Neil Rolnick vs. Matt Marks…..fight!

Thursday, August 8, 2013, 8pm
Tickets $10 in advance/ $15 at the door

Vicky Chow and I are back from three glorious weeks at Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at Mass MoCA up in the Berkshires on August 4th.  Four days later, we give you THIS:

It won’t quite be Mortal Kombat but sparks will fly as two classical composers with a penchant for pop duke it out at Galapagos next Thursday night, August 8.  In Rolnick’s corner will be yours truly along with Bang On A Can All-Star pianist Vicky Chow, both longtime champions of the Rolnick team.  Matt Marks’ crew features downtown piano diva Kathleen Supové, Alarm Will Sound violinist Courtney Orlando, trumpeter Mike Gurfield (of Signal and the Deviant Septet), and flutist Domenica Fossati (of Concert Black and Underground System).  Of course, both composers will be on hand and on stage to referee, and it’s entirely possible that both sides will find themselves in an all out ‘return to Thunderdome’ finish.  This, however, remains to be seen. 

Neil Rolnick will be trotting out a brand new mash-up of Everly Brothers tunes and a time traveling improvisation from the 80s, as well as putting up his tried and true standards – Hammer & Hair, Digits and Fiddle Faddle.

Matt Marks’ crew will be playing his collection of Shame Remixes – pieces based on musical guilty pleasures – including remixes of Disney songs, Baptist hymns, Taylor Swift, Sadé, and Marks’ grand remix of the Dirty Dancing soundtrack: Mixtape for the Summer of ’63. 

Okay, in the end, it’s not really much of a real battle.  More like a lovefest. That’s really pretty much all I’ll really get involved in.  But someone picked this marketing direction, so I’m following along. Most have seen Vicky and I play Neil’s music,  but never at Galapagos, and never alongside one of my favorite other solo performer/composers, Matt Marks.  

“Twill be nothing but fun and frolic” – Gandalf.

Come on out, you won’t want to miss this!
Cheers!
Todd

Thursday, August 8, 2013, 8pm
Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
https://www.facebook.com/events/492349404166647/ http://www.galapagosartspace.com/in-concert

Tickets $10 in advance/ $15 at the door
More info:  917-848-3008

TONIGHT: BANG & CONRAD TAO’S UNPLAY::THURS: NEIL ROLNICK & ALARM WILL SOUND!

 

 

Hi folks,

It’s shaping up to be a colossal June so far!  I just returned from *Skywalker Ranch* for the Sundance Institute’s newly inaugurated collaboration with Skywalker Sound to support independent filmmakers and film composers!  Beyond thrilled about being part of the lab and I’ll be sharing some more on the whole mind-blowing experience soon!

Off the airplane and into a fantastic week of concerts that I would love for you to come enjoy.  TONIGHT brings TWO amazing events:

First up, the Bang on a Can Benefit at 6pm at City Winery.  This year we’re honoring the brilliant DAVID BITHER of Nonesuch Records with a once-in-a-lifetime concert featuring Bang’s very own Asphalt Orchestra, Bang on a Can All-Star David Cossin with Glenn Kotche (of Wilco fame) playing live percussion duets (including music by Steve Reich), Devendra Banhart, the wildly creative and popular Nonesuch artist playing a couple songs for us the night before his big Town Hall gig supporting his latest record Mala AND this just in: Carolina Chocolate Drops!  I’ll be performing Michael Gordon’s Light is Calling.  More details here!

I’ll be hopping off to Brooklyn right after to play at 8 in the first ever UNPLAY Festival, a three-night event conceived, curated and organized by the excellent pianist/composer  Conrad Tao. The festival will take place June 11-12-13 at 8PM, at the powerHouse Arena.  Each evening is devoted to a different conception of classical music –ePhemera explores the fleeting nature of the concert experience, REPlay challenges the notion of ‘standard repertoire’ as well as how old and new works relate to one another, and Hi/r/stories looks at the broader narrative of classical music and how our digital, social media culture has affected how the story is told. Full schedule and details here!  If you can’t make it, you can check out the livestream here.

 

THURSDAY at 7 brings a very special event at the National Opera Center with my long time collaborator, the wonderful Neil Rolnick.  I’ll be performing his second violin concerto, Gardening at Gropius House with Alan Pierson conducting members of Alarm Will Sound.  Additional music by Rick Baitz, Caleb Burhans, John Orfe and Matt Marks.  More details here.

Hope to see you out there!

Cheers!
Todd