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SUNY Plattsburgh Department of Music Presents Consortium Ardesia with Guest Artist Maria Jeffers

Consortium Ardesia will perform a concert of 20th and 21st century chamber music Wednesday, Feb. 20, in E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium, Hawkins Hall.

The ensemble consists of Marianne Gythfeldt, clarinet and bass clarinet; Ann Ellsworth, horn; and Ellen Hwangbo, piano. The trio will perform with guest artist Maria Jeffers, violoncello. The program will feature music by composers Elliott Carter, Peter Maxwell Davies, Brett Dean, Arvo Pärt, and SUNY faculty members Paul Siskind and Bill Pfaff.

The concert program includes several world premieres. Siskand from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music composed “Trio a3” in 2011 but has changed the instrumentation to clarinet, horn and piano. Pfaff of SUNY Plattsburgh composed “Metes and Bounds” especially for Consortium Ardesia with guest cellist Jeffers. Pfaff’s solo clarinet piece “Artifacts” composed in 2012 will also be performed.

As part of their appearance the ensemble will offer a lecture/demonstration on “Extended Techniques and Collaborating with Composers” from 2 to 3 p.m. The presentation will allow audience members to hear works in rehearsal; listen to collaborative interactions between performers and SUNY composers Pfaff and Siskind; and ask questions.

During a pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m., performers and composers will introduce the works in the concert and take questions. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public.

Ardesia is a contemporary ensemble dedicated to the performance, study and commissioning of new music. The trio of musicians that makes up Ardesia's core has been working together for more than three years, extending the range of technique and performance practice; challenging traditional sounds and textures; and working directly with composers to educate and refine their interpretations.

Ardesia's passion is to bring the relevance, depth and beauty of new music to the listener. The group's performances are collaborations with the audience, informing through words in pre- or post-recital conversations and through music in concert as it transcends the academic to reveal the spirit, intensity and emotion in today's classical music.

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