Opera & Democracy: Listening in Exile - DANCE AND FINNISSAGE

DANCE AND FINNISSAGE

Freedom of the arts is essential for any democracy, but what role do the arts play when democracies come under pressure? Through four concerts and talks in New York City, the program will indulge in the works and stories of composers who went into exile, sharing their music, and asking how democracies and the arts relate today.

In cooperation with the Manhattan School of Music.

This concert and dance performance by Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet takes a leap from mid-century composers into the present. The performance starts with two compositions by Ursula Mamlok, who fled Germany for Ecuador in 1939 and then moved on to study in New York City in 1940. She became one of the USA's most renowned women composers and wrote music in various genres and styles. After a conversation about the role and personal meaning of exile for their arts, with choreographer Miro Magloire and composer Alyssa Regent, the performance continues to music of one of Ursula Mamloks students: Pulitzer Prize winner Tania Léon was born in Cuba and left in 1967 for New York. The performance concert concludes with a new composition by Alyssa Regent (born 1995, Guadeloupe).

• Dance by The New Chamber Ballet, Choreography: Miro Magloire
• Music by Ursula Mamlok, Tania Léon, and Alyssa Regent
• Moderation: Carl Bettendorf

Biographies:

Miro Magloire
Lauded as "refreshingly original" by Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times, choreographer Miro Magloire is the founder and artistic director of New Chamber Ballet. Magloire has created over one hundred ballets in his signature style for his company, all distinguished by sweeping elegance, a striking theatricality, and bold musical choices. "It's heartening to see work so focused on the meeting of dance and music,” Macaulay wrote in his Times review, “always you're aware of an intelligence at work that resists romantic cliché." Known for his visionary collaborations with musicians - singers, violinists, pianists and large ensembles - Magloire has a special affinity for cutting-edge contemporary music, which has led him to work with many of today's leading composers.

Alyssa Regent

Born in 1995, Alyssa is a New York-based composer originally from the islands of Guadeloupe. She has participated in several music festivals and programs such as the 77th Composer’s Conference, String Quartet Evolution at the Banff Center (Canada), New Music on the Point and the Lucerne Music Festival (Switzerland). In 2023, she was awarded the Ascap Morton Gould Young Composer Award. She studied composition with Suzanne Farrin, David Fulmer, Marcos Balter and George Lewis and is currently pursuing a DMA at Columbia University. She is inspired by what she calls “the unseen”, seeking to evoke passions and sensations that are deeply rooted in introspection. She harvests from the ethereal, the enigmatic intersections between music and spirituality. She loves to think about music as an exploration of the spiritual and emotional dimensions of the human experience.

Tanja Léon
Tania León (b. Havana, Cuba) is highly regarded as a composer, conductor, educator, and advisor to arts organizations. Her orchestral work Stride, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music. In 2022, she was named a recipient of the 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements. In 2023, she was awarded the Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition from Northwestern University. Most recently, León became the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s next Composer-in-Residence—a post she will hold for two seasons, beginning in September 2023. She will also hold Carnegie Hall’s Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair for its 2023-2024 season.

Carl Bettendorf
Carl Christian Bettendorf (DMA, Composition, 2009) is a New York-based composer/conductor. Born in Hamburg, Germany, he studied composition with Hans-Jürgen von Bose and Wolfgang Rihm in Munich and Karlsruhe before moving to New York, where he received his doctorate in Composition from Columbia University studying under Tristan Murail.

Unfortunately, 1014 Fifth Avenue is in the process of being refurbished, and is not fully accessible in its current state. We apologize to our guests and kindly ask you to contact [email protected] if you need further information or assistance. We will do our best to enable everyone to join us.

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