VIEW THIS EMAIL IN YOUR BROWSER FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 16, 2021 Information: 212/854-7799 millertheatre.com PRESS CONTACTS Aleba Gartner, 212/206-1450 [email protected]Lauren Bailey Cognetti, [email protected]"Refreshingly creative and smart" — Slate Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts launches Mission: Commission A six-episode podcast demystifying the process of how classical music gets made Follow the creative journeys of three composers who have been given six weeks to create a newly commissioned piece of music: In New York, MARCOS BALTER writes for harpist Parker Ramsay In New Orleans, COURTNEY BRYAN writes for trombonist Andrae Murchison and herself on piano In Chicago, AUGUSTA READ THOMAS writes for percussionist John Corkill Hosted by MELISSA SMEY, Executive Director of Miller Theatre
Transcript
VIEW THIS EMAIL IN YOUR BROWSER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 16, 2021Information: 212/854-7799millertheatre.com
From Miller Theatre Executive Director Melissa Smey:
“Commissioning new work is at the heart of Miller Theatre’s mission, and I amdetermined to create opportunities for composers and musicians even though in-person concerts are on pause. Making a Miller audio podcast has been on my wishlist for a while, and this format really gives us a chance to explore deep and personalinsights into how classical music gets made. I am thrilled that Marcos Balter,Courtney Bryan, and Augusta Read Thomas all agreed to be part of this project. Theyare truly wonderful collaborators and their personalities, creative practices, andspirits come alive for listeners in these episodes. I hope that listeners enjoy thispodcast as much as we enjoyed making it.”
Miler Theatre at Columbia University's mission to create new works takes centerstage as Miller ventures into the world of podcasts for the first time. MISSION:COMMISSION, launching on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, is a six-episode, freeweekly podcast that demystifies the process of how classical music gets made, lifting thecurtain to reveal the inner lives of three composers as they create vibrant new works ofmusic: Marcos Balter in NYC, Courtney Bryan in New Orleans, and Augusta Read
Thomas in Chicago. The hook: In fall 2020, Miller Theatre invited Balter, Bryan, and Thomas—threefascinatingly different composers stylistically—to each write a new piece of music in sixweeks, checking in with podcast host Melissa Smey (Miller’s Executive Director) weeklyto discuss their unique processes along the way. Like an audio diary, listeners will get arare inside look as an artist creates—from the blank page, to inspiration, risk-taking andhard work, to the finished product. The result is a dialogue about music creation thatventures into joy, frustration, and humor—and just being a human during a globalpandemic. Recordings of the final pieces will be shared at the conclusion of the podcast, onTuesday, May 18. Mission: Commission is produced by seasoned podcast showrunner, audio producer, andjournalist Golda Arthur, who crafted the narrative arc of the 6-week journey. For twenty years, Miller Theatre’s flagship concert series, Composer Portraits, has fosteredthe creation of new work, served as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion ofthose not yet well known, and created a community of adventurous listeners. While in-person concerts are on pause, Mission: Commission continues to put Miller’s focus on newwork front and center. Visit the website to preview excerpts from the first episode of the podcast.
"It’s like the messiest kitchen ever, with a thousand frying pans going on at the same time
and things popping in the toaster and microwaves beeping everywhere,and somehow, a dish comes out of it.”
— Marcos Balter in Episode Three of Mission: Commission
The Composers
L to R: Courtney Bryan, Augusta Read Thomas, Marcos Balter
COURTNEY BRYAN, a native of New Orleans, is a pianist, composer, and educatorwhose work bridges the sacred and the secular, exploring human emotions through sound,and confronting the challenge of notating the feeling of improvisation. Bryan has academicdegrees from Oberlin Conservatory (BM), Rutgers University (MM), and ColumbiaUniversity (DMA) with advisor George Lewis, and completed an appointment asPostdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of African American Studies atPrinceton University. Bryan is currently an Assistant Professor of Music in the NewcombDepartment of Music at Tulane University, and the Mary Carr Patton Composer-in-Residence with the Jacksonville Symphony. She was the 2018 music recipient of the HerbAlpert Award in the Arts, a 2019 Bard College Freehand Fellow, and a 2019-20 recipient ofthe Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition and a 2020 United States ArtistsFellow. AUGUSTA READ THOMAS is one of the most active composers in the world, with along-standing history of commitment to her community. Her music has been described asnuanced, majestic, elegant, capricious, and lyrical. Thomas is a University Professor ofComposition in Music and the College at The University of Chicago. She was the longest-serving Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra forconductors Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez (1997-2006). During her residency,Thomas not only premiered nine commissioned orchestral works, but was also central inestablishing the thriving MusicNOW series, through which she commissioned andprogrammed the work of many living composers. Thomas won the Ernst von SiemensMusic Prize, among many other coveted awards. She is a member of the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.Thomas was named the 2016 Chicagoan of the Year. MARCOS BALTER’s music is at once emotionally visceral and intellectually complex,primarily rooted in experimental manipulations of timbre and hyper-dramatization of liveperformance. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Balter is a Professor of Composition atthe University of California, San Diego, and has held fellowships from the John SimonGuggenheim Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Tanglewood Music Center.Highlights of 2019-20 included a new work for countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo andthe Shanghai Quartet commissioned by the Phillips Collection and Chamber MusicAmerica and a new work for cellist Jay Campbell and pianist Conor Hanick commissionedby 92Y. Other recent performances of his music include a Miller Theatre ComposerPortrait in 2018, and appearances at Carnegie Hall, Köln Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall,Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Hall, Park Avenue Armory, and Banff Music Festival.
Melissa Smey is Associate Dean and Executive Director at Columbia University School ofthe Arts, where she leads the Arts Initiative, Miller Theatre, and oversees the new LenfestCenter for the Arts. Passionately dedicated to creating new work and fostering audiencedevelopment, Smey has commissioned and premiered 29 new works from leadinginternational composers including Chaya Czernowin, Missy Mazzoli, Enno Poppe, AugustaRead Thomas, and John Zorn, and, over the last five years, has produced free programsserving over 16,000 audience members. A two-time recipient of the ASCAP-ChamberMusic America Award for Adventurous Programming for her work at Miller Theatre, Smeyhas served as speaker and panelist for organizations including the American Academy inBerlin, Canadian New Music Network, Chamber Music America, The Juilliard School,Manhattan School of Music, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council onthe Arts, New York University, Philadelphia New Music Project, and Works and Process atthe Guggenheim. Prior to her tenure at Columbia, Smey held positions at the New YorkPublic Library and the Metropolitan Opera.
The Musicians
L to R: John Corkill (percussion in Augusta Read Thomas's piece),Andrae Murchison (trombone in Courtney Bryan's piece),
Parker Ramsay (harp in Marcos Balter's piece)
JOHN CORKILL currently serves as the percussionist for the University of Chicago’sGrossman Ensemble, an ensemble-in-residence at the University’s Center forContemporary Composition comprised of 13 of the nation’s leading new music specialists.He has collaborated with Third Coast Percussion, eighth blackbird, and Ensemble DalNiente. He has also appeared on the Chamber Music Northwest, Norfolk, and Yellow BarnFestivals and garnered awards at the Yale Chamber Music Competition as well as thePercussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition. He has alsoworked with many of today’s leading musicians including conductors Marin Alsop, PeterOundjian, Matthias Pintscher, and Reinbert de Leeuw. He currently serves on faculty at theUniversity of Chicago, Loyola University, and Merit School of Music. Corkill received hisBachelor of Music from Northwestern University and Master of Music Degree from theYale University School of Music.
Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, trombonist ANDRAE MURCHISON grew upsurrounded by traditional gospel music at home and in church. Murchison received abachelor’s degree in jazz studies from Oberlin Conservatory and a master’s degree from theAaron Copland School of Music. He has toured the world with ensembles and musiciansincluding The Skatalites, Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya, and The Duke Ellington Orchestra,The Count Basie Orchestra, and The Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He also worked, studied,and shared the bandstand with jazz masters Jimmy Heath, Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz,Monty Alexander, Benny Golson, Marcus Belgrave, Fred Wesley, and Slide Hampton. Inaddition, he has performed with music celebrities including Aretha Franklin, Jay-Z, MaryJ. Bridge, Lauryn Hill, Harry Connick, Demi Lovato, Jay Rock, Brian McKnight, Common,and more. Murchison leads his own ensemble called Murch Church with the mission tohonor family, ancestors, and testify true love and faith.
PARKER RAMSAY is dedicated to invigorating the existing harp canon while delvinginto new and underperformed works. In 2020, the recording of his transcription of Bach’s
Goldberg Variations was praised as “remarkably special” (Gramophone), “relentlesslybeautiful” (WQXR), and “a resounding success” (The Independent). A native of Nashville,Tennessee, Ramsay began harp studies at a young age before moving to the UK at age 16.After receiving his bachelor’s degree in history at Cambridge, he pursued graduate studiesat Oberlin Conservatory. In 2014, he was awarded First Prize at the SweelinckInternational Organ Competition. He then studied modern harp at The Juilliard School,under the tutelage of Nancy Allen. He is a regular contributor for VAN Magazine, and hiswriting has appeared in Cleveland Classical, The New York Times, and The WashingtonPost. He lives in New York City.
Producer Golda Arthur and the Team
Mission: Commission is produced by Golda Arthur, an independent podcastshowrunner, audio producer, and journalist. She has launched and run many podcasts atVox Media including Land of the Giants: The Rise of Amazon and the daily newsshow Today Explained. During her time at Marketplace, she was showrunner for theaward-winning narrative technology podcast Codebreaker. Prior to her work in theU.S. she worked in London for the BBC World Service in audio reporting, producing, andediting.
The full Mission: Commission team:Golda Arthur, Producer
Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New YorkCity and a champion of innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia UniversitySchool of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with afocus on contemporary and early music, jazz, opera, and multimedia performances.Founded in 1988, Miller Theatre has helped launch the careers of myriad composers andensembles over the years, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion ofthose not yet well known in the United States. A four-time recipient of theASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller Theatrecontinues to meet the high expectations set forth by its founders—to present innovativeprograms, support the development of new work, and connect creative artists withadventurous audiences.
Major support for Mission: Commission is provided by theFrancis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts and The National Endowment for the Arts.
Support for Miller Theatre is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with thesupport of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature,the Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
Support for contemporary music is provided by theAaron Copland Fund for Music and the Amphion Foundation.
For further information, press tickets, photos, and to arrange interviews,please contact Aleba & Co. at 212/206-1450 or [email protected].
For photos, please contact Lauren Bailey Cognetti, [email protected]
