“WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT ‘CLASSICAL’ MUSIC IS A LIVING, VIBRANT TRADITION THAT IS FAR FROM BEING THE MUSEUM ART OF DEAD MEN PLAYED INCREDIBLY FORMALLY BY PEOPLE DRESSED VERY UNCOMFORTABLY.” ARMANDO BAYOLO
FOUNDER & CONDUCTOR GREAT NOISE ENSEMBLE
about great noise ensemble “Among the most exciting and ambitious new music ensembles in Washington, D.C.” (Kyle Gullings, A Composer’s Notebook), and “perhaps the DC region’s most exciting professional group dedicated to performing new classical music” (Jason McCool, The Pinkline Project), Great Noise Ensemble is a working embodiment of its mission to fight for the performance of new works and promote emerging talent in contemporary music. Born in 2005 when composer and conductor Armando Bayolo placed an ad on Craigslist.org seeking like-minded musicians passionate about contemporary music, Great Noise Ensemble has presented the world premieres of some 23 new compositions as well as regional premieres and rare performances of some of the major works of the last 45 years by composers like Steve Reich, John Luther Adams, Marc Mellits, Poul Ruders and Louis Andriessen. They have presented concerts in venues ranging from intimate community concert spaces like the Patricia M. Sitar Center and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring to prestigious locales such as the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Gallery and Sculpture Garden and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Great Noise Ensemble is an Arts Partner at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C., and beginning with their 2015-2016 concert season, will serve as Featured Guest Artists of Baltimore’s War Memorial Arts Initiative. Highlights of Great Noise Ensemble’s 2015-2016 season will include world premieres of works by Blair Goins, Mark Winges, and Armando Bayolo and performances at the the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C. and The War Memorial in Baltimore, as well as performances at the 2016 New Music Gathering in Baltimore and at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust.
just the facts · · · · · · · · ·
Formed through an ad on Craigslist.com Has performed 42 regional premieres and 45 world premieres Composed of a core group of 20 instrumentalists and singers First CD, Guerrilla New Music, released in December 2013 Ensemble in Residence at the Atlas Performing Arts Center Repeatedly nominated for Washington Area Music Association Best Classical Ensemble award Recipient of 2007 Best Classical Ensemble WAMMIE First professional American group to perform Louis Andriessen's De Materie Only DC-based group to honor Steve Reich with a portrait concert on his 70th birthday
mission statement Great Noise Ensemble's mission is to provide world-class performances of music by modern and contemporary composers and by under-represented younger voices active in the Washington region. Our aim is to enlighten, entertain and educate through the programming of works by established masters, emerging composers and promising young talent and promoting the musical education of our audiences through educational outreach opportunities. We understand that the creation and performance of new music encourages thoughtfulness, curiosity, and innovation in American culture and society, and is therefore crucial in the 21st century. The group therefore embodies these ideals in its mission.
We seek to: 1. Promote the work of young, emerging talents in the field of new music from the Washington, DC region and throughout the United States; 2. Foment the creation of new musical compositions and present world-class performances of musical masterpieces since 1970; and 3. Educate audiences on the work of both established and emerging composers active in the creation of new concert music.
Great Noise Ensemble advocates that practitioners of both popular and classical music can engage in their seemingly disparate pursuits with the same spirit of freedom, fun and intellectual curiosity. We believe that by approaching new chamber music with a creative attitude and utilization of contemporary influences and resources, they can successfully re-engage the 21st century audience in classical music. We accomplish these goals each season through innovative programming, collaboration, and the dedication of its musicians, composers, and loyal supporters.
selected favorite repertoire ·
John Adams: Gnarly Buttons
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John Adams: Son of Chamber Symphony
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John Luther Adams: Clouds of Forgetting, Clouds of Unknowing
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Louis Andriessen: M is for Man, Music, Mozart
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Louis Andriessen: De Materie
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Armando Bayolo: Chamber Symphony: Illusory Airs
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Martin Bresnick: Pine Eyes
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Ryan Brown: Thick Skin
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Sean Doyle: Letters from Zelda
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Cornelius Dufallo: Paranoid Symmetry
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Blair Goins: Chamber Concerto
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David T. Little: Soldier Songs (suite)
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Marc Mellits: Five Machines
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Steve Reich: Clapping Music
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Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
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Steve Reich: Music for Pieces of Wood
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Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
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Steve Reich: Tehillim
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Poul Ruders: Four Dances in One Movement
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Jonathan Russell: Concerto for Two Bass Clarinets and Orchestra
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Tom Schnauber: The Walrus and the Carpenter
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Arlene Sierra: Neruda Settings
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Andrew Earle Simpson: Chamber Concerto
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D.J. Sparr: Carnal Node
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Steve Stone: This is not for John Lennon
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Ken Ueno: Vertical Lists (Remake 1)
reviews How can you not love a music group so cheerfully unstuffy that it calls itself Great Noise Ensemble? Composer/conductor Armando Bayolo put the band together a few years ago from young musicians gathered via Craigslist, and since then has been waging a crusade to “fight for the performance of new American music” in the D.C. area. And to judge by Sunday’s well-attended performance at the National Gallery of Art, the fight is going pretty well. –Stephen Brookes, The Washington Post
Go to a concert of the classics and you commit yourself, at least for a couple of hours, to the special but removed world where great music resides. Those who went to the Great Noise Ensemble’s concert at Catholic University’s Ward Hall on Friday, however, were brought face to face with music as life. …the music was put out there with enormous exuberance and good humor, all tempered by moments of delicacy and restraint. –Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post
This is modern composed music at its best; nimble, expressive, ear-turning and strange in an accessible way, highly virtuosic (7/4 time, anyone?) but never pretentious… If the idea of avant-garde music (referred to by the Ensemble simply as ‘contemporary music’), or even 7/4 time, frighten you, consider this a chance to dip your toes in; you might find that it can match pop music for emotiveness, ambient techno for fragility, R&B for sheer fun. Even the performers are a joy to watch; the young ensemble is focused and clearly enjoying themselves. –Brett Abelman (Washington City Paper)
For bookings and press information, please contact: Katherine Kellert, Managing Director Great Noise Ensemble (301)367-0710 (Phone) press@greatnoiseensemble.com
contact information For more information, please contact: Katherine Kellert Managing Director Great Noise Ensemble (301)367-0710 Katherine.Kellert@greatnoiseensemble.com Great Noise Ensemble 3220 N St NW #104 Washington, D.C. 20007 http://www.greatnoiseensemble.com info@greatnoiseensemble.com
For the most up-to-date information on performances, please visit our website: http://www.greatnoiseensemble.com