Free Concert, Reception, and CD signing Monday, February 1, 7:30pm at the former Tower Records - Avner Dorman: Concertos for Mandolin, Piccolo, Piano and Concerto Grosso released January 26 on NAXOS American Classics
New York, NY - The imaginative, up-and-coming chamber orchestra, Metropolis Ensemble, will celebrate its first studio album, Avner Dorman: Concertos for Mandolin, Piccolo, Piano and Concerto Grosso, with a free concert, reception, and CD signing on February 1 at 7:30pm. The event will feature a performance of Avner Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto (string sextet version) by renowned mandolinist Avi Avital and members of Metropolis Ensemble. All attendees will receive a free copy of the new CD and are invited to a CD signing and reception with artists from Metropolis Ensemble. The event is presented in association with, No Longer Empty, a non-profit organization that organizes site-specific public art exhibitions in vacated storefronts and properties in New York City, located in the former Tower Records on Broadway and East 4th Street.
Produced by Grammy-winning producer David Frost, the album contains the complete chamber orchestra concerti by award-winning Israeli composer Avner Dorman. In addition to Dorman’s 2006 Concerto for Mandolin, the album also features three world premiere recordings: the 2001 Piccolo Concerto, with piccolo soloist Mindy Kaufman and pianist Eliran Avni; Concerto Grosso (2003) with Arnaud Sussmann and Lily Francis, violins; Eric Nowlin, viola; Michal Korman, cello; and Aya Hamada, harpsichord; and the composer’s 1995 Piano Concerto, a work he penned when he was only nineteen years old, also featuring pianist Eliran Avni. Metropolis Ensemble was the first professional orchestra to perform Dorman’s music in the United States.
Metropolis Ensemble is a professional chamber orchestra and ensemble based in New York City. Dedicated to emerging composers and performers, Metropolis Ensemble has quickly established a reputation for presenting “new music played with the same kind of panache and bravura we usually experience only in performances of standard repertoire” (Esa-Pekka Salonen).
The dynamic ensemble, comprised of the finest young artists now performing, is led by Music Director Andrew Cyr. Cyr is a distinctive new voice in the growing contemporary classical music scene. His enthusiasm for connecting musicians and composers of the next generation to today’s audiences led him to create Metropolis Ensemble in 2006.
Metropolis Ensemble commissions, premieres and records new works from the freshest voices in classical composition, including Timothy Andres, David Bruce, Anna Clyne, Jakub Ciupinski, Avner Dorman, Ryan Francis, Vivian Fung, Ryan Gallagher, Erin Gee, Raymond Lustig, Ricardo Romaneiro, David Schiff, Adam Schoenberg, Cristina Spinei, and Michael Ward-Bergeman. Since its formation in 2006, Metropolis Ensemble has performed to capacity crowds and has premiered and commissioned over 24 new works.
Avner Dorman has quickly risen to become one of Israel’s most successful and renowned composers. At the age of 25, he became the youngest composer to win Israel’s prestigious Prime Minister’s Award and that same year he was awarded the Golden Feather Award from ACUM (the Israeli Society of Composers and Publishers). Since coming to the United States, Dorman has received several international awards from ASCAP, ACUM, and the Asian Composers League.
Dorman’s unique approach to rhythm and timbre has inspired some of the world’s leading conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Marin Alsop, Asher Fisch, and Simone Young to bring his music to international audiences in performances with The New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestras.
Dorman’s fresh, spontaneous style lends itself well to the screen and he has written for film, notably Nitzan Aviram’s award-winning film Son. His music is exclusively published by G. Schirmer, Inc. and is available on NAXOS, the world’s leading classical music label. Dorman holds a Doctorate from the Juilliard School.
The former Tower Records is located at 15 East 4th Street at Broadway. To RSVP for reserved press seating or to request a review copy of the CD please contact:
Nate Bachhuber
ph: 917.763.9396
e: press@metropolisensemble.org
