On May 26, ChamberMusicNY presented the American Modern Ensemble in a season finale evening of vocal works by composers who are (or were) percussionists. The concert was held in Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center. Entitled “Voice of Thunder,” the program included Liquid Light for mezzo-soprano by Marta Ptaszyńska, a Polish composer and percussionist who, since 1998, has served on the music faculty of the University of Chicago where she now holds the endowed chair of the Helen B. & Frank L. Sulzberger Professor of Composition.
Also on the program were: Andy Akiho: NO one To kNOW one, Warren Benson: Three Solitary Songs, David T. Little: Two Mothers Arias from Dog Days, Robert Paterson: Summer Songs (World premiere, commissioned by the ASCAP Foundation via the Charles Kingsford Fund). The concert was performed by Marnie Breckenridge, soprano; Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano; Sato Moughalian, flute; Benjamin Fingland, clarinet; Blair McMillen and Geoffrey Burelson, piano; Matt Ward and Andy Akiho, percussion; Esther Noh, violin; and Arash Amini, cello.
[Sources: polmic.pl, americanmodernensemble.org]