In Season
2011—2012 Season at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The 21st Century Consort, new music ensemble-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution for 3 decades, embarks on its fifth season at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium. Led by artistic director Christopher Kendall and featuring some of Washington’s finest chamber musicans, including Sara Stern, Paul Cigan, Abigail Evans, Lisa Emenheiser, Elisabeth Adkins, Rachel Young, and Rick Barber, along with acclaimed guest vocalists Lucy Shelton and William Sharp and others, the Consort presents the riveting and resonant music of our time.
All concerts are at 5:00, preceded by a 4:00 discussion with composers and performers, and followed by a post-concert reception.
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The Great American . . .
Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson were the voices of 19th century American transformation. Their poetry and period are points of departure for these compositions of our own time.
(EXHIBITION: THE GREAT AMERICAN HALL OF WONDERS).Read the printed program now for this concert.
- John Harbison
- Songs America Loves to Sing
- William Brehm, Mario Davidovsky, Joan Tower, Richard Markowitz
- A Whitman Sampler
- David Froom
- Emerson Songs
- Miguel Del Aguila
- Clocks
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. . . Hall of Wonders
Charles Dickens’ marvelous, supernatural Christmas story, in the irresistible setting by American composer Jon Deak, is also an indictment of industrialization. A 19th century, romantic sensibility pervades Dickens’ countryman Nicholas Maw’s lush piano trio.
(EXHIBITION: THE GREAT AMERICAN HALL OF WONDERS)).Read the printed program now for this concert.
- Nicholas Maw
- Piano Trio
- Jon Deak
- The Passion of Scrooge
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Multiplicity Multiplicity
The concept of making multiple images from one matrix has been integral to printmaking, yet each impression is considered to be an original of art. Consider the musical and visual series of contemporary impressions as explored by these American composers.
- Luke DuBois/Paul Moon
- Multimedia Work
- Mark Kuss
- Power Synth
- Robert Beaser
- Variations
- David Froom
- Colors Passing Through Us
- David Crockett
- Wet Ink
- James Matheson
- Falling
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4. May 5, 2012
Music of Games
“The Art of Video Games” is one of the first exhibitions to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. Who better to explore and comment on this new realm than SAAM’s Consort in residence?
- Peter Buffett
- Video Music
- John Chowning
- Voices
- John Adams
- Road Movies
- Jon Deak
- Sin City
- Paul Schoenfield
- Four Music Videos
*Programs subject to change.
