert reception with beer generously provided by Coney Island Brewery
9 PM: Concert

December 7, 2015, 8 PM
Monday Evening Concerts
Colburn School, Zipper Hall
Arnold Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21
Steven Kazuo Takasugi: Sideshow (2008-15)

Talea Ensemble:

Barry Crawford, flute
Rane Moore, clarinet
Ryan Muncy, saxophone
Yuki Numata Resnick, violin
Beth Weisser, viola
Chris Gross, cello
Stephen Gosling, piano
Alex Lipowski, percussion, vocals
David Adamcyk, electronics

Press for Sideshow:

“The New York-based Talea Ensemble delivered fabulously well on the virtuosity and entertainment spectacle. Takasugi came through big time with his promise of a freak show… This is an amazing piece.”

–LA Times

“The adventurous New York-based Talea Ensemble infused the piece with virtuosic chaos and a dark sense of humor. … Like the sideshows that inspired it, this piece probably has to be seen to be believed. Talea Ensemble is taking the show on the road, performing in New York on Saturday and Los Angeles on Monday. See it and believe, if you dare.”

–Boston Globe

Commissioned by the Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik and sponsored through the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

The idea behind Cello Solos Today is simple: to commission an anthology of 12 new short works (3-4 min. max) for solo cello, composed for intermediate cellists in a variety of contemporary styles by some of today’s leading composers. By creating a repertoire of new works specifically designed for the non-professional cellist, Cello Solos Today seeks to actively engage young musicians with contemporary music through firsthand performance experience. A broader goal is to strengthen a tradition of living composers writing new music for young players of all instruments.
Cello Solos Today is committed to commissioning a range of composers representing different styles, backgrounds, and ages. The following composers have agreed to contribute new works to the collection:
Anthony Cheung
Mario Davidovsky
Jonathan Dawe
Mario Diaz de Leon
James Dillon
David Fulmer
Michael Gordon
Hannah Lash
Steve Lehman
Wei-Chieh Lin
Augusta Read Thomas
Charles Wuorinen
Goals: The first goal of Cello Solos Today is the commissioning, publishing, and distribution of new work for intermediate cellists. A second, and concurrent goal, is the creation of pedagogical materials to assist musicians who may be encountering contemporary music for the first time. These materials will include an accompanying recording of each work, as well as exercises designed to introduce unfamiliar techniques and musical syntax. An emphasis would be made on creating short exercises that are creatively-based rather than pedantic, and centered on experimentation and improvisation using the materials of the work being studied. These pedagogical materials would be made available online using audio and video, with the goal of creating an easy-to-use digital resource for both students and teachers.
Impact: The target audience for Cello Solos Today is a broad community of intermediate cellists, focused on young musicians and their teachers as well as adult amateurs and musicians in the early years of conservatory study. Further, the pieces in this collection will be performed nationally by students on a range of levels, and gain widespread exposure for these composers beyond the more serious audiences who are already familiar with them. Audiences for these works will range from devoted classical music-lovers, to families and peers of students. By creating works that are technically accessible yet aesthetically demanding, Cello Solos Today hopes to engage a wider audience with contemporary classical music through the joy of performing new works.
Funding and Timeline: Cello Solos Today seeks funding for commissioning fees to create new works for intermediate cellists. Funding is expected to be completed in 2015, with new works submitted at the end of 2016. Performance and recording, as well as publication and pedagogical materials will follow completion of the collection.
Cello Solos Today is a project of the Talea Ensemble, initiated and performed by founding cellist Chris Gross. Talea is committed to engaging students and audiences with contemporary music, through residencies, institutes, masterclasses, and concert talks and discussions.
To Donate, click the donate button below. After entering your payment information, please write “Cello Solos Today” in the Special Instructions box.