Waypoints

METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE PRESENTS

A roving concert series in collaboration with cellist Gabriel Cabezas

Waypoints track a personal exploration across an open time period, featuring collaborations with colleagues gifted and inspired by a diversity of backgrounds. Individual concerts might represent the beginning of an ongoing project, a moment in time, and/or an experiment in a new musical direction.

Carrot Revolution

A sweeping concert featuring cellist Gabriel Cabezas with the recently Grammy-Nominated Aizuri Quartet:
"Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution takes its title from a quote attributed to Cezanne by Emile Zola, stating “The day will come when a freshly observed carrot will start a revolution”. Gabriella and I both hope you’ll consider Schubert Quintet in C in the same spirit.” - Gabriel Cabezas

Wednesday, May 29, 2019
1 Rivington Street / 2nd Floor (Buzzer #1) / New York, NY
7:00pm

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Badinage

New sounds from a modern string band, featuring Alexi Kenney, violin, Ayane Kozasa, viola, Gabriel Cabezas, cello, and Paul Wiancko, cello with music ranging from the French baroque, traditional Swedish folk tunes, through to new works and arrangements by Paul Wiancko and Gabriella Smith.

Saturday, September 7, 2019
1 Rivington Street / 2nd Floor (Buzzer #1) / New York, NY
7:30pm

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Loisaida

Centered around two songs that celebrate New York City, reflecting violinist/composer Jessie Montgomery’s Lower East Side upbringing and eclectic influences. Selections from her band big dog little dog and by violist/composer Jessica Meyer tie together a celebration of place, friendship, and process.

Thursday, October 24, 2019
1 Rivington Street / 2nd Floor (Buzzer #1) / New York, NY
7:00pm

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If Not, Winter

Jenny Beck’s setting wraps Sappho’s and Carson’s words in a dreamy, immersive soundscape so that we might hear Sappho’s poetry out loud once more, perhaps not as she would have had it, but how it sings to us now: distant, present, lost, reachable, and exquisitely alluring.

Thursday, February 20, 2020
1 Rivington Street / 2nd Floor (Buzzer #1) / New York, NY
7:30pm

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CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Artists Waypoints

GABRIEL CABEZAS / CELLO

“An intense player who connects to music naturally, without artifice, and brings a singing line to the cello” (The Oregonian), Gabriel Cabezas is one of America’s most sought after young musicians. Combining a superb technique, intellectual curiosity and… READ MORE

AIZURI QUARTET

Praised by The Washington Post for “captivating” performances that draw from its notable “meld of intellect, technique and emotions,” the Aizuri Quartet was awarded the Grand Prize and the CAG Management Prize at the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition… READ MORE

JENNY BECK / COMPOSER

Jenny Beck grew up in rural Pennsylvania where the sounds of the woods stirred her imagination at a young age. She went on to study composition at the Peabody Conservatory and Princeton University, where is currently pursuing a PhD. Regarding her music, Jenny writes… READ MORE

JORDAN DODSON / GUITAR

Performance Today describes classical guitarist Jordan Dodson as “one of the top young guitarists of his generation.” A winner of Astral's 2013 National Auditions, he is an active soloist and chamber musician based in New York and Philadelphia. He has also received… READ MORE

MELLISSA HUGHES / SOPRANO

Hailed by The New York Times as “a versatile, charismatic soprano endowed with brilliant technique and superlative stage instincts…indispensable to New York’s new-music ecosystem” Mellissa Hughes enjoys a busy international career in both contemporary… READ MORE

ALEXI KENNEY / VIOLIN

The recipient of a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, violinist Alexi Kenney has been named "a talent to watch" by the New York Times, which also noted his "architect's eye for structure and space and a tone that ranges from the achingly fragile to full-bodied robustness”… READ MORE

AYANE KOZASA / VIOLA

Hailed for her "magnetic, wide-ranging tone" and her "rock solid technique" (Philadelphia Inquirer), violist Ayane Kozasa enjoys a career that spans a broad spectrum of musical personas. A violinist turned violist, she was inspired to dedicate herself to the alto clef… READ MORE

JENNIFER LIU / VIOLIN

Passionate young violinist Jennifer Liu has performed extensively throughout the United States as a soloist and chamber musician, including at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Born in Los Angeles, California, Jennifer moved to New York at… READ MORE

JESSICA MEYER / VIOLA

With playing that is “fierce and lyrical” and works that are “other-worldly” (The Strad) and “evocative” (New York Times), Jessica Meyer is a versatile composer and violist whose passionate musicianship radiates accessibility and emotional clarity. Jessica has premiered… READ MORE

JESSIE MONTGOMERY / VIOLIN/COMPOSER

Jessie Montgomery is an acclaimed composer, violinist, and educator. She is the recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation, and her works are performed frequently around the world by leading musicians and ensembles. Her music… READ MORE

ELEONORE OPPENHEIM / BASS

Eleonore Oppenheim is a genre surfing musical polyglot. Her current projects include big dog little dog (a duo with composer/violinist Jessie Montgomery), an acoustic trio with art-pop auteur Glasser and multi-instrumentalist Robbie Lee, and the avant… READ MORE

GABRIELLA SMITH / COMPOSER

Gabriella Smith is a composer from the San Francisco Bay Area whose music is described as “high-voltage and wildly imaginative” (Philadelphia Inquirer), “bold, original and suggests exciting new directions for American music” (Giancarlo Guerrero), and… READ MORE

PAUL WIANCKO / CELLO/COMPOSER

Paul Wiancko has led an exceptionally multifaceted musical life as a cellist, composer, and collaborator. As a student, Paul was simultaneously winning international cello competitions (which led him, most notably, to Poland to perform the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto with… READ MORE