On 4th and 5th March 2016, the ULYSSES Network partners come together in Paris for their final network meeting of this project-period (2012-2016), upon invitation by the project coordinator IRCAM.

On Friday 4th March, 11h30 at IRCAM, the ULYSSES Network partners publicly present the results of the network activities since its beginning in May 2012.

Several young international artists, who could benefit from European support through the Network and develop their activities in the framework of the ULYSSES projects, discuss their experiences and present their works:

Benjamin Scheuer  –  composer

Nuria Gimenez-Comas  –  composer

Dario Calderone  –  performer

You are all invited to join us for this presentation and discussion!

IRCAM – Salle Stravinsky, 11h30 – 13h

Free entrance, please register by email.

THE VIDEO RECORDING OF THE ENCOUNTER CAN BE WATCHED ONLINE HERE!

On Saturday 5th March, people attending the final meeting and public presentation have the occasion to attend the concert at Centre Pompidou performed by Divertimento Ensemble, presenting works by Gérard Grisey and by ULYSSES composers Daniele Ghisi and Raphael Cendo.

Gaudeamus Muziekweek, partner of the ULYSSES Network, presents every year in September the latest music created by young pioneers.

The Dutch festival, which has won national and international plaudits, took place in Utrecht (NL) from 9 through 13 September. From classical crossover and minimal soundscapes to modern composition with (live) electronics. Gaudeamus Muziekweek 2015 offers excellent opportunities to immerse yourself in the newest music.

This year Gaudeamus Muziekweek also offered professionals and other music lovers plenty of opportunities to delve deep into the music and related subjects. Prior to the festival itself, the Gaudeamus Muziekweek Academy allows a “behind-the-scenes glimpse” at rehearsals of the shortlisted works.

The connecting threads through the festival are the works of the five nominees for the Gaudeamus Award.
After the closing concert on 13th September, the winner of the Gaudeamus Award 2015 was announced. From the hands of festival director Henk Heuvelmans composer Alexander Khubeev (RUS 1986) received the prestigious award.

Khubeev* is now included in the respectable hall of fame with previous winning composers such as Yannis Kyriakides, Michel van der Aa and Louis Andriessen.

The Gaudeamus Muziekweek 2015 was also an occasion to presented several ULYSSES projects :

# The final concerts and world premieres of the IEMA Composition Workshop 2015

# Works of the two selected composers taking part in the ULYSSES Composer Exchange Program between Royaumont Foundation (FR) and Gaudeamus (NL)

# Concerts by Dario Calderone in the Solo Double Bass project, in cooperation with impuls (AT)

© Anna von Kooij

© Baldwin Henderson

* Alexander Khubeev
Born in the city of Perm in 1986 where he began his composition classes. Subsequently moved to Moscow to study at the conservatory and complete his post-graduate studies with Yuri Kasparov. For the past eight years, Khubeev has lived in Moscow while simultaneously attending master classes with composers such as Beat Furrer, Ivan Fedele, Chaya Czernowin, Martijn Padding. In addition, he took part in the biannual Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music (2014), where he received a stipend for the session in 2016. “Fortunately, during my years of study in Moscow, Russia’s concert life became increasingly rich and diverse. My music was performed by most ensembles of contemporary music in Russia (as well as in countries such as Ukraine, Italy, Germany, USA, and Argentina). Along the way, I won various composition competitions. Resulting from an ongoing collaboration, I was appointed as composer in residence at the GAMEnsemble (a first in modern Russian history) in 2011.”

With instrumental classes and ensemble work, composition classes, many-faceted lectures, call for scores and special programs such as reading sessions with Klangforum Wien, Composition beyond Music, electronic and improvisation workshops … and also possibilities for participants to present their work in public, impuls offers to young musicians and composers from all over the world an intense training and holistic approach to contemporary music both in a theoretical and a practical way.

© Christine Schörkhuber

impuls promotes and supports young composers not only through its Academy, but also through the international impuls Composition Competition . Every second year impuls commissions new works for ensemble from young composers selected by a jury. Subsequently these composers are invited to take part in the impuls Composition Workshops in Vienna respectively in Graz, where their new works are collectively rehearsed and discussed extensively with musicians of world-class ensembles such as Klangforum Wien.

The world premieres of these pieces are to be witnessed at the prestigious Opening of the impuls Academy and Festival in Graz in the presence of the young composers.
And for the fourth time, the Academy was accompanied and enlarged by a daily Festival program offering various possibilities to experience new and contemporary music to a broadening audience with open ears and external Academy visitors. Hereby Graz was again turned into a festival city and a center of contemporary music and the arts.

 
© Christine Schörkhuber

>> Some more hard facts on impuls 2015
ACADEMY
* 199 regular Academy participants  and another 9 external participants  coming from 4 continents and more than 45 nations  plus additional international guests and external visitors were accepted to the 9th International Ensemble and Composers Academy for Contemporary Music in 2015 (this is more than double the size compared to 2009 and a rise of 10% compared to 2013; close to 500 musicians and composers applied; in general: again strong rise of applications, again a good mix of Austrian and international participants).

© Christine Schörkhuber

* For the second time impuls was part and partner of the European Project (ULLYSSES NETWORK) realising several special projects  within this network (Composition beyond Music + Young Ensemble in Residency + Composer Exchange Program impuls-Royaumont and IKI/Opus XXI + Double bass solo- Dario Calderone).

Thus – besides Academy ensembles formed on spot – with Ensemble Nikel an already existing young ensemble was included in the Academy offering reading sessions and premiering several works by impuls composer participants besides presenting pieces by tutor Chaya Czernowin and winner of the impuls Competition Marco Momi.
At Georg Nussbaumeręs Masterclass “Composition beyond Music ” composers realised site-specific works at esc medien kunst labor, and were visually accompanied and documented by Christine Schörkhuber. A call for score amongst the participants gave rise to several new works for double bass  to be read and premiered by Dario Calderone . Last but not least with Raphaël Languillat  and Benjamin Scheuer  two young composers
could be included and featured at the impuls Academy and its partners through special exchange programs.

* Both offers for composition, electronics and instrumental classes could be enlarged  again (with more than 30 tutors, classes also for improvisation, yoga and intermedia projects amongst others) and new ones were installed successfully also for e-guitar and vocal ensembles for the first time.

* Besides individual and group lessons as well as chamber music and ensemble work also lectures, discussions , instrumental presentations and special workshops (f. e. Piano Preparation Workshop, Free improvisation – instant composing, brass instruments: specifics, notation, techniques, possibilities, Contemporary Techniques on the Saxophone…), a jour fix for composers , workshops on various theoretical topics as well as with practical impact (f. e. Self-marketing platforms and promotion, Why (not) programming contemporary music etc.)

© Christine Schörkhuber

* An additional workshop  was organised specially for young pupils  of the school pilot project Klex (Marschallgasse, Graz).

FESTIVAL
* 12 days with concerts of both young as well as internationally renowned musicians and composers (including also a Marathon concert  – lasting more than 7 hours –, the impuls MinuteConcerts at various locations in the city – lasting more than 12 hours –, as well as a format called “A Day on Campus and in the City”, with concerts and presentations all around the clock from 10 am to 10 pm), concerts with young ensembles  such as Ensemble Schallfeld und Nikel, premieres of impuls commissions , composers, talks, public reading sessions  and rehearsals, afternoon and evening lectures, round tables, workshop presentations… set up a festival program of various kinds and highest density.

© Christine Schörkhuber

* Premieres, contemporary compositions  – amongst others also impuls commissions – as well as compositions  of the 20th century  and improvisations :  51 public world premieres, plus 1 Austrian first night; altogether  178 works plus several improvisations performed in public;  further works were  rehearsed during the Academy).

* With an exhibition  of mainly installation pieces plus a couple of performance s and video screenings that were all conceived during the special program Composition beyond Music and concerts placed at various galleries  and art institutions in Graz impuls also enforced the link of music and the visual arts.

On Friday 4th March, 11h30 at IRCAM, the ULYSSES Network partners publicly present the results of the network activities since its beginning in May 2012.

Several young international artists, who could benefit from European support through the Network and develop their activities in the framework of the ULYSSES projects, discuss their experiences and present their works:

Benjamin Scheuer  –  composer

Nuria Gimenez-Comas  –  composer

Dario Calderone  –  performer

You are all invited to join us for this presentation and discussion!

IRCAM – Salle Stravinsky, 11h30 – 13h

Free entrance, please register by email.

THE VIDEO RECORDING OF THE ENCOUNTER CAN BE WATCHED ONLINE HERE!

On Saturday 5th March, people attending the final meeting and public presentation have the occasion to attend the concert at Centre Pompidou performed by Divertimento Ensemble, presenting works by Gérard Grisey and by ULYSSES composers Daniele Ghisi and Raphael Cendo.

At the end of February, and at the occasion of the ULYSSES Network mid-term meeting in Milano, the Ensemble will perform on 27th February 2015 in Teatro Litta a new concert program, including several pieces by the young composers participating in the workshop and that had been premiered during the workshop in August 2014.

This concert is part of the Rondò Season 2015. Before the concert, the audience can attend a short introduction and discussion with Artur Akshelyan, Ruggero Laganà and Ivan Fedele who has been himself guest composer for one of the previous workshop in Mazsalaca.

27th February 2015 – 9pm

Teatro Litta, Milano (IT)

More information here.

After the successful exchange in 2013  Gaudeamus Muziekweek and Royaumont/ Voix Nouvelles will again recommend young composers for their respective composition sessions:

Following the Composition Sessions at Royaumont Foundation (FR) in September 2014, two young composers have been selected and get the opportunity to present their work during Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Utrecht (NL) from 9th to 13th September 2015.

The two selected composers are Peter Fahey (IRE, 1982) and Mikel Urquiza (ES, 1988).

-> Mikel Urquiza has written a piece for the New European Ensemble, which will be performed on 12th September at 12.30pm in the Snapshots and Slides concert.

-> Peter Fahey will be working closely with Dario Calerdone who will perform his piece on Friday 11th September at 5pm, as part of the project Double Bass Only.

Peter Fahey (1982) is an Irish composer. He studied composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York stock exchange as at Columbia University in New York. He participated in the Aspen Music Festival and School Master Class Program (US), the Darmstäder Ferienkurse the TACTUS Young Composers’ Forum (Belgium), the Weimar-Meisterkurse Kompositions Workshop and Wellesley Composers Conference (USA U.).
His awards include the American Composers Orchestra Underwood Commission, a grant from the MacDowell Colony and Franz Liszt Stipendum of HFM Franz Liszt Weimar.
http://peterfahey.com/

Mikel Urquiza (Spain, 1988) studied composition at Musikene (Higher School of Music of the Basque Country) with Gabriel Ramon Lazkano Erkoreka and then at the Strasbourg Conservatory with Mark Andre; since 2012 he continued his studies at the Paris Conservatory nearby Gérard Pesson. His music has been played by the Quatuor Diotima, the Euskadi Orchestra, the Academy of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, the Talweg trio or Wilhem Latchoumia.
http://www.mikelurquiza.eu/

Photos @ Marie Nicolas, Royaumont Foundation

On the one hand, the quartet will continue the work with young composers, develop and perform again the piece created by young composer Núria Giménez Comas during the Composition sessions at Royaumont in 2014, with the technical support from IRCAM for the electronic parts of the pieces. Other young composers will join and develop pieces for string quartet under the tutorship of Brian Ferneyhough.

Young composers working with Quatuor Diotima are presented in a concert on Sunday 5th July 2015 at Viitasaari Parish Hall.

The composers and works are:

Anahita Abbasi (Iran) – Distorted Attitudes IV, “Facile Synthesis”
Haukur Þór Harðarson (Iceland) – Thought the whole fabric of my being

++++

Quatuor Diotima
Founded by graduates of the Paris and Lyon conservatoires, the quartet
takes its name from Luigi Nono’s Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima, thus
affirming its commitment to the music of our time. Ever since its
formation, the quartet has made international appearances which have
taken it to most of the major European festivals and concert series,
is a favoured partner of many composers (including Helmut Lachenmann,
Pierre Boulez, Brian Ferneyhough, and Toshio Hosokawa), and regularlycommissions new pieces from composers.
YunPeng Zhao, violin
Constance Ronzatti, violin
Franck Chevalier, viola
Pierre Morlet, cello

The meeting will allow the partners to discuss
# their ongoing and upcoming artistic cooperations and projects for 2015 and 2016,

# a future application to the European Commission in order to continue the network’s cooperation above April 2016,

# issues of audience building and development.

The first day of the meeting, Friday 27th February will be public (upon registration, see flyer below) and particularly dedicated to the discussion of the issue of Audience Building for New Music.

For that discussion, the ULYSSES Network, in cooperation with the Divertimento Ensemble, has invited several European experts and guest speakers. We are looking forward to an exciting exchange of experiences and knowledge – feel free to join!

DETAILED PROGRAMME

10.00 Reception and registration of attendees

10.30 Sandro Gorli (Divertimento Ensemble)

Welcome and greetings

11.00 Filippo Del Corno (Councillor for Culture City of Milan)

An ecosystem for contemporary music

Building an audience for contemporary music has always been a critical issue because composers have rarely considered their dependence to an audience. The issue of how to build an audience for contemporary music for the city of Milan is today a crucial need. The presentation will focus on the role played by an ecosystem for contemporary music in which different experiences together may all contribute to creating a fertile breeding ground to develop creativity and to spread new music to a new audience in Milan.

11.15 Luisella Molina in representation of Francesca Colombo

(Secretary-General and Artistic Coordinator Festival MITO SettembreMusica, Italy)

Strategies and proposals for the promotion of the appreciation of contemporary music. A case in point: The MITO SettembreMusica Music Festival

Since its first edition, one of MITO SettembreMusica’s primary objectives has been the diffusion and the promotion of contemporary music to large audiences. Each year the Festival offers a special focus on two contemporary composers: two musical portraits featuring a cycle of concerts – many with free admission, others with super affordable tickets – and panel discussions with the artists. It’s a great way for both fans and the less adept to get in touch with the music of today.

11.30 Achim Müller (Center for Audience Development Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)

What relates People to New Music? This impulse will start on empirical result about audiences for New Music and about motives that make people want to experience New Music – and what might keep them from doing so. Specifically, audiences for New Music are compared to other genres in order to develop a preliminary audience profile for New Music. Selected state-of-the-art strategies in audience development are presented and discussed in the light of the audience profile established before.

12.30 Thomas Demidoff (New Music : New Audiences, European network)

Getting bigger audiences through new concert forms

These years more and more musicians are experimenting with new concert forms as a tool to win a bigger audience. As the traditional classical concert form is seen as alienating by modern people, perhaps the solution is to renew the whole concert concept. But does it work? New Music: New Audiences is an EU project where 32 ensembles are cooperating in their effort to define tomorrow’s concert form. In this speech project manager Thomas Demidoff will present what has been learned from it.

13.30 lunch break

14.30 Jutta Toelle (Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Germania)

Scientific perspectives on audience research

The question what actually happens during a concert is at the heart of the MPIEA’s project in „concert research“. Cooperating with different institutions and ensembles, we investigate the aesthetic experience of musicians and audiences during a concert. While we apply various methods for collecting empirical data before, during, and after the concert, we accompany and also plan experimental concerts, systematically modifying different components in order to know more about today’s musicians and audiences.

15.30 free discussion

After the meeting, the ULYSSES Network partners, guest speakers and other persons attending the discussions, will have the opportunity to listen to a concert performed by Divertimento Ensemble at Teatro Litta, at 21:00.

During this concert, pieces that have been premiered during the International Workshop for young composers 2014 in Mazsalaca (LV) will be presented again to a new audience.

More information and detailed program here.

At the occasion of IRCAM Academy ManiFeste-2015 the young musicians from the Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie and the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris will join forces under the baton of the Argentinian conductor Emilio Pomàrico for a master class on pieces written by the academy’s guest composers.
The Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie will also have the opportunity of working with the young composers from the composition workshop on orchestra and orchestration, for whom they will perform György Ligeti’s studies orchestrated (with or without electronics) by the composers.

Masterclasses will take place from 22nd June to 1st July 2015 and culminate in following concert program, presented on 2nd July 2015 at 104, Paris (FR):

Concert I – 6.30pm

4 orchestrations d’études for ensemble (some with electronics *), all written during ManiFeste-Academy (20’),  by :

– Maurizio Azzan : Inizio di movimento for piano (1958) by Niccolò Castiglioni

– Patrick Brennan : Wasserklavier (1965) by Luciano Berio

– Sivan Eldar : Fem or L’escalier du Diable by György Ligeti *
– Alessandro Ratoci : studio 6 (Automne en Varsovie) by György Ligeti *

and

Iza Praga – Sascha Dragicevic (10’) – World Premiere

Black – Sergej Maingardt (10′) – World Premiere

Pulse & Light – Ivan Fedele (20’) – French Premiere

Concert II –  9pm

Omens II – Emmanuel Nunes (18’)

Akrostichon Wortspiel – Unsuk Chin  (17’)

Nachlese Vb – Michael Jarrell (23′) – French Premiere

Richiamo – Ivan Fedele (16’)

Artistic credits :

Yuri Matsuzaki, flute
Ayumi Mita, oboe
Dana Barak, clarinet
Kija Cho, clarinet
György Zsovár, french horn
Mervyn Groot, percussion
Julio Garcia Vico, piano
Haesung Yoon, piano
Junya Makino, violin
Alicja Pilarczyk, violin
Alfonso Noriega Fernández, viola
Milosz Drogowski, violoncello
Ella Rohwer, violoncello
Laura Endres, sound design

Sergej Maingardt, IEMA composer in residence

Sascha Dragicevic, composers invited by IEMA

Emilio Pomàrico – conductor

CONCERT I – IEMA only
Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie
Julio Garcia Vico, Haesung Yoon, piano
Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie
Conductors : Emilio Pomàrico,  Gregor A. Mayrhofer

CONCERT II -IEMA & CNSMDP
Raquel Camarinha, sopran
Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie
Students from Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris
Conductor : Emilio Pomàrico
IRCAM Computer Music Design : Christophe de Coudenhove

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