New Music Circle season begins this Sunday with Vinny Golia Quartet

In what seems likely to be some sort of record for the least amount of time elapsed between the announcement of a concert season and the first performance of that season, this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. New Music Circle sent out an email stating that their 2006-07 season would begin in just 78 hours with a concert by the Vinny Golia Quartet at 7:30 p.m. this Sunday, September 24, at Focal Point.

Now, musically speaking, I'm all in favor of being spontaneous and improvisational, but in terms of informing the listening public, it's really too bad that NMC didnt get word out on this show earlier, since Golia might have been able to draw a bigger crowd than some of the more esoteric artists that the organization presents. Moreover, their Web site is currently "under construction," so the only way to get any additional info on Golia (pictured at left) and the rest of the 06-07 season is via a .pdf file. I'll have an update to this post with more info on NMC's upcoming season once I've had the chance to download and digest said document.

UPDATE - 9/21/06, 4:40 p.m.: In the interests of expediency and completeness, and given that the information is curently online only in .pdf format, I'm just going to go ahead and quote NMC's entire writeup on their 2006-07 season, putting the shows in chronological order, adding some formatting and a few links where appropriate:

"Get ready for a whole new season of New Music Circle! Now in our 48th year, NMC continues to bring you the best in cutting-edge performances. Our season kicks off September 24th with Vinny Golia; read on...

NOTE: Although unlikely, programs are subject to change. Please check your latest Circular or newmusiccircle.org for updates.

Regular admission concerts
$12/$6 for students with valid ID
10 FlexTix free with NMC membership

NMC Special Presentations
Tickets $5
Members $3

VINNY GOLIA QUARTET
Sunday, September 24, 7:30 pm
Focal Point, 2720 Sutton
(South of Manchester in downtown Maplewood. Directions at www.thefocalpoint.org. Plenty of parking on the public lot between Manchester and Marietta.)

with Ellen Burr, Piccolo, Alto-and C- Flutes, Jennifer Roth, Db-, G- & C- Piccolos, C-, Alto-, Bass- & Contrabass- Flutes, & Fawntice McCain, CFlute.

This is one of many ensembles that Golia has organized and presented. A multi-woodwind performer, Vinny’s recordings have been consistently picked by critics and readers of music journals for their yearly “ten best” lists. Jazziz Magazine has also named him as one of the 100 people who have influenced the course of Jazz in our Century. With three women and one man this quartet is a stark contrast to most new music groups.

Vinny Golia is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation. He fuses the rich heritage of Jazz, contemporary classical and world music into his own unique compositions. Mr. Golia has won numerous awards as a composer, including grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, The Lila Wallace Commissioning Program and Clausen Foundation of the Arts. Golia lives in Los Angeles, California and teaches at the California Institute of the Arts. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Japan. In 1982 he founded the 37-piece Vinny Golia Large Ensemble to perform his compositions.

Golia has performed and/or recorded with many notable musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Henry Grimes, John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Joëlle Léandre, Wadada Leo Smith, Horace Tapscott, John Zorn, Tim Berne, Bertram Turetzky, George Lewis, Barre Phillips, Rova Saxophone Quartet, Patti Smith, Harry “the Hipster” Gibson, Eugene Chadbourne, Kevin Ayers, Peter Kowald, John Bergamo, George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Misha Mengelberg, Nels Cline, Han Bennink, Lydia Lunch, Harry Sparnaay, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

Monday, September 25, 11:00 a.m.
Master Class with Vinny Golia, Webster University Music Department.
Hosted by Paul DeMarinis.
Free

LARRY POLANSKY TRIO
Sunday, October 8, 7:30 pm
Brown Hall Lounge, Washington University

LARRY POLANSKY TRIO, with Kui Dong & Christian Wolff. Three professors from Dartmouth with diverse origins (USA, China and France) and a 40-year age range strut their stuff. Polansky is a co-author of the widely used computer music language HMSL. He is a composer, theorist, performer, software designer, teacher, writer, editor and publisher. As the Strauss Professor of Music at Dartmouth College, he teaches in the graduate program in electro-acoustic music, and is co-director of the Bregman Electro-Acoustic Music Studio. His current interests include sonic and formal morphing,experimental intonation, aspects of music and mathematics, and “amateur musicology”.

Kui Dong, with a DMA from Stanford University, incorporates traditional Chinese musical ideas into contemporary settings and composes orchestral and chamber works, as well as works for electronics/computer.

Christian Wolff’s music has been performed throughout the world, especially in Europe and the U.S.A. A number of pieces have been used by Merce Cunningham and his dance company. Much of Wolff’s recent work involves the freedom of events for composer, performer, and listener; in fact, many of his traditionally scored pieces also have improvisational aspects.

Monday, October 9, 10:00 a.m.
Master class with Larry Polansky and Kui Dong,
Tietjens Hall, Washington University Music Department. Free

CIRCLE/CINEMA 19
Silent film, live new music
Friday, November 3, 7:00 p.m.
Saint Louis Art Museum Auditorium
The Unholy Three (1925, 96 minutes)
Directed by Tod Browning

A bizarre tale of a crime gone wrong. Ventriloquist (Lon Chaney), strong man (Victor MacLaglen), and midget (Harry Earles), band together in a thieving scheme with a pet store as a front.
Co-sponsored by St. Louis Art Museum

CARL STONE
Sunday, November 12, 7:30 pm
Bill Christman Studio, 6014 Kingsbury

CARL STONE is one of the pioneers of live computer music, and has been hailed by The Village Voice as “the king of sampling” and “one of the best composers living in the USA today.” He has used computers in live performance since 1986. Stone was born in Los Angeles and now divides his time between San Francisco and Japan. He studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with Morton Subotnick and James Tenney and has composed electro-acoustic music almost exclusively since 1972. His works have been performed in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and the Near East. In addition to his schedule of performance, composition and touring, he is on the faculty of the Media Department at Chukyo University in Japan.

GRAND ELOQUENCE
Friday, November 17,
6:30 and 8:30 pm shows
Bruno David Gallery, 3721 Washington

“GRAND ELOQUENCE”, multimedia memorial piece opening a show of works by the late Bill Kohn. Created by Rich O’Donnell, composer, Dale Dufer, photographer, Anna Lum, poet, and Jean Ponzi, producer.

NMC Special Event. Co-sponsored with Washington University Department of Music, Bruno David Gallery, IBM and The Regional Arts Commission. Free.

ROB VOISEY’S 60x60 & ANDRE VIDA
Sunday, January 7, 7:30 pm
Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University

ROB VOISEY’S 60x60. Founder of Vox Novus Vice-President of Programs, The Living Music Foundation. Robert Voisey is a composer and impresario of new works primarily in New York City. 60x60 is his recorded compilation of 60 composers, each with a 60-second composition of electronic or acoustic music with video.

Also, ANDRE VIDA, groundbreaking saxophonist from Berlin, accompanied by local musicians, playing from his projected video score in his Vidatone animated notation system.

Co-sponsored by Webster University Film Series.

CRAIG HULTGREN
Sunday, March 25,
Location TBA, 7:30 pm

CRAIG HULTGREN, cello, long-time member of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, is an activist for new music, the newly creative arts, and the avant-garde. Possessing a broad range of instrumental techniques from traditional to radical, Hultgren presents his own spontaneous, free-style improvisations along with programs of new music throughout the country and abroad. The Birmingham News said of him, “Hultgren...pushes the limits of his instrument brilliantly by using extended techniques in fascinating ways.” Program will include video.

TOM HAMILTON, composer/electronics
and JACKIE MARTELLE, flute
Sunday, April 1
Location TBA, 7:30 pm

Hamilton is a 2005 Fellow of the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, participating in a residency at the foundation’s center in Umbria. A new concept of ensemble music based on generated harmonies is an outgrowth of his residency and will be presented here and in New York next season. Several St. Louis musicians will also perform with Hamilton and Martelle. Hamilton’s CD London Fix received an honorary mention in the 2004 Prix Ars Electronica.

EasSide PERCUSSION
Sunday, April 29
Location TBA, 7:30 pm

EasSide PERCUSSION, with Michael Evans, Christine Bard and James Pugliese, have been actively performing, recording and composing for many years. As well as being accomplished drummers and percussionists, the trio works with unusual sound sources including homemade instruments, found objects and items not normally used

CIRCLE/CINEMA 20
Friday, Date TBA, 7:00 pm
St. Louis Art Museum Auditorium
Another edition of this popular series."

For information on membership/season tickets, go to www.newmusiccircle.org

(Edited after posting to correct some formatting problems and HTML weirdness. Edited again 9/27/06 to reorder items chronologically )