about the show:
Inspired by the artwork of Bryan Reeder, All of the Notes. All of the Rhythms is a showcase of works by living composers that aims to blur the lines between classical, contemporary, jazz and pop genres. This multimedia concert experience includes a variety of acoustic instruments, electric instruments, and electroacoustic computer music. In addition to their classical training, composers Ben Brody, Alex Weston, Trevor New, Bryan Reeder and Anne Neikirk call on the influences of jazz, hip-hop, pop, folk and film music in their works. From string quartets to saxophones to electric guitars, All of the Notes. All of the Rhythms will feature top performers hailing from New York and around the United States. The performance will take place in Manhattan's The Tank, a non-profit arts center. Curating across all disciplines, The Tank provides an artistic home to both new and established artists who are engaged in the pursuit of new ideas.
about the artists:
Alex Weston’s compositions have been performed in many cities throughout the US. The Lyrica Chamber Music Ensemble, a New York metropolitan area chamber group, awarded one of his compositions, the string quartet, “Simple Machines”, their Student Composers award. The piece was premiered by faculty from the Longy School of Music. The group also commissioned Alex for a piano concerto, performed in March 2012 by pianist David Kaplan and awarded an honorable mention in the 2013 ASCAP Young Composers Award. A piece for big band, “Cover”, was performed by the Carnegie Mellon Jazz Ensemble and was a finalist for the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award in 2009. In June, 2013, the Utah Wind Symphony closed their season with a commission entitled "The Loud Calligraphy of Lightning." Alex also works as a music assistant to Philip Glass, aiding the composer by preparing scores, recording demos for film scores, making orchestral reduction, and whatever else is required. Recently, Alex traveled to Linz, Austria, to help record the score to “Visitors”, a new movie in Godrey Reggio’s “Qatsi” series, with the Bruckner Orchestra and Dennis Russell Davies.
As a film score composer, Alex has scored over 15 short films and recently completed his first feature film. Projects he has worked on have screened at the SoHo International Film Festival, the Palm Springs Shortfest, and the New York City International Film Festival. In collaboration with the “In the Basement Theater Company” in Pittsburgh, he was selected for the competitive Future Tenant “Trespass” Residency Series. He provided the full underscoring and contributed to the artistic direction for his group’s original dance/movement piece, “Within Distance,” that enjoyed a sold out run of performances. Alex also currently serves as composer in residence for New York based theater company, “True False Theater.”
New Jersey born and now New York based, Ben Brody is one of the cities’ most progressive and youthful composers in the experimental classical scene. At 27 years old, Ben has kept busy his whole life as a self-taught guitarist turned French horn player, seating him in various ensembles including The Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra of the America, and more. Brody has had 5 orchestral works premiered by The Chelsea Symphony since 2009 and has had other various works performed at venues such as 92Y Tribeca, Brooklyn Bowl, Galapagos Art Space, The Cell, Gershwin Hotel, 73 See Art Gallery, and Knox Art Gallery in Harlem. Aside from his own compositions, he has collaborated with artists like Snowmine, Grizzly Bears' Daniel Rossen, Shara Worden, and even comedian Zach Galifianakis. His influence on modern psychedelic and classical music has been generating buzz through his newest EP Flow State; solo guitar pieces built around loop and delay pedals. Currently Brody is a member of New York City’s Hip-Hop Brass Band, PitchBlak Brass Band doubling on French horn and Guitar. Also Brody is currently working with Oscar winning composer Elliot Goldenthal engraving and organizing scores for future releases.
Composer Anne Neikirk’s primary interests include vocal, sacred, and folk music and their intersection with the natural world. Her works have been performed throughout the United States and abroad. She has participated in various festivals and conferences, including the 2012 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, the 2011 Region VI SCI Conference, and the 2010 and 2011 Brevard Music Center Summer Festival. She has received commissions from various solo and chamber performers as well as the Women’s Sacred Music Project in Philadelphia. Anne is a recipient of the 2012 Presser Award and the Michael Iovenko Composition Fellowship for study at the European American Musical Alliance Summer Composition Program in Paris, France. Her song cycle YEARS LATER was chosen as one of two Region III finalists for the 2012 SCI/ASCAP Student Composition Commission. She received her DMA in composition from Temple University in Philadelphia, where she now teaches courses in music theory and music appreciation.
Bryan Reeder is a professional pianist and composer based in NYC. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, he studied with jazz greats Kenny Barron and Jason Moran. Reeder is an active pianist and collaborator in the jazz, classical, pop and contemporary music scenes. He has performed at many of the top musical venues, including the Algonquin Hotel’s Oak Room, The Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Birdland, The Jazz Standard, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel, Apollo Theatre, Feinstein’s, Signature Theatre in Arlington Virginia, Baltimore’s Centerstage, The Morgan Library and Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. His most recent album, Disagreements Vol. II (2012), features his jazz trio and is available on iTunes and Amazon. He is the musical director and pianist for Tony nominated Euan Morton with whom he performs across the country and abroad. Reeder also plays in a variety of other groups such as Grandpa Musselman and his Syncopators, Chris Norton Band, Classical Productions, and Hands off my Sister.
Trevor New currently lives in New York City. Among other engagements, he has performed and recorded on Leslie Feist's Metals Album, Joe Daley's Portraits and Virtues Album, Mason Jar Music Productions, and played the Elgar Cello Concerto transcribed for viola the Chelsea Symphony. As an arranger and composer he has worked with performing artists like Emily Katter and Thee Phantom, as well as written music for educational workshops and recitals. Apart from other professional engagements, he plays with the hip hop violinist Damien Escobar and started the band "The Weekly World News", which he writes for. Besides playing shows, The Weekly World News also has a web series that takes current events and social issues, and gives them a musical commentary.