For immediate release:

NINTH PLANET- formerly Wild Rumpus and Composers, Inc - announces its 2020 December Concert: ON BEING curated by flutist Jessie Nucho featuring works by Angelica Negrón, Jessie Cox, inti figgis-vizueta and Darian Donovan Thomas

“On Being is an exploration of the nature of our existence, from the intersection of the physical and spiritual to existence in the present moment” says Jessie Nucho, flutist and core ensemble member, who will be hosting the concert. Echoing the struggle that many performers feel when faced with the current virtual reality, Nucho’s vision for this program is to create a space in which the audience is invited to breathe, be present, and “find release for the tension we’ve all been holding in our bodies.”

The works that bookend the program are extraordinarily beautiful pieces of music, each composed for a string instrument and pre-recorded electronics: Angelica Negrón’s La Isla Mágica for double bass & electronics played by Eugene Theriault, and Darian Donovan Thomas’ Fluid Suite, Mvt 1 (2016) for violin & electronics played by Mia Nardi-Huffman. Coincidentally, both composers perform together in the Brooklyn-based indie electroacoustic pop band Balún: Angelica plays accordion and sings, Darian plays the violin.

The opening work on the program, La Isla Mágica, blends the acoustic double bass with sparkling electronic arpeggios, plucked melodies and delightfully quirky Múm-like glitchy rhythms. According to the composer, the piece explores the possible connections between the islands of Puerto Rico and Bali, focusing on “the joy of exploration and discovery with the intent of transporting the listener to an exotic location… where the present moment is the only thing that’s significant.” 

The closing work on the program, the first movement of Darian Donovan Thomas’s Fluid Suite, is equally gorgeous – and also inspired by an escapist paradise. According to the composer, the work was inspired by meditating on the sounds of waters and rivers, focusing on the San Antonio river Yanaguana which translates to “refreshing waters.” The piece begins with acoustic violin arpeggios and opens up into a sparkling and joyful sound world in which the acoustic and electronic elements blend seamlessly. 

Jessie Cox’s Spiritus (2016) is a contemplation on the word spiritus (Latin for “breath”): thinking about breathing while also thinking about the spirituality in the act of breathing itself. Throughout the piece, the flutist vocalizes while playing, producing an unearthly sound which is half human and half instrumental. The shape of the music follows the rhythm of breathing, interrupted by more agile microtonal passages. 

The largest ensemble work on the program is a recent work by inti figgis-vizueta called Form the Fabric (2020) featuring Jessie Nucho (flute), Sophie Huet (clarinet), Mia Nardi-Huffman (violin), Brendan Lai-Tong (trombone), Mckenzie Langefeld (percussion), Margaret Halbig (piano) and Giacomo Fiore (electric guitar). The phrase “Form the Fabric” is derived from an archaeology phrase describing the cosmological understandings of the Incan and Andean peoples in which it is believed that threads are interwoven to form the fabric of the physical and spiritual world.

While Form the Fabric was not intended for an online context, the socially distanced setup allowed for extensive collaboration between the ensemble and the composer. “It has been invaluable to have inti [figgis-vizueta] join us,” says Nucho. “Her insights encouraged us to greater freedom and creativity in this remote collaboration.” It’s possible that the group will revisit these works in-person after the pandemic is over. 

“The pandemic has posed many hurdles for performing arts organizations” said Andrew Lu, Ninth Planet’s Board President who has been instrumental in technical logistics for the concert. Social distancing, along with the fickle nature of internet connection, have been among the most challenging hurdles to clear. For this reason, the concert will be presented as a mix of live performance and pre-recorded videos made specially for the concert. “While I’m disappointed we can’t be making and sharing music together in the same space, I’m very proud of our musicians, their enthusiasm and resilience, and their sense of community in putting this concert together, and I couldn't be more excited to share our music with the world.”

WHERE: Online on YouTube
WHEN: Saturday, December 12 at 7:00pm PST 
TICKETS: Free for all

A Ninth Planet press kit can be accessed here.

Ninth Plant New Music is excited to announce Selim Göncü as the recipient of the 35th annual Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composer’s Award. Göncü's piece Widerklang for 5 players was selected from over 100 submissions by a panel of six judges. In addition to a receiving a $1,000 prize, Göncü's piece will be performed by Ninth Planet during the 2020-2021 season.

Board President and Ettelson judge Daniel Godsil praises Widerklang, stating "[Göncü] takes sounds and gestures more often reserved for the avant-garde and crystallizes them into a tight, visceral, and— dare I say— fun six-minute gem of a piece."

ABOUT THE AWARD: The Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composer's Award is an annual prize for composition. It was first awarded in 1986 by Composers, Inc., a non-profit advocate organization for living American composers.

The prize began in 1986 as a composition prize for living American composers. In 1991, the prize was renamed in honor of Lee Ettelson (1898-1988). He was a successful reporter and editor for newspapers across the country, working for several years as the right-hand-man of media titan William Hearst. After retiring from journalism at The San Francisco Examiner, he also served as the head of the California Department of Motor Vehicles under Edmund G. (Pat) Brown. Lee's wife, Suzanne Ettelson (1913-2005) was a driving force in the San Francisco music community. She founded the San Francisco Chamber Music Society in the 1960s, before helping found Composers, Inc, where she served on the board for several years, including as the board president. After her passing, her name was added to the award. ​

A Ninth Planet press kit can be accessed here.

THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. TO LEARN MORE VISIT: http://www.ninthplanetmusic.org/blog/press-release-march-27-concert-postponed
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For immediate release:

Ninth Planet New Music announces its second expedition this season with works by Nicole Lizée, Daniel Godsil, Viet Cuong, Andrew Norman and 2019 Ettelson Award-Winner Jack Frerer.

Featured on the program is the West Coast Premiere of Spiral Sequences, a string quartet by the winner of the 2019 Ettelson Competition, Jack Frerer. In two movements, the piece begins with a pulsing moto perpetuo fast movement, followed by a lyrical second movement in which the “spirals” of the first movement slowly unravel.
 
The title of the sextet Music for Body-Without-Organs by Nicole Lizée, refers to the philosophical idea of the “body without organs”, or a being freed from the strictures of our perceived corporeal limitations and given freedom to “continuously become”. The music depicts this state with a trance-like unfolding of material that slowly, continuously, evolves and expands. Aeropittura, a quartet for flute, viola, cello, and piano by Ninth Planet’s own Daniel Godsil, takes its inspiration from the work of Italian Futurist painters and writers, and their fascination, expressed in “aeropainting” and “aeropoems”, with the new technology of powered flight. Viet Cuong’s Naica, for bass clarinet and electronics, depicts the formations of the crystal caves of Naica, Mexico.
 
Interspersed through the concert are the three movements of Andrew Norman’s sextet for alto flute, clarinet, violin, cello, vibraphone, and piano, Mine, Mime, Meme. As the title suggests, this piece asks the players to closely follow, imitate, and “meme” a leading voice. The trailing voices imbue the leader’s material with varying colors ranging from gossamer echoes to harsh apery, and individual other voices emerge and recede as the imitation becomes a dialogue.
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WHERE: Old First Concerts, 1751 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA
WHEN: Friday, March 27, 8:00pm.
TICKETS: $25 general admission, $20 seniors, $5 students w/ ID, free for kids under 12. Tickets available at: www.oldfirstconcerts.org

A Ninth Planet press kit can be accessed here.

Balance of Power opens Expedition #1 with a deep, otherworldly drone. Written for bass clarinet, percussion, electric guitar, cello, bass, and piano, the piece evolves from a minimalist trance into a groove-filled jam session between the instruments.

Kaija Saariaho's Cendres, French for "ashes," is written for alto flute, cello, and piano. It is ethereal at points and passionate at other points. Saariaho masterfully uses various musical elements– pitch, rhythm, timbre, and more– to bring the listener back and forth between tension and release. 

Kwong-Brown is presenting the premiere of her third iteration of her Unwinding series. Originally for string trio, Unwinding III employs a six piece mixed ensemble. Unwinding documents the composer's experience with a traumatic bike injury and the effects of craniosacral therapy treatment. The above recording is of the original Unwinding, which is considerably different than Unwinding III​. 

Play Like a Girl is based on the Bulgarian State Women’s Chorus's performance of Kaval Sviri. Eve Beglarian composed eight variations of the piece for various types of keyboards (including toy piano), which can be played in any combination or succession, generating tens of thousands of different versions of the piece. What will our pianist Margaret do during our concert? You'll have to go to find out!

As a composer, Eve Beglarian can be described as very chill. She often writes music as a framework for performers– leaving lots of room for players to make their own compositional decisions. Just like Play Like a Girl, our guitarist Giacomo is given room to decide the fate of the composition– how it grows and how long it lasts. Enter the meditate state of Until It Blazes​. 

The main course of Expedition #1 is Reflect Reflect Respond Respond, written for a large chamber ensemble with two vocalists. It opens with an intense rhythmic tapestry, which then opens up to introduce the voices of Echo and Narcissus. Instruments and vocalists alike are amplified with delay to create simmering echo lines throughout the work. The recording above is the original (2012) version of the work, premiered by Wild Rumpus. The piece was revised in 2015, which will be the version performed at Expedition #1.

Enjoy what you heard? Experience the music live at Expedition #1: Reflect Respond​: