Performance by the woodwind quintet, City of Tomorrow
Free
Doors at 7 pm | Performance at 7:30 pm
About City of Tomorrow:
The City of Tomorrow is a woodwind quintet with a fearless aesthetic and a commitment to 21st-century music. Gold medalists of the 2011 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the ensemble has been presented in New York at the DiMenna Center, Trinity Wall Street, Spectrum, and at IN\TER/SECT, co-presented by Bryant Park and Chamber Music America.
Their U.S. tours have included prestigious festivals and series, including the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series in Chicago, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Michigan, and Red Note New Music Festival in Illinois. The quintet’s work has also been supported by residencies at the Banff Center for Arts & Creativity and the Avaloch Farm Music Institute. Their 2018-19 season includes residencies at Tufts University in Boston and the Vermont College of Fine Art.
In 2015, the quintet began exploring physical movement and spatial relationships in their concert programming. Championing 20th and 21st-century works by Harrison Birtwistle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Julia Wolfe, and others, the quintet uses lighting and choreography to create a seamless and immersive musical experience.
From 2012 to 2014, the quintet was engaged in a musical exploration of climate change, which culminated in the commissioning of major new works from composers Hannah Lash, Nat Evans, and John Aylward. The City of Tomorrow’s first album, Nature, released on PARMA/Ravello in 2014, further wrestled with questions of human involvement in the natural world. Exploration of these natural themes resulted in a new work from Hannah Lash, Leander and Hero, which was supported by a 2014 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant.
The City of Tomorrow’s members are in demand as new music specialists, curators, collaborators, and teachers. As an ensemble, they have recently given residencies at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Berklee College of Music, Indiana University, Tufts, and Yale. Members of the ensemble can also be heard with some of the finest ensembles in New York and beyond, including Talea Ensemble, ICE, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Elise Blatchford / Flute
Stuart Breczinski / Oboe
Rane Moore / Clarinet
Nanci Belmont / Bassoon
Leander Star / Horn
