Join us for an inspiring exploration of the New Music shaping today and tomorrow, featuring an on-stage discussion with David Fulmer, the musicians, and guest composer Augusta Read Thomas.

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FALL PROGRAM:

David Bird: Chroma (New York Premiere)

Augusta Read Thomas: Solstice Ritual

Pierre Boulez: Dérive 1

Manel Paret: O, the unknown, I cry for thee (World premiere - Mannes Graduate Composer)
Carola Bauckholt: Laufwerk (2011) (New York Premiere)
Elliot Carter:Two Fragments for String Quartet

Conductor: David Fulmer

About the Program:

David Bird: Chroma (New York Premiere)
Chroma explores subtle gradients of instrumental color, focusing on the malleability and reflective qualities of metal. This composition delves into "sonic metallurgy," emphasizing materiality as a central theme. Constructed from minimal material, the piece maximizes the impact of unisons and canonic phrases, creating depth and movement around these speculative sonic objects. 

Augusta Read Thomas: Solstice Ritual
"Over the past forty-five years, I have composed many works whose titles point to natural and celestial radiances: galaxy, star, sun, earth, moon, sky, light, dawn, illumination, equinox, summer, etc. One central metaphor of my life’s creative work is that of light refracting. Of interest to me, for my work, is to build, sculpt, and compose clean, clear, transparent, translucent, luminous, radiant, shining, resounding, and resonant musical materials. " - Augusta Read Thomas, Composer

Pierre Boulez: Dérive 1

Dérive 1 is a composition for six-part instrumental ensemble by French composer Pierre Boulez, composed in 1984. The piece is in one movement and has a total duration of 7–8 minutes. The structure of the piece is extracted from an idea based on the Sacher hexachord.

Manel Paret: O, the unknown, I cry for thee (2025)
This piece was written in response to a wonderful poem my friend Grace completed not too long ago. As soon as I read it, I was captivated by its mystical tone and by the contrast between that atmosphere and the poem’s precise descriptions of actions and emotions. Setting that poem would be equally exciting and challenging, and the music would come spontaneously as my own interpretation of the text became more thorough. The alternation between a refrain and longer stanzas provides a structure that supports the overall form of the piece. The poet’s careful placement of line breaks within long sentences creates an internal rhythm that strongly influences the musical setting.

The music is full of change and variation, built around a few melodic ideas that, through repetition and transformation, bind the piece together. The chamber-ensemble format resonates with the poem’s intimate mood, and the instruments’ natural timbres remain crystalline and recognizable. In a way, I think of the instrumental timbres as a spectrum of emotions that are triggered by the poet's thoughts as a reaction to the singer’s words. For instance, the piano stays completely silent during the first agitated presentation of the refrain, entering warmly only after the poet’s mood begins to calm. Soon after, the fast, high-pitched gestures shared by the harp, flute, crotales, and upper piano register arise alongside words of hope and excitement. In the second half of the piece, the ensemble takes on a more confident character, with firmer voice-leading, tonal harmonies, and a stronger presence in the low register, mirroring the poet’s growing sense of maturity. The closing lines remain as unclear and incomplete in the music as the speaker’s thoughts seem to be. Not having reached a definitive conclusion after this long reflection, the poet will likely circle back to the same uncertain feelings for eternity.

Carola Bauckholt: Laufwerk (New York Premiere)

A drive (running gear, drive, turntable) is a computer device for accessing a storage medium for digital data. A running gear is also the part of the movement of a mechanical watch that connects the drive to the oscillating system. Almost all of the playbacks are sounds generated by the instruments. I imagined loops of recordings that wind their way in and out of the ensemble. Each sound is its own drive and keeps its own tempo. This creates a three-dimensional structure. The various mechanisms together form a functioning organism; an ensemble. The piece was commissioned by Ensemble Cikada and is dedicated to them. I am always fascinated by how an ensemble works together with a high degree of personal responsibility and competence on the part of all the people involved. "Laufwerk" can be seen as a tribute to this organism. - Program note

About MACE:

Founded in 2012 by composer Lowell Liebermann, MACE represents works by iconic American composers such as Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, John Zorn, George Lewis, Augusta Read Thomas, Philip Glass, John Adams, and Steve Reich, as well as works by young, and up-and-coming composers.

 
Composer and conductor David Fulmer has been directing the Ensemble since 2016, and has presented a kaleidoscopic lens of different aesthetics and styles, while exploring diverse musical programs of established 20th and 21st century masterpieces, together with presentations of newly commissioned works and premieres. 

In MACE, students work closely with composers, developing an understanding of their style and aesthetic. Through the examination of a composer's catalog, they learn the microscopy of their notation, their musical symbols, and their sonic design. This special student-composer process creates the rare opportunity for students to engage in close collaboration and commissioning, which will be a hallmark of their professional careers.

"I'm intrigued by diverse programs that represent a wide-ranging collection of musical ideas and stylistic innovation. As an ensemble, we embrace a broad view of the vital landscape of American contemporary music, and contemporary music of the world abroad. As artists, we are responsible for, and should take care of the musical trends of tomorrow - we need to share this unique work as if the ink on the page has been dried for several hundred years...to craft, assemble, and refine a performance so that the canon continues in exponential dimensions. Each performance is malleable, and should chart new territory of performance practice and artistic expression. This is what we do here in MACE..."  

-David Fulmer, Director, Conductor, and Curator