19th March 2011

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Quick Hit: String Theories @ St. Ann’s and the Holy Trinity Church

Last Saturday I got to check out four new commissions for String Orchestra by composers Duane Pitre, Tony Conrad, Katherine Young, and Alex Mincek at St. Ann’s and the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn. Of the four compositions, my favorites were Mincek’s, entitled “Ebb and Flow,” and Conrad’s, called “Eleven Across.”

“Ebb and Flow” had a dark, urgent feel to it, and “Eleven Across” utilized the eleventh harmonic and required half the orchestra to tune down a quarter-step. Definitely the most aggressively weird of the four compositions, with lots of breaks and dissonance.

All four pieces were fantastic, and the String Orchestra of Brooklyn performed them seemingly with little difficulty.

Tagged: Duane PitreTony ConradAlex MincekKatherine YoungString Orchestra of Brooklynweird