Carnegie Hall

(NEW YORK, NY; February 12, 2024)—Ensemble Connect kicks off the fifth season of its Up Close series in collaboration with Debs Composer Tania León on Monday, March 18 at 7:30 PM in the Weill Music Room of Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing. This unique performance, curated by León, features music exclusively written by living composers. Two world premieres will be presented, both commissioned by Carnegie Hall: Natalie Brown’s insomni/black and Nathalie Joachim’s I'm Right Here. Joachim’s work will feature choreography by Eduardo Vilaro, artistic director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico. Ms. León’s Axon for Violin Solo and Interactive Computer, Viet Cuong’s Fine Lines, and selections from Paquito D’Rivera’s Aires Tropicales complete the program.

On Monday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m., electronics designer and percussionist Levy Lorenzo joins as artistic partner for a second Up Close performance that transcends boundaries, featuring original music by Lorenzo alongside his fresh take on iconic works. The ensemble will embark on a journey of creativity, constructing their own electronic instruments to unveil a fusion of classical mastery and modern technology. Tickets for both Up Close performances are now on sale.

Ensemble Connect’s Up Close performances explore different approaches to presenting classical music by experimenting with concert formats, audience engagement, and multimedia to activate the performance space in exciting new ways. Click here to get a special glimpse into the series.

Other upcoming Carnegie Hall performance highlights include Ensemble Connect’s return to Weill Recital Hall next Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. to offer the New York premiere of seven sisters paint the earth by inti figgis-vizueta (commissioned by Carnegie Hall), which follows the musicians’ world premiere of the same piece a few days earlier at Skidmore College. The musicians also perform Gabriela Lena Frank’s early career gem Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout, Tania León’s woodwind quintet De Memorias, and Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major.

The group offers their final Weill Recital Hall performance of the season on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. as part of Carnegie Hall’s citywide festival: Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice. This special performance is anchored by Berg’s dramatic Lyric Suite. Also featured on the concert is Gershwin’s Lullaby, a string quartet unheard for decades; Schulhoff’s Concertino for Flute, Viola, and Double Bass; and Weill’s String Quartet, Op. 8.

Ensemble Connect
Ensemble Connect is made up of extraordinary young professional classical musicians residing in the US who take part in a two-year fellowship program created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program prepares fellows for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership by offering top-quality performance opportunities, intensive professional development, and partnerships throughout the fellowship with New York City public schools.

On the concert stage and in schools and communities, Ensemble Connect has earned accolades from critics and audiences alike for the quality of the concerts, the fresh and open-minded approach to programming, and the ability to actively engage any audience.

Exemplary performers, dedicated teachers, and passionate advocates of music throughout the community, the forward-looking musicians of Ensemble Connect are redefining what it means to be a musician in the 21st century.

For more information about Ensemble Connect, visit ensembleconnect.org.

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Ensemble Connect is a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.

Lead funding has been provided by Max H. Gluck Foundation, the Hearst Foundations, The Kovner Foundation, Phyllis and Charles Rosenthal, The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, Beatrice Santo Domingo, and Hope and Robert F. Smith.

Global Ambassadors: Michael ByungJu Kim and Kyung Ah Park, Hope and Robert F. Smith, and Maggie and Richard Tsai.

Additional support has been provided by the Kathi and Peter Arnow Foundation, Ronald E. Blaylock and Petra Pope, E.H.A. Foundation, Barbara G. Fleischman, Clive and Anya Gillinson, Stella and Robert Jones, Martha and Robert Lipp, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation, Melanie and Jean E. Salata, The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon, Carlos Tome and Theresa Kim, and David S. Winter.

Public support is provided by the New York City Department of Education.

Ensemble Connect is also supported, in part, by endowment grants from The Kovner Foundation and the Estate of Eleanor Doblin Unger.

 

 

Ticket Information

Tickets for the February 20 and April 9 performances in Weill Recital Hall are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

Tickets for events held in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing can be purchased exclusively by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org; they are not available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office.

For more information on discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts.

 

Photo: Fadi Kheir