In-School Performances

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS

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“A FULL-BORE THRILL RIDE OF KINETIC VIRTUOSITY.”
Chicago Tribune
“THE BRIGHTEST LIGHT OF NEW YORK'S AVANT-GARDE MUSIC SCENE.”
The New Yorker
“IF ALL CONTEMPORARY-CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERTS WERE LIKE THIS, THERE WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM WITH CONTEMPORARY-CLASSICAL MUSIC.”
Wall Street Journal
News and Events

01.27.12
Hot 8 Brass Band Katrina's Silver Lining
Hot 8 Brass Band

01.13.12
Matt Haimovitz and Christopher O’Riley Team Up
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01.09.12
This is Your Brain on Music
Daniel Levitin discusses music and science with Alex de Grassi

Performance Highlights

02.04.12
The Cashore Marionettes
Woodstock Opera House
Woodstock, IL

02.04.12
Luna Negra Dance Theater
Duncan Theatre
Lake Worth, FL

02.07.12
LA Theatre Works
Miami University
Oxford, OH

Listen

from the album- Music for Airports
1/1 (Eno/Wyatt/Davies)
from the album- Bang on a Can Meets Kyaw Kyaw Naing
Hsaing Kyaik de Maung (Naing)
from the album- A Ballad for Many (Bang on a Can with Don Byron)
Show Him Some Lub (Byron)

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Biography

Michael Gordon

Michael Gordon's music merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power embodying, in the words of The New Yorker's Alex Ross, "the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism." Over the past 25 years, Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles to major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio. Transcending categorization, this music represents the collision of mysterious introspection and brutal directness.

Deeply passionate about the sonic potential of the traditional orchestra, Gordon's orchestral works include Rewriting Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, a radical reworking of the original, and Sunshine of Your Love, written for over 100 instruments divided into four microtonally tuned groups. Under the baton of composer/conductor John Adams, The Ensemble Modern Orchestra toured Sunshine of Your Love to seven European capitals in 1999. Gordon's string orchestra piece Weather was recorded and released on Nonesuch Records to great critical and popular success. His interest in exploring various sound textures has led him to create chamber works that distort traditional classical instruments with electronic effects and guitar pedals, including Potassium for the Kronos Quartet and Industry for cellist Maya Beiser. His passion for adding dimensionality to the traditional concert experience has led to numerous collaborations with artists in other media, most frequently with filmmaker Bill Morrison and Ridge Theater. Gordon’s work also extends to the stage: his opera Acquanetta was featured in New York City Opera’s 2010 VOX festival and his recent work for percussion sextet, Timber, toured with Dutch dance company Club Guy and Roni to over 30 European cities.