NY group wins $75k Siemens prize
NewsThe Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation has given its two 2023 Ensemble Prizes to a vocal ensemble, Ekmeles, from New York and to the Salzburg-based New Art and Music Ensemble NAMES.
Ekmeles is a surprise package, specialising in contemporary works. “I’ve always been interested in what it means to be in tune. Ekmeles has been my primary outlet for this exploration, leading to the performances and premieres of works that explore microtones in myriad ways. Learning these microtonal scores takes extensive personal preparation and group rehearsal, as we learn new ways of singing and hearing together. This support from Ernst von Siemen Music Foundation will help us to fairly compensate our musicians for this unique artistic labor, and to give us the space to dream about what singing together can be.” said baritone Jeffrey Gavett, director of Ekmeles.
Jesus…
don’t worry, I’ll pray for you.
This is the cul-de-sac of New Music, where the vehicle skidded off the road during 1940s modernism.
The result is always the same, a soundscape full of noises rather than a score containing pitches. It is tedious at best and redundant at worse.
Both composers and performers hide behind the façade of the Emperor’s New Clothes.
Who can tell if the “skrchhhchh” at measure 13 or the “aarghgh” at measure 87 is as the notation intends?
Nothing that much has changed in ca. 80 years. We should not really be giving it the oxygen of publicity.
I pity your naïvety.
Maybe they are just warming up before a performance….