Our next SUNDAY SALON is February 18, again at the Ellington Room (on the second floor at 400 West 43rd Street, enter through the canopied entrance just off Ninth Avenue), from 2-5PM. We’re especially pleased to welcome the Eastern Region Manager from Sibelius, Robin Hodson, who will offer a demonstration of the notation program Sibelius 4. Your friendly In The Loop editor, Richard Russell (that’s me) saw a similar demonstration from Robin last October at Mannes College of Music, and was sufficiently impressed enough to switch to Sibelius. If you already use Sibelius, bring your questions. If you use Finale or something else, come and see what Sibelius is all about!
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Speaking of your friendly In The Loop editor, RICHARD RUSSELL will not be able to attend that day’s Salon. His (my?) piano trio, Spirals, which was premiered by Alaria at one of last season’s NYCC concerts, will receive another performance that afternoon. For those not attending the NYCC Salon, here are the details: February 18, 1:30pm, at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street. The performers will be the Stella Trio: Jannina Barefield – violin; Laura Metcalf – cello; Monica Chung – Piano. Other composers on the bill include Ryan Tracy, David Ames, and Wayne Alpern. 

This is a free concert.
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On Tuesday, February 20, 7:30PM JOSEPH PEHRSON‘s Composers Concordance will feature SWEET PLANTAIN playing 10 new, short, hip string quartets in the club setting of New York City’s Cutting Room, 19 W. 24th St. These new pieces, written especially for this concert, will be assembled together in a wild, stylistically diverse extended suite, challenging the traditional concept of this chamber music form.

Among the quartets are Gene Pritsker’s Credit System of Truth, based upon an idea by American philosopher William James, Fling, a fun, melodious piece by Margaret Brouwer which flirts with “trip-hop” and jazz rhythms, Scratched, an adventurous piece by Arthur Kampela which uses extended playing techniques on the instruments as well as pre-recorded sound, Joseph Pehrson’s Slacker Cracker, which combines tuneful frivolity with mixed drinks, acclaimed Disney film composer Andy Brick’s Story of the Red Rose, based on Oscar Wilde which lends new adjectives to film music, Bone Needles, by Gilda Lyons which sews together exotic imagery, and other gems by Kevin Rose, Daron Hagen, Franz Hackl, and Dan Cooper which will rivet you in your seat.

Members of SWEET PLANTAIN, a string quartet which specializes in Latin music as well as traditional repertoire, include Romulo Benavides, violin, Eddie Venegas, violin, Orlando Wells, viola and David Gotay, cello.

Tickets are $10. Looking forward to seeing you at the concert!