The Box is Empty presents an evening of new classical music at the Century Ballroom on Friday, June 29, 2012. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., music begins at 8 p.m. For more information, visit The Box is Empty’s website.
In 19th-century Europe, the musical salon was a popular way to experience the latest works by the hottest composers of the day. These intimate social gatherings were typically held in private homes, where composers, their friends, and other guests would gather for musical performances, refreshments, and conversation. For composers like Chopin and Liszt, salons were essential opportunities to debut their compositions for colleagues and patrons.
This Friday, contemporary classical music collective The Box is Empty is giving Seattle audiences an opportunity to experience a salon-style event at Capitol Hill’s Century Ballroom. Led by local conductor and founder Jeremiah Cawley, the ensemble will perform new classical works by five internationally-renowned composers. All the pieces on the program will be receiving their Seattle premiere on Friday evening. Two of the performances will also be world premieres.
Much like the musical salons of the 19th century, Friday’s concert is structured in a way to encourage both active listening and socializing over the course of the evening. The Century’s bar will be open and serving drinks, and there will be ample time between pieces for audience members to mingle with the musicians. “We are excited to get to know our listeners and to discover what they hear in our performance,” writes Cawley in a press release for the event.
The five composers represented on the program reflect a diverse spectrum of the contemporary classical music world. “Here (In Circles)”, a work by acclaimed Dutch multimedia artist Michel Van Der Aa, will be receiving its U.S. premiere at Friday’s concert. Written for soprano voice accompanied by a small ensemble of winds, strings, and percussion, the piece muddles the boundaries between live and recorded music through the use of a cassette tape recorder operated by the soprano soloist during the performance.
Closer to home, Seattle composer Nat Evans represents the local new music scene with the world premiere of “Hear No Noise,” a work for soprano and chamber ensemble based on the writings of a 9th century Chinese monk. Evans’ innovative works often involve site-specific performances and weave together acoustic, electronic, and natural elements. His work “Sunrise, September 18, 2010” invited audience members around Seattle to collectively experience the natural phenomenon of dawn while listening to a pre-recorded musical track.
Three other notable composers round out the evening’s impressive roster. Bang On a Can festival co-founder Michael Gordon‘s piece “Four Kings Fight Five” explores the musical elements of rhythm and pulse. Composer Amy Beth Kirsten, known for her collaborations with the Grammy Award-winning group Eighth Blackbird, explores a haunting, atmospheric sound world in her work “L’ange pale.” “For Lotte, Asleep,” a work for piano quintet by noted vocal composer Scott Gendel, is a tribute to his daughter, written during her naps as an infant.
Founded in 2011, The Box is Empty is devoted to providing Seattle audiences with new ways to experience contemporary music, art, and multimedia. “Our goal is neither audience education nor engagement, but to slowly build a community comprised of personal relationships among the audience, the performers, and the music,” they say. The Century Ballroom, a historic venue more commonly associated with social and ballroom dance than with classical music, provides a setting more conducive to conversation and interaction than the typical concert hall.
As a project-based collective, The Box is Empty’s roster of performers changes from concert to concert depending on the requirements of the program. The Box is Empty may be a new ensemble in town–Friday’s concert is the group’s third event–but Cawley has rounded up a host of Seattle’s best young musical talent for the concert. Performers include up-and-coming soprano Maria Mannisto and a 15-member chamber orchestra of local musicians, including several regular contributors to the acclaimed experimental music series The Racer Sessions.
