Ne(x)tworks: Dialogics Concert 1
A New Series

On March 1, 2008 EMF Productions presented the cutting-edge new music ensemble Ne(x)tworks in the first of a 3-concert residency at Chelsea Art Museum entitled Dialogics. The concert featured two works by composer John Gibson, as well as original new works by Ne(x)tworks artists Cornelius Dufallo, Shelley Burgon, and the NxW Trio (Dufallo, Joan La Barbara, and Miguel Frasconi).

PROGRAM

Saturday, March 1, 2pm / Chelsea Art Museum/ 556 W 22nd St, NYC / $15

Josephine's Tiger ............................................................................................................. Shelley Burgon
H/A .............................................................................................................................. Cornelius Dufallo
Emergences ............................................................................................................................. NxW Trio
Multiples .............................................................................................................................. John Gibson
Chorales for Relative Calm..................................................................................................... John Gibson

A NEW SERIES

According to Ne(x)tworks curator and trombonist Chris McIntyre, the term "dialogics" refers to the literary theory which suggests that language and the ideas it communicates are dynamic and relational, informed and modified by its practice and practitioners. "Ne(x)tworks' modus operandi mirrors this concept in both performance aesthetic and repertoire development," McIntyre says. "The residency programs serve to advance these purposes: we revisit the improvisational and open formats of our predecessors while simultaneously generating new work informed by experiments encountered as individuals and as an ensemble."

The group began working with Jon Gibson during its June 2007 residency at The Stone. This relationship is a natural outgrowth from Ne(x)tworks' interest in exploring various approaches, current and historical, to integrating improvisative elements within composition. Gibson is an early pioneer in such experiments, having been a pivotal character in the burgeoning avant-garde scene in New York during the late 1960's and 70's. The group will revisit his indeterminate strategic work Multiples from 1972 and a reworking of sections from Relative Calm, an early 1980's piece commissioned by acclaimed choreographer Trisha Brown.

A core element of Ne(x)tworks' repertoire is the work of composing members of the ensemble. Each of the three Dialogics performances features premieres from within the group, including, in the March 1st concert, works by violinist and Director Cornelius Dufallo and harpist Shelley Burgon. Dufallo's H/A is the second in a series of "letter" works (the first being X, premiered in 2006). Scored for violin, trombone, piano, harp, and glass, this sculpted improvisation is inspired by the writing aesthetic of Jorge Luis Borges. Burgon's Josephine's Tiger is this innovative musician's third work for the group, each examining various aspects of her personal language and inner life.

Also performing was the Ne(x)tworks Trio, which features iconoclastic vocalist Joan La Barbara, inimitable glass and electronics performer Miguel Frasconi, and Dufallo on violin. Their Chelsea Art Museum appearance occurs on the heels of a performance across the Atlantic at Belfast, Northern Ireland's Sonic Arts Research Center. Having first performed together at The Stone in October, the trio offered their collective improvisational energies to round out an already rich program from this group of "new music superstars." (Time Out).