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Concerts

Friday Afternoon Desktop Concert - Avner Dorman's Concerto in A

Concerto in A - 1st Movement from Metropolis Ensemble on Vimeo.

American premiere of Avner Dorman’s Concerto in A for Solo Piano and String Orchestra (1995), performed on October 11, 2007 at the Angel Orensanz Center in New York City. Featuring Eliran Avni (piano) and the Metropolis Ensemble led by conductor Andrew Cyr. Video by Timothy Bakland; sound by Nils van Otterloo.

Friday Afternoon Desktop Concert - Erik Satie’s Sports et Divertissements

Sports et Divertissements - Tennis from Metropolis Ensemble on Vimeo.

Erik Satie’s Sports et Divertissements (1914) arranged for chamber orchestra by David Bruce, performed on April 10, 2008 at The Times Center in New York City. Featuring Mike Daisey (narrator), and the Metropolis Ensemble led by conductor Andrew Cyr. Video by Timothy Bakland; sound by Ryan Streber.

Friday Afternoon Desktop Concert - Jakub Ciupinski's Morning Tale

Morning Tale from Metropolis Ensemble on Vimeo.

Encore performance of Jakub Ciupinski’s Morning Tale (2009), performed on September 16, 2009 at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. Featuring Jenny Lin on piano and electronics. Presented by the Metropolis Ensemble led by conductor Andrew Cyr. Video by Gareth Paul Cox, Kyrié Cox, and Jim Larson; sound by Ryan Streber.

Friday Afternoon Desktop Concert - Debussy and Massenet

Debussy: Clair de Lune and Massenet: Meditation from Thais from Metropolis Ensemble on Vimeo.

Claude Debussy: Clair de Lune, featuring Sean Lee on violin and Edvinas Minkstimas on piano; Jules Massenet: Meditation from Thais, featuring Sean Lee on violin and Bridget Kibbey on harp. Performed on February 14, 2010 at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. This was part of Love Letter to Haiti, a Valentine’s Day benefit concert for Partners in Health, organized by Metropolis Ensemble and artistic director Andrew Cyr. Video by Gareth Paul Cox and Kyrie Cox; sound by Ryan Streber.

Friday Afternoon Desktop Concert: David Bruce's Caja de Musica

Bruce: Caja de Musica and Capulet: A l'espangol from Metropolis Ensemble on Vimeo.

David Bruce: Caja de Musica; Andre Capulet: A l'espangol, both featuring Bridget Kibbey on harp. Performed on February 14, 2010 at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. This was part of Love Letter to Haiti, a Valentine’s Day benefit concert for Partners in Health, organized by Metropolis Ensemble and artistic director Andrew Cyr. Video by Gareth Paul Cox and Kyrie Cox; sound by Ryan Streber.

Bridget Kibbey on the Origins of Music Box

Bridget Kibbey on the Origins of Music Box

“With each new reel or change in the music, the locals instinctively changed their steps to a new regional dance. I was in shock.”

Rendering a New Season Together

Rendering a New Season Together

Recapping the world premiere performances from Metropolis resident composers Timothy Andres, Vivian Fung, and Ray Lustig.

Kung Fu Heroes Meet High-Octane Music

Kung Fu Heroes Meet High-Octane Music

Composer Tan Dun led Metropolis artists in an audacious multimedia mesh of Eastern and Western sounds at Lincoln Center with The Martial Arts Trilogy.

Kristin Lee: The World Premiere Challenge

Kristin Lee: The World Premiere Challenge

“My goal as a performer is to bring across the exact replica of the composer’s vision… in full understanding of the music.”

Raymond Lustig’s Musical Ghosts

Raymond Lustig’s Musical Ghosts

“I have a tendency to quote some of my most beloved music when the spirit comes over me… it’s a compulsion, really.”

MATA Festival: A Burst of Blinding Clarity

MATA Festival: A Burst of Blinding Clarity

Oracle Hysterical members Elliot Cole, Brad Balliett, and Doug Balliett brought us probably the most twisted hip-hop throw down you’ve ever seen.

Neo-Classical Joie de Vivre

Pianist Eliran Avni shows his flair for the dramatic during a rehearsal of Avner Dorman’s “Concerto in A” with Metropolis Ensemble at The Times Center in Midtown. Metropolis artists were invited to test the Times Center’s new state-of-the-art auditorium and digital audio system on September 14, 2007. Photo by Vern Kousky.

Rhapsody in Blue

Conductor Andrew Cyr rehearses “Piano Concerto” with Metropolis artists at The TImes Center in New York City on April 10, 2008. The building’s acclaimed interior garden and aspen trees are visible through the 30-foot glass wall. “Piano Concerto” was composed by Metropolis Ensemble’s Wet Ink Composer Resident Ryan Francis and received its world premiere at the “LOOP” concert, featuring pianist Anna Polonsky. Photo by Vern Kousky.

Accordion Acclaim

Accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman performs the world premiere of “Groanbox,” a new work by London-based composer David Bruce, on January 28, 2009 at (le) Poisson Rouge in New York City. Photo by Gareth Paul Cox.

The Composer's Perspective

Composer Avner Dorman introduces his Concerto in A for solo piano and string orchestra at a private members event on September 20, 2007 on the Upper East Side. Thoughout the year, Metropolis members enjoy benefits including invitations to members-only events in intimate settings with the opportunity to meet our artists and composers. Photo by Vern Kousky.

Afternoon Tea

Patrons enjoy afternoon tea service, wine, and hors d'oeuvres at the Park Millennium on the Upper West Side before Timothy Andres’ piano recital, “It takes a long time to become a good composer” on December 11, 2010. Photo by Adi Shniderman.

The First Performance

Metropolis Ensemble’s debut concert “Voices of Night” on February 16, 2006 featured music by Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, and David Schiff. Here Metropolis artists, including French horn soloist Alexander Gusev, rehearse Britten’s “Serenade” with conductor Andrew Cyr at the Angel Orensanz Center on the Lower East Side in New York City. Photo by Vern Kousky.

Celebrating the Mandolin

Celebrating the Mandolin

Join our Grammy Nomination Party on December 16, 2010 at (le) Poisson Rouge.

Star Ledger: Dig the New Breed

The Star-Ledger’s Ronni Reich followed Metropolis conductor Andrew Cyr during a recent rehearsal for the Hallucinations concerts and profiled the ensemble ahead of the 53rd Grammy Awards, for which Cyr and Metropolis are nominated.

Cyr’s Metropolis Ensemble spends all day rehearsing electronic-orchestral hybrids in a Gramercy church so cold a piccolo freezes up. Their dedication to Cyr’s vision — and that vision itself — is exactly why the young orchestra has had such success and why Cyr can be considered a conductor in a new mold. Metropolis records all of its performances and uploads them to its website as a marketing tool for its musicians. In deference to audiences’ variable tastes, the group mixes up its offerings — electronica, neoclassical, folk, chamber music. Concerts may be shorter than usual, have flexible seating, include drinks, take place in unconventional venues or begin when it’s convenient for people who work late. “People say it’s the death of classical music,” Cyr says. “Actually, it’s a tremendous growth opportunity.”

Read the full article…

Under A Dramatic Sky

Metropolis Ensemble performs on October 19, 2006 under the lofty facade of Angel Orensanz Center on the Lower East Side of New York City. Monteverdi’s “Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda” featured soloists Melissa Fogarty, Thomas Glenn, and Daniel Neer with Metropolis Ensemble conducted by Andrew Cyr. Photo by Vern Kousky.