Last week (Sept. 10), the acclaimed French new music group Dedalus Ensemble played its first concert in the United States at Roulette in Brooklyn, performing nine new works by American experimental composers—six of whom are New York-based CalArts’ alumni.
The program, Made in USA, included works by Catherine Lamb (Music BFA 06), John Hastings (Music MFA 08), Travis Just (Music MFA 02), Devin Maxwell (Music MFA 02), Jonathan Marmor (Music BFA 01 MFA 03) and Quentin Tolimieri (Music BFA 01), as well as Michael Vincent Waller, Craig Shepard and Jason Brogan.
Each of the composers’ works were described in a review by Steve Smith of The New York Times. Smith noted that Dedalus was “polished [and] proficient” as it premiered each work at the concert. The ensemble, which formed in 1996, specializes in modern American music, having premiered works before French audiences by composers Tom Johnson, Christian Wolff, Alvin Lucier, Phill Niblock, Frederic Rzewski and the late CalArts faculty member James Tenney.
The new compositions will also be performed by Dedalus in Montpellier, France. In addition, Dedalus performed a concert at Willow Place Auditorium in Brooklyn on Monday (Sept. 16), which included a composition by composer and CalArts faculty Michael Pisaro.
Above are score excerpts from the new works that were posted on Dedalus Ensemble’s Made In USA blog.