Friday, January 8th 2016

CLASSROOM 206—11:15 am -12:15 pm

Composers and artists Whitney George, Sugar Vendil , Federico Liach, Greg Jukes, and Matt Marks hold a discussion about THEATRICALITY IN NEW MUSIC

BYRD HALL—5:15 pm- 6:15 pm

CONCERT II: THEATRICALITY IN NEW MUSIC

The Curiosity Cabinet ​and Tenth Intervention ​split a bill for this event. The Curiosity Cabinet will present selections from their work The Strange Library for narrator, projected images, and live music. The Curiosity Cabinet includes: Alice Jones, flute; Adam von Housen, violin; Hugh Ash, trumpet; Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, narrator

for more information on the series of events, please visit: www.newmusicgathering.org

Saturday, February 13th 2016 at 7:30 pm

Sonnets from Shakespeare — Miriam Gideon

for trumpet, violin I, violin II, viola, ‘cello, &  soprano

selections from Love Songs — David Morneau

for flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin I, violin II, viola, ‘cello, double bass & soprano

Veiled — Whitney George

for violin I, violin II, viola, ‘cello, & double bass

selections from Shakespeare Songs — Jay Vilnai

for violin, viola, 'cello, & soprano

Three Songs from Shakespeare — Igor Stravinsky

for flute, clarinet, viola, & soprano

Valentine — Jacob Druckman

for solo double bass

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Martha Cargo, flute; Aleks Karjaka, clarinet; Hugh Ash, trumpet; 

Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin; Adam von Housen, violin; Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos, viola; Caleigh Drane, 'cello; 

Emilio Guarino, double bass; Justine Aronson, soprano; Whitney George, conductor]

South Oxford Space

138 S. Oxford Street

Brooklyn, New York 

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE! ]

Thursday, February 18th at 7:00 pm

Sundog — Sunny Knable

When it Breaks — Whitney George

Tehchno-Parade — Guillaume Connesson

Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune — Claude Debussy (arr. Michael Webster)

From Maldoror — Daniel Felsenfeld

Dash — Jennifer Higdon

Music in Fifths — Philip Glass

[ The Parhelion Trio: Sarah Carrier, flute; Ashlee Miller, clarinet; Andrea Christie, piano ]

National Sawdust

80 North 6th Street

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE! ]

Friday, March 25th 2016—8:00 pm

ENSEMBLE MISE-EN presents a program of four works as part of their ACOUSTIC+ series:

ACOUSTIC+ #9 - New York Composers Night

Paraclete — Tawnie Olson

When it Breaks — Whitney George

Tracing — Frances White

Borroso — Kala Pierson

MISE-EN_PLACE Bushwick

678 Hart St #1B

Brooklyn, New York

[ $10 at the door ]

Wednesday, April 6th 2016—9:00 pm

The Wild Called Maxx is the story of Maxx​, a young and progressive woman, who is having trouble merging her creative identity with her lifestyle. She leaves her traditional job in the suburbs and journeys to the city. The unknown jungle of the metropolitan New York, full of monsters, is overwhelming to Maxx at first. Over time she finds ardent friends willing to help her find her creative voice.

The story is told through live music written by Whitney George and performed by The Curiosity Cabinet with special bass trombone soloist Russ Zokaites. Original artwork by Sammy Lopez will feature illustrated slides for each scene, creating a monstrous urban jungle fit for the 21st century. Showcasing popular monsters like vampires, werewolves, and zombies in combination with strong and vibrant colors will help create and shape Maxx's revolutionary world of discovery.

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Aleks Karjaka, clarinet;

Maya Bennardo, violin; Caleigh Drane, 'cello; Emilio Guarino, double bass;

TBD, piano, Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, narrator/conductor

with special guest artist Russ Zokaites, bass trombone]

National Sawdust

80 North 6th Street

Brooklyn, New York

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE ]

Friday, April 15th 2016—7:30 pm

The Curiosity Cabinet, with the support of the New York Women Composers Organization and the Earle Brown Foundation present the second concert in their Sphere of Influence series, influenced by the seminal work Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg. The evening will incorporate theater and staging between works for a seamless and dramatic presentation. The program includes:

Chasing Light — Whitney George

for flute, clarinet, violin, ‘cello, piano, and percussion

as like a raging fire—Chen Yi

for flute, clarinet, violin, ‘cello, and piano

Apart/ment—Rebekah Driscoll

for 4 singers, alto flute, bass clarinet, 'cello, & piano

The Viola in My Life (1)—Morton Feldman

for viola, flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, & percussion

Tracing Pierrot—Earle Brown

for flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, 'cello, percussion, & piano

These Broken Wings—David Lang

for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, percussion, & piano

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute, Aleks Karjaka, clarinet; Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin;

Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos, viola; TBD, 'cello; Isabelle O'Connell, piano, Joe Tucker, percussion;

Whitney George, narrator/conductor ]

Firehouse Space

246 Frost Street

Brooklyn, NY

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE ]

Friday, April 29th 2016—7:30 pm

An evening of works by composers who won AME's Ninth Annual composition competitions, as well as a recent work by Robert Paterson, AME's Artistic Director and Whitney George, AME's Managing Director. The program includes:

speckled the green and blue—Katherine Balch
A Stiffening Wound & the Pit of Red—Whitney George
Brook’s Release—Vincent Gover
push/pull—Nicholas Omiccioli
Hell’s Kitchen—Robert Paterson
Fixed Mediums—Hillary Purrington
Sehnen—John Fitz Rogers
Brandenberg Interstices—Gabriella Smith

[ American Modern Ensemble: Robert Paterson, conductor; Amy Justman, soprano; Sato Moughalian, flute; Keve Wilson, oboe; Benjamin Fingland, clarinet; Charles McCracken, bassoon; Blair McMillen, piano; Matt Ward, percussion; Esther Noh, violin; Victoria Paterson, violin; Jessica Meyer, viola; Arash Amini, cello ]

National Sawdust

80 N. 6th Street

Brooklyn, NY

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE ]

Monday, May 23rd 2016 — 8:00 pm

Still & Brimming—Mirror
for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, & percussion

Cracked Looking Glass
for violin & 'cello

A Compass as My Planchette
for chamber ensemble & voice

​Her Secret Drawer
for clarinet, trombone, viola, 'cello, double bass,​ percussion, & piano

​As the Crow Flies
for flute, violin, 'cello, percussion, piano, & voice

​Burning a Name with Black Edges
for violin, 'cello, & piano

​In Green Water
for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello,​ percussion, & piano
The Flickering of a Four-Cornered Eye

for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, 'cello, double bass, percussion,​ piano​​, & voice

​Watching the Dark Slowly Unfold

for clarinet, violin, viola, 'cello, & piano

​A Stiffening Wound & the Pit of Red

for flute, clarinet,​ violin, 'cello,​ piano, & percussion​

Open me or Readdress me

for solo percussion

Rope at the Throat

for flute, violin, 'cello, & percussion

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Lindsey Eckenroth, flute; Aleks Karjaka, clarinet; Alix Tocou, trombone; Adam von Housen, violin; Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos, viola; Liz Kovalchuk, 'cello, Evan Runyon, double bass; Isabell O'Connell, piano; Joe Tucker, percussion; Sharon Harms, soprano; Whitney George, conductor]

Dixon Place

161 Chrystie Street

New York, New York

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE ]

Friday, June 10th 2016 & Saturday, June 11th—7:30 pm

Fresh Squeezed Opera and The Curiosity Cabinet present for the latest production of The Yellow Wallpaper:

Based on the proto-feminist short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper tells the story of a woman’s descent into madness through her obsession with a wallpaper. Told through a series of thirteen personal diary entries, the narrator uses a journal to escape the pains of her from postpartum depression. After being separated from her newborn, John, her husband and physician, confines her to the top floor of a summer estate in an effort to remedy her troubles. Cruel and unbending, John refuses to let her leave this room, covered with peeling yellow wallpaper. She writes in a diary to spite him, and finds strange solace, security, and strength in a woman that appears in the wallpaper. 

The Curiosity Cabinet: 

Denise Crawfort, soprano

Ryan Hill, baritone

Lindsey Eckenroth, flute

Lee Braun, oboe

Mara Mayer, bass clarinet

Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin

Pat Muchmore, 'cello

Justin Lee, double bass

Joe Tucker, mallet percussion

Michael Lupo, aux. percussion 

Isabelle (Izzy) O'Connell, harpsichord 

Melinda Faylor, celeste

Whitney George, conductor

DiMenna Center

450 West 37th Street

New York, New York

​

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE ]

Friday, July 22nd 2016—8:00 pm

Designed and illustrated by Murakami’s frequent collaborator Chip Kidd, the novella is packaged like a graphic novel. The collage technique of Kidd’s work gives the images a moody, mysterious, and all-together surreal quality, depicting the darkest dreams of a child, our protagonist.

The plot of the novella is as eerie as the images accompanying the text: a young boy enters a strange library, described as “even more hushed than usual”, and he is sent to Room 107. An odd librarian leads him though an illogical maze beneath the library. It is in Room 107 that we discover the librarian’s devious plot. The boy encounters a small man dressed as a sheep and a young girl who delivers food, their worlds strangely entangled due to our protagonist’s unfortunate situation. The boy’s predicament as the prisoner of the librarian grows stranger and stranger by the page.

The Curiosity Cabinet:

Alice Jone, flutes

Aleks Karjaka, clarinets

Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos, viola
Joe Tucker, percussion
Whitney George, narrator

Mise-en Place

678 Hart Street

Brooklyn, New York

​

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE ]

Friday, October 28th 2016 & Saturday, October 29th—8:00 pm

Join The Curiosity Cabinet for a costumed, Halloween-themed collaboration between co-director and composer Whitney George and puppeteer-designer Daniel Patrick Fay, featuring The Curious Tale of Ed Leedskainin, the story of a small unassuming Latvian immigrant who is responsible for singlehandedly constructing the monument Coral Castle in Florida. This was an impossible feat for one man to create, but he claimed that he had discovered the secret of the Egyptians and constructed this monolithic coral city using nothing but a small mysterious box set on a tripod that he claimed could reverse the magnetic forces on Earth and levitate these huge structures. To this day no one can explain how these coral formations could have been moved from the sea miles away to the location where he built this and he did it for a woman he loved who never came to see his creation. Ed's tale is reimagined with original music, film, and puppetry in a feature-long theatrical presentation. Our evening will also include a thrilling burlesque performance of The Masochist's Tango, for solo violin, performed by Adam von Housen, and a setting of E.A. Poe's classic poem The Raven.

The Curiosity Cabinet: 

Alice Jones, flute

Mara Mayer, bass clarinet

Adam von Housen, violin

Joe Tucker, percussion

Whitney George, music | theater

Daniel Fay, puppeteer | design

Evie Morell Samuels, puppeteer

Justin Perkins, puppeteer

Melanie Patterson, puppeteer

The Standard Toykraft

722 Metropolitan Ave

Brooklyn, New York

[ PURCHASE TICKETS HERE ]