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“Such a range of sonorities, such a magnificent din… The Band…

made their instruments growl, crash, whisper, and sing, some-

times creating the music of the spheres, ethereal and beautiful…

a miracle of ensemble coordination and sonic delight.”

–Zaide Pixley, Kalamazoo Gazette

“When people refer to piano quartets or piano trios, they generally

mean a piano and some other stuff — a violin and a cello, say. But

the new ensemble Grand Band is a piano sextet in the purest sense:

six pianos, and only six pianos. It is an audacious, irresistible idea to

have that many pianos onstage at one time. So it’s just icing on the

cake when the musicians are as individually accomplished as Vicky

Chow, David Friend, Paul Kerekes, Blair McMillen, Lisa Moore and

Isabelle O’Connell, who formed Grand Band a few months ago and

performed for the first time as a group in June as part of the Bang

on a Can Marathon. I had never before contemplated New York

culture’s decided lack of supergroups, but Grand Band is verily —

and I don’t say this lightly — the Traveling Wilburys of the city’s

new-music piano scene.” –Zachary Woolfe, New York Times

short bio

press

Grand Band is a new keyboard sextet featuring six of New

York City’s top pianists: Vicky Chow, David Friend, Paul

Kerekes, Blair McMillen, Lisa Moore, and Isabelle O’Connell.

Described as “awesome” (Sequenza 21), “inventive” (New York

Magazine), and “six of the finest, busiest pianists active in New York’s

contemporary-classical scene” (New York Times) following their

performance of Steve Reich’s Six Pianos at the 2012 Bang on a Can

Marathon in the World Financial Center Winter Garden, this stunning

collection of performers creates a powerful sonic force. Of the group’s

debut performance, Lucid Culture wrote: “Grand Band had a ball [in

the Wolfe], each wearing an ear monitor so as to catch the innumerable, suspenseful series of cues as the gospel licks grew from spacious and

minimalist to a joyously hammering choir.” After their (le) poisson rouge performance, The Glass blog declared, “The 6 pianists are a super-

group of soloists that played what sounded kind of like classical pop-crossover meets post-minimal.”

A thoroughly modern ensemble, Grand Band is a champion of new music and living composers. Broadcast regularly on WQXR’s Q2 radio,

Grand Band’s most recent projects included the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Michael Gordon, Ode to La Bruja, Hanon,

Czerny, Van Cliburn and little gold stars… (or, To Everyone Who Made My Life Miserable, Thank You), as well as the new work wither by band

member Paul Kerekes at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in May 2014. Grand Band also appeared at the 2014 Rite of Summer

Festival in New York City.

“Last night at the Poisson Rouge, all-star six-piano ensemble

Grand Band paid homage to this maverick with a lushly starlit,

seamlessly rippling performance of ten Holt’s best-known work,

Canto Ostinato…There was a great deal of interplay involved,

lots of friendly nods and “take it away” moments between

David Friend, Vicky Chow, Paul Kerekes, Blair McMillen, Lisa

Moore, and Isabelle O’Connell…..As the piece wound its way

out, the individual players’ precision and perfect, Bach-like

tempo never wavered…. A performance this good deserves an

encore: let’s hope this fascinating and unique band gets the

chance to stage it again.” –Gordon Grdina, Lucid Culture

“I saw Ostinato performed live recently at the bar/venue (le)

poisson rouge in NYC’s West Village. The performing ensemble,

Grand Band, debuted last summer at the Bang on a Can Mara-

thon and is a veritable powerhouse featuring some of NYC’s

finest avant-garde keyboardists.” –Meg Wilhoite, Bachtrack

GRAND BAND piano sextet

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A BIGGER PICTUREA six-piano program with a larger-than-life expansiveness featuring

composers based in New York City. The first half opens with the

swinging my lips from speaking by Julia Wolfe (inspired by Aretha

Franklin’s Think), moves into the tender tinkling of Philip Glass’s

Closing, and ends with the massive, world-encompassing gestures

of Michael Gordon’s Ode to La Bruja (dedicated to all his piano

teachers and lessons!). The second half opens with the delicate,

intimate exchanges of Paul Kerekes’s wither, starkly juxtaposed

with the colossal soaring of (Australian) Kate Moore’s sensitive spot.

The grand finale arrives with the magnificent early minimalist

groove classic, Steve Reich’s Six Pianos, Grand Band’s calling card.

Works to be performed on the “A Bigger Picture” program

include:

Julia Wolfe, my lips from speaking (1993)

Philip Glass, Closing (1981; arr. Grand Band, 2012)

Michael Gordon, Ode to La Bruja, Hanon, Czerny, Van Cliburn and little gold stars… (or, To Everyone Who Made My Life Miserable, Thank You) (2014)*

Paul Kerekes, wither (2014)*

Kate Moore, sensitive spot (2006; arr. Grand Band, 2012)

Steve Reich, Six Pianos (1973)

* C O M M I S S I O N E D B Y G R A N D B A N D

CANTO OSTINATOA program for six pianos featuring the lush, beautiful, continu-

ously-evolving 1976 cult masterpiece by the Dutch composer

Simeon ten Holt (1923-2012). Starting with a simple idea, this

lyrical, tender music develops and blossoms, captivating the

audience with constantly shifting melodic lines and gently

repetitive figurations. At times, even the music of Bach and

Schumann seem to emerge from the textures. Employing an

innovative modular method of composition, the piece allows

the pianists to shape and control the length of musical “cells”

– creating the piece “in real time” while ensuring that each

performance is a completely unique experience. Canto Ostinato

is a rarely performed classic.

Works to be performed on the “Canto Ostinato” program

include:

Simeon ten Holt, Canto Ostinato (1976)

THE NEW TAKE SIX!An entertaining program of new music from South Africa,

England, Canada, and the USA, this program highlights the

adventurous nature of the ensemble who perform both at the

piano, while also incorporating whimsical auxiliary instruments

including toy pianos, melodicas, and an electric “key-tar.”

Grand Band opens the show exploring the dance and groove

rhythms of Kevin Volans’s Kneeling Dance and Frederic

Rzewski’s classic Les Moutons De Panurge, the delicate, intricate

colors of (Bang on a Can’s co-founder) David Lang’s face so

pale and the joyous funk of John Metcalf’s Never Odd or Even.

The second half begins with the mesmerizing minimalism of

the late Julius Eastman and his Gay Guerrilla and winds up with

the witty grand finale: emerging composer Ben Wallace’s Mario

Kart-video-game-inspired A Road You Can Go composed for a

panoply of keyboard instruments and highlighting the diversity

of Grand Band.

Works to be performed on “The New Take Six!” program

include:

Kevin Volans, Kneeling Dance (1992)

Frederic Rzewski, Les Moutons de Panurge (1974)

David Lang, face so pale (1992)

program offerings

GRAND BAND piano sextet

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program offerings (cont.)John Metcalf , Never Odd or Even (1995)

Julius Eastman, Gay Guerrilla (1979)

Ben Wallace, A Road You Can Go (2014)*

* C O M M I S S I O N E D B Y G R A N D B A N D

THE RITE OF SPRINGAdapted for six pianos, Grand Band performs this powerful,

revolutionary Stravinsky 1913 masterpiece alongside the minimalist

cult Steve Reich classic Six Pianos and a new arrangement of

Donnacha Dennehy’s driving Stainless Staining.

Works to be performed on “The Rite of Spring” program include:

Donnacha Dennehy, Stainless Staining (2007; arr. for Grand Band)

Steve Reich, Six Pianos (1973)

Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring (1913; arr. Ben Wallace)

THE PLANETSArranged for six pianos, Grand Band performs the beloved classic

that celebrates our universe by British composer Gustav Holst.

Works to be performed on “The Planets” program include:

Gustav Holst, The Planets (1916)

additional offerings

EDUCATIONAL RESIDENCIES

The members of Grand Band are a perfect choice when it comes

to building on a successful concert with additional opportunities

for learning. The members of Grand Band collectively represent

decades of experience as professional pianists and an astonishing

“family tree” of pianism, allowing students to both benefit from

practical professional advice as well as from teaching steeped in

the history of the great piano schools. They bring an approachable

and pragmatic spirit to a number of different possible events, in-

cluding hands-on workshops, group performances, Q&A sessions,

and more. Any of the following themes could form the backbone

of the perfect educational residency, and could be adapted to

meet the needs of the individual situation:

STUDENT COMPOSER READINGS

A Grand Band residency provides a unique set of opportunities for

a composition department – in addition to providing access to

six of the country’s leading performers of contemporary piano

music, student composers also have the option of writing pieces

for any combination of pianos (up to six). Often, residencies

consist of students writing a work for a predetermined

ensemble, which can potentially limit flexibility and stifle

creativity. With a Grand Band residency, students can write a

work for piano solo, for two pianos, for one piano four-hands,

three pianos, etc, all the way up to the full complement of six

pianos. Working with Grand Band provides students with an

opportunity for total immersion in piano writing.

Sample Residency:

Day 1- Meetings with student composers to provide feedback about their pieces - Group session with student composers to discuss composer-performer dynamics, career development, etc

Day 2- Follow-up sessions with individual students- Open readings of student composers’ works

Day 3- Grand Band concert

MULTI-INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP

In this residency, students learn vital performance skills both

through conventional coachings and by playing alongside

members of Grand Band. By utilizing some of the great open-

instrumentation works of the twentieth century (for example:

Coming Together by Frederic Rzewski, In C by Terry Riley,

Workers Union by Louis Andriessen), Grand Band creates a

framework in which students of all instruments can work side-

by-side with the ensemble in the preparation and performance

of these contemporary masterpieces. While traditional teaching

is invaluable, the experience of working alongside a celebrated

performer cannot be replicated. In this workshop, students

will both learn the specific aesthetic practices of contemporary

performance firsthand, while also deepening the chamber music

skills that are vital to every genre.

Sample Residency:

Day 1- Student coachings- Grand Band concert

Day 2- Student coachings- Joint rehearsals

GRAND BAND piano sextet

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Day 3- Student coachings- Joint rehearsals

Day 4- Concert featuring student groups and joint performance with Grand Band

JOINT RESIDENCIES

One of the bedrocks of Grand Band is its dedication to the music

of living composers. The ensemble regularly works closely with

composers, including some of the most renowned of our time

(Steve Reich, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe) and is also active in

commissioning new works from emerging composers. As part of

any concert or residency, it is possible to also include a composer

visit. While these joint residencies must be organized on a case-

by-case basis, interacting with both the performers and the

composer can be a tremendous experience for concert-goers and

in an educational setting alike. Depending on the nature of the

residency, composer involvement might include a pre-concert talk,

coachings with composition students, open rehearsal with Grand

Band and the composer, joint outreach programs, et cetera.

MASTERING MINIMALISMThe genesis of Grand Band was a performance of Steve Reich’s

minimalist masterpiece Six Pianos, and the members of the

ensemble have gained a vast amount of experience playing the

music of and working with the great composers of the Minimalist

school such as Reich and Philip Glass as well as their musical

descendants, such as the composers of Bang on a Can. In this

educational residency, students gain access to the invaluable thread

of oral history based on first-hand experience that has been the

key to the continuation of the performance practice traditions and

musical philosophy that underlies the Minimalist aesthetic. This

is a residency that can be beneficial to student performers of a

variety of instruments as well as composers. Performing Minimalist

music is a skill you learn by doing. This residency provides a unique

opportunity for students to learn alongside the masters, providing a

foundation for a lifetime of performance experiences in this oeuvre.

Sample Residency:

Day 1- Grand Band concert

Day 2- Student coachings- Joint rehearsals- Group sessions discussing performance practice in Minimalist music

Day 3- Student coachings- Joint rehearsals

Day 4- Joint concert of minimalist music with Grand Band and student ensembles concluding in a joint performance of Terry Riley’s minimalist classic In C

IN WHOLE/IN PARTSThis mini-residency allows presenters to capitalize on the double

impact of Grand Band by presenting a full ensemble concert and

a solo program featuring each of the six Grand Band performers

over the course of two days. Audiences will experience the unique

and visceral impact of the six-piano program, while also getting to

know each pianist through his/her solo performance. This is also a

remarkable opportunity to hear solo performances by “six of the

finest, busiest pianists active in New York’s contemporary-classical

scene” (New York Times) all in one evening. The residency may

be extended by one day to accommodate educational outreach,

which similarly allows piano students access to six prominent pia-

nists in the form of a master class or group workshop.

Sample Residency:

Day 1- Solo program, featuring solo performances by each of the six Grand Band pianists

Day 2- Grand Band ensemble performance

Day 3 (optional)- Master class/workshop with piano students. All six members of Grand Band will teach as a group, allowing student pianists maximum access to the ensemble.

GRAND BAND REACHES OUTGrand Band is dedicated to community and educational out-

reach. While the arts unquestionably benefit children, students,

and society at large, our musical culture can only be sustained

by conscious and consistent efforts in cultural education, espe-

cially for the young and for those who lack access to cultural

programming. Any Grand Band performance or residency can

be supplemented with an outreach initiative. Grand Band will

work with presenters, educators, and community organizations

to develop a program that best suits the targeted community,

which could include components of performance, teaching, or

community engagement.

GRAND BAND piano sextet

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