PRISM Quartet with Miguel Zenón and Susie Ibarra

PRISM Quartet

Timothy McAllister, soprano saxophone
Zachary Shemon, alto saxophone
Matthew Levy, tenor saxophone
Taimur Sullivan, baritone saxophone

FEATURING

Miguel Zenón, alto saxophone
Susie Ibarra, drums/percussion

The Concert

The PRISM Quartet joins forces join forces with two distinctive composer/performers—Susie Ibarra and Miguel Zenón—to explore the intersection of global musical traditions with a recent body of music commissioned by PRISM.

Zenón and PRISM Quartet perform Chris Potter’s Improvisations, Matthew Levy’s Forbidden Drive, and Zenón’s The Missing Piece, acclaimed works from the Quartet’s Heritage/Evolution project. PRISM initiated Heritage/Evolution in 2014 to chart fresh musical territory, drawing on the saxophone’s cross-cultural heritage to blend jazz with everything from Western and South Indian classical music to Romani and Latin American folkloric music.

Above: PRISM Quartet and Miguel Zenón perform an excerpt from Zenón’s “The Missing Piece”

PRISM is also joined by Susie Ibarra in a performance of her stunning 2018 work, Procession, along the Aciga Tree, commissioned by the Quartet for its pioneering Unlocking Your Inner Composer program. Ibarra’s work is inspired by processional music from the forests of the northern Philippines, where one of the largest acacias is known as the Aciga Tree, the tree of treasures. The work draws upon interlocking rhythms, shifting melodies, and cross rhythms from Ibarra’s own cultural heritage.

Above, top to bottom: Susie Ibarra performs her “Rhythm Cycles;” Susie Ibarra’s “Electric Kulintang”

The program is rounded out by several electrifying commissions and newly arranged masterworks from PRISM’s popular Hit Parade program, including music by Schumann, Roshanne Etezady and Michael Daugherty.

Above: PRISM Quartet performs excerpts from Salvatore Sciarrino’s “Pagine”

CHAMBER MUSIC AMERICA DISCOUNT

Admission is FREE for concert presenters attending the 2019 Chamber Music American National Conference. Please enter the discount code “CMA-Presenter” for a 100% discount at checkout in order to reserve a seat, and show your credentials at the door.

Admission is HALF PRICE for all other Chamber Music America conference attendees. Please enter the discount code “CMA-Attendee” for a 50% discount at checkout in order to reserve a seat, and show your credentials at the door.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This program is made possible with generous support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Conn-Selmer, Inc. PRISM is a member of New Music USA’s New Music Impact Fund, made possible with funding from The Scherman Foundation’s Katharine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund. Visit PRISM’s New Music USA profile.