June 13, 2002

Bang on a Can Summer Institute Kicks off July 13 at MASS MoCA

(North Adams, Mass.) This summer MASS MoCA and Bang on a Can embark on a project to offer intensive training in new music to a select group of emerging musicians. The First Bang on a Can Summer Institute of Contemporary Music at MASS MoCA starts on Saturday, July 13, with an explosive performance by the Bang on a Can All-Stars at 8 P.M. Part classical ensemble, part rock band, part jazz band, the All Stars are adventurous, dynamic and intense.

This kick-off concert called The Big Bang will feature new music from jazz giant Don Byron entitled Eugene 1, a new sound score set to an episode of The Ernie Kovacs Show. The All-Stars will also play selections from their acclaimed CD Renegade Heaven (picked as #1 Classical CD of 2001 by Alan Korzin of The New York Times). Bang on a Can's maverick co-founders, Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolf (creators of last year's celebrated production The Carbon Copy Building) are joined by composers Arnold Dreyblatt and Evan Ziporyn (Shadow Bang) as they draw on influences from the Beatles to Sonic Youth and beyond.

The Bang on a Can All-Stars freely cross classical, jazz, rock, world, and experimental music. This six-member amplified ensemble from New York is known worldwide for its unparalleled performances of today's most innovative music, defining styles that are so new they're yet to be named. Recent concert appearances include Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Walker Arts Center, The Holland Festival, Royal Albert Hall, and The Sydney Olympics Arts Festival. The Albany Times Union said of Bang on a Can's performance of Carbon Copy Building at MASS MoCA last season, "the music ran the gamut from ambient sonic washes to propulsive polyrhythmic rock to minimalist series that echoed Philip Glass and Steve Reich."

Sponsored by American Express and The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA, The Big Bang opens the two-week Bang on a Can Summer Music Institute where some of the world's most renowned musicians and composers hold open classes throughout the MASS MoCA complex with some of the world's most promising students. The Institute will close on Saturday, July 27, with a marathon performance by both teachers and students.

The Bang on a Can All-Stars are bassist Gregg August, guitarist John Benthal, percussionist David Cossin, pianist Lisa Moore, cellist Wendy Sutter, and clarinetist Evan Ziporyn.

Gregg August (double bass) received his Bachelor and Master's degrees from The Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School, respectively. He served as principal bass of La Orquesta Ciutat de Barcelona, and since returning to New York has played regularly with The Orchestra of St. Luke's, The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and The American Symphony, having acted as principal with each. He is also a member of The Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has performed chamber music with the Bretano Quartet. August is a former member of "Ray Barretto and the New World Spirit", and has performed on several occasions with the Cuban saxophonist Paquito DiRivera. Presently he plays with Ray Vega and his Latin Jazz Sextet.

John Benthal comes from a broad background of musical styles. Originally a blues and jazz guitarist, he toured with Chico Hamilton, jazz drummer, and Charles Earland, jazz organist. In the mid-80s, he led a fusion band called "Code Blue". More recently, he toured with R&B pop singer Regina Belle and saxophonist Warren Hill. Currently playing the lead guitar/mandolin/lap steel/harmonica parts in the Broadway musical Footloose. Benthal also enjoys playing a variety of stringed/fretted instruments.

David Cossin (percussion) studied classical percussion at the Manhattan School of Music. He specializes in new and experimental music, and has recorded and performed internationally with groups including Talujon Percussion Quartet, NewBand (on the Harry Partch instrumentarium), New Music Consort, Yo-Yo Ma, Tan Dun, Bo Didley, and B-blush. Numerous theater projects include Peony Pavilion, Blue Man Group, The Lion King, and Mabou Mines. Cossin was the solo percussionist for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, with music by Tan Dun, which won the Academy Award for best musical score. He has performed solo concerts throughout Europe and the United States, incorporating video, electronic processing, and homemade instruments. Most recently, Cossin appeared on the television shows Good Morning America and CBS' The Early Show with Yo Yo Ma.

Pianist Lisa Moore was raised in Canberra, Sydney and London and studied with Gilbert Kalish at SUNY Stonybrook. Moore is the resident pianist for the Da Capo Chamber Players and has performed with the New York City Ballet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, St Luke's Orchestra, BargeMusic, Cassatt String Quartet, ISCM, Alpha Centauri, Steve Reich Ensemble, Australia Ensemble, Sydney Symphony, Albany Symphony, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. She's performed at Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, La Scola, the Musikverein and at festivals in Adelaide, Sydney, Israel, Warsaw, Holland, Southbank, Palermo, Paris d'Automne, BAM's Next Wave, Sydney's Olympic Arts and Tanglewood.

Cellist Wendy Sutter made her solo debut with the Seattle Symphony at age sixteen. She has participated in festivals at Marlboro, Aspen and Evian and was awarded first prize in the Juilliard cello competition. She made her New York solo concerto debut at Avery Fisher Hall and has participated as soloist or ensemble player with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, the ensemble Sospeso, the Seattle International Chamber Music Festival and New York's Music Today series. Sutter has toured Europe and Asia with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. As a member of the White Oak Chamber Ensemble she's toured with Mikhail Baryshnikov and performed an onstage duet with him at State Theater, Lincoln Center.

Clarinetist Evan Ziporyn's work is informed by his 20-year involvement with the traditional music of Bali. He is founder and director of Boston's Gamelan Galak Tika. He co-produced and arranged Bang on a Can's acclaimed recording of Brian Eno's Music for Airports. As part of the Steve Reich Ensemble, he shared a 1999 Grammy for the recording of Music for 18 Musicians. Other collaborators include the Kronos Quartet, The Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, Tan Dun, Wu Man, Basso Bongo, Paul Simon and Red Fish Blue Fish. A professor at MIT, Ziporyn has also taught at the Yale School of Music, New England Conservatory, and the University of California.

Tickets for The Big Bang are $20. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. daily. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org. Tickets for both this concert and the marathon festival concert on July 27 can be purchased for just $30.

Bang on a Can is a New York-based organization dedicated to creating a forum for the most innovative and adventurous music of our time. They aim to discover emerging composers and ensembles who are exploring new musical territories and reaching for a musical expression beyond the status quo. Their programming incorporates visionary classics written two to three decades ago and pieces by composers born at that time -- exciting music by our best known living composers and by those only starting to gain recognition.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located on a 13- acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings. MASS MoCA focuses on the work of visual and performing artists charting new territory.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org