Highlights, 2022-2023 season
Stravinsky’s complete L’Histoire du Soldat for septet and narrators.
18 October 2022 (Tuesday, at 7:30pm), Nickerson Studios, 340 W Nickerson St., Seattle
Henry Threadgill’s string quartet Sixfivetwo (2018), selections from Mutations (2005) for piano quintet by Vijay Iyer, and three works celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Iannis Xenakis: his piano quintet Akea and the solo violin pieces Mikka and Mikka «S».
8 November 2022 (Tuesday, at 8pm), The Royal Room
New and recent chamber works by University of Washington student composers Yonatan Ron, Joe Krycia, and Melissa Wang, and UW lecturer Jeffrey Bowen.
7 February 2023 (Tuesday, at 7:30pm), Meany Studio Theater, University of Washington
Brahms Symphony No. 1, alongside works by Elgar, Morricone, Jones, and Vivaldi.
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain.
10 February 2023 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien WA
Memorial concert honoring the life of violinist Tari Nelson-Zagar, who “transitioned off-planet” (in her words) in October 2022. Most of the works performed will be freely improvised. Performers will include Jesse Canterbury, Stuart Dempster, Lori Goldston, Tom Baker, and several others.
11 February 2023 (Saturday, at 7:00pm—note early start), Chapel Performance Space
Kate Soper’s chamber opera Ipsa Dixit for soprano, flute, violin, and percussion. An exquisite, hyper-virtuosic opera with truly unique surprises that audiences feel viscerally, Ipsa Dixit was called “comprehensively astounding” and “a twenty-first century masterpiece” (The New Yorker), and was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. Not to be missed!
24-25 March 2023, Raisbeck Auditorium, 2015 Boren Ave, Seattle
Mendelssohn’s rarely-performed hour-long Lobgesang (“Hymn of Praise”) op. 52 for 2 sopranos, tenor, orchestra, and chorus.
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain.
28 April 2023 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Benaroya Hall
Solo set during Community Art Day at Cascadia Art Museum, 190 Sunset Ave. S, Edmonds WA
7 May 2023 (Sunday, 3-4pm)
Anna Thorvaldsdóttir’s aequilibria (2014), Joël-François Durand’s Mundus Imaginalis (2015), and the world premiere of The Nothing Man and Other Tales for soprano and ensemble (2023) by Wang Lu.
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai.
3 June 2023 (Saturday, at 8pm), Town Hall (Great Hall), Seattle
Highlights, 2021-2022 season
Suite from “The Art of Flight,” a concerto for violin, strings, and harpsichord by Patrick Harlin, and Mozart’s “Haffner” symphony and other works.
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain.
19 March 2022 (Saturday, at 8pm), Holy Rosary Catholic Church
World premiere of WAR by Darius Jones, alongside other works.
15 April 2022 (Friday, at 8pm), Town Hall (The Forum), Seattle
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto (as soloist) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain.
30 April 2022 (Saturday, at 8pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Schulhoff’s Concerto for String Quartet and Wind Ensemble, alongside other works.
With Pamela Liu (vn), Thane Lewis (va), Michael Center (vc), and the University of Washington Wind Ensemble, dir. Timothy Salzman.
26 May 2022 (Thursday, at 7:30pm), Meany Hall, UW
Beethoven’s Mass in C, op. 86
With ChoralSounds Northwest and vocal soloists TBA
3 June 2022 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Glendale Lutheran, Burien WA
4 June 2022 (Saturday, at 7:30pm), St. Margaret’s Church, Bellevue WA
Carter’s Riconoscenza for solo violin, in a concert celebrating the career of world-renowned scholar and professor Jonathan Bernard upon his retirement from teaching.
17 June 2022 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Brechemin Auditorium, UW
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
World premiere of Huck Hodge’s percussion concerto The shape of the wind, the shadow of time with soloist Bonnie Whiting; Tania León’s Indígena; and Kate Soper’s Now Is Forever.
24 June 2022 (Friday, at 8pm), Town Hall (Great Hall), Seattle
Private engagement (string quartet)
25 June 2022
Highlights, 2020-2021 season
This season was extremely abbreviated for everybody (cough, cough)...
Kagel’s Ludwig Van and the world premiere of Like Clockwork by Wang Lu, for the “This Is Beethoven” festival commemorating Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Also uscrimi di braccia for viola and percussion by Suzanne Farrin.
19 December 2020 (Saturday, at 8pm), online only
Highlights, 2019-2020 season
Seattle Modern Orchestra:Tyshawn Sorey’s Feldmanesque duo In Memoriam Muhal Richard Abrams for violin and glockenspiel, Anthony Braxton’s Composition No. 56, Earle Brown’s Oh, K, George Lewis’s Artificial Life, Darius Jones’s LawNOrder, and the premiere of Vagabond by Wayne Horvitz. This concert is part of the 31st annual Earshot Jazz Festival.
15 October 2019 (Tuesday, at 7:30pm), The Forum at Town Hall, Seattle
Seattle Modern Orchestra concert of duos and quartets:
Anthony Cheung’s Elective Memory for violin and piano and mixed quartets by Thomas Adès (Court Studies from “The Tempest”), Tristan Murail (U.S. premiere of Stalag VIIIa), and Ivan Fedele (Arcipelago Möbius). Also Schnittke’s Hymn No. 2 for cello and bass.
24 January 2020 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Folio, in Pike Place Market
Premiere of Wayne Horvitz’s 188 Sullivan (Varèse Meets Bird) with members of Seattle Modern Orchestra in a concert honoring the centennial year of Charlie Parker. The rest of the concert will be performed by the top-notch D’Vonne Lewis quartet. Angela Brown, soprano in Seattle Opera’s production of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird that week and the following week, will also perform with the quartet.
24 February 2020 (Monday, at 7:30pm), The Royal Room
Highlights, 2018-2019 season
Seattle Modern Orchestra:George Crumb’s Eleven Echoes of Autumn, Chinary Ung’s Still Life After Death, Rebecca Saunders’s A Visible Trace, and Yiğit Kolat’s Echoes of Tinder.
1 November 2018 (Thursday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Short solo performance as part of Jack Straw’s celebration of 25 years of artist residencies. Xenakis’s Mikka (solo violin) and Kotoka Suzuki’s Sift (violin + CD). The full, free come-and-go-as-you-please event runs from 2pm to 8pm.
11 November 2018 (Sunday, 5:20pm–5:40pm), Jack Straw Cultural Center
Seattle Modern Orchestra outreach concert:
George Crumb’s Eleven Echoes of Autumn for mixed quartet and Takemitsu’s From Far Beyond Chrysanthemums and November Fog for violin & piano. Also works by Angelique Poteat and Tom Baker.
18 January 2019 (Friday, at 7pm), Folio, in Pike Place Market
Epic string quartet concert: Lutosławski’s groundbreaking and haunting String Quartet (1964), Beethoven’s Quartet No. 15 in A minor op. 132, and La oración del torero by Joaquín Turina. With Pamela Liu, Thane Lewis, and Michael Center.
22 January 2019 (Tuesday, at 7:30pm), Chapel Performance Space
Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15 in A minor op. 132, and La oración del torero by Joaquín Turina. With Pamela Liu, Thane Lewis, and Michael Center.
16 February 2019 (Saturday, at 6pm), Cascadia Art Museum, 190 Sunset Ave. S, Edmonds WA
Seattle Modern Orchestra, Xenakis’s Phlegra and Brian Cherney’s Die Klingende Zeit, conducted by special guest Robert Aitken. Aitken will also perform his works Lalita and My Song, and conduct Takemitsu’s Bryce.
9 March 2019 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Choral Sounds Northwest, Columbia Choirs, and soloists, dir. Anthony Spain.
16 March 2019 (Saturday, at 8pm), Holy Rosary, 4142 42nd Ave SW, Seattle WA
17 March 2019 (Sunday, at 3pm), Bellevue Presbyterian Church, 1717 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue WA
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Liszt’s Les Preludes, and Guaguanco by Christophe Chagnard.
27 April 2019 (Saturday, at 8pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Britten’s War Requiem, performed by the UW Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Modern Orchestra, the combined University Choirs, members of the Seattle Girls’ Choir and Seattle Chamber Singers, and soloists. Geoffrey Boers conducts.
7 June 2019 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Meany Theater
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
Saariaho’s Aer and Erin Gee’s Mouthpiece 29 for voice, violin, viola, and double bass. Erin Gee’s Mouthpiece II, Mouthpiece X, Mouthpiece Remix and Mouthpiece: Segment of the 4th Letter will also be performed, with the composer as soloist.
15 June 2019 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Highlights, 2017-2018 season
“Soy Cuba,” Cuban music revue with dancers and costume changes and a long list of ace musicians including Carlos Cascante, Calixto Oviedo, Enrique Valera Alarcón, and Elspeth Savani. Violin in a danzón, a danzon-chá, and a cha-cha-chá; several other styles round out the evening (son, descarga, guaguancó, etc.).6-7 October 2017 (Friday and Saturday, at 8pm), The Triple Door
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
George Crumb’s Dream Sequence and Julius Eastman’s Gay Guerrilla. Also Crumb’s Black Angels.
12 October 2017 (Thursday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat and The Saci, for the same players, by Jovino Santos Neto. With Brian Chin and other all-stars, as part of his Universal Language Project.
1 December (Friday, at 8pm) and 2 December (Saturday, at 2:30pm), 2017, Cornish Playhouse, Seattle Center, 201 Mercer Street
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite (with the eminently dignified “braying donkey” violin cadenza), Berlioz’s overture to Beatrice and Benedict, “For Malala” by Sumi Tonooka, and a medley of Duke Ellington songs.
9 February 2018 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
Ligeti’s Melodien, Beat Furrer’s Aria, and the world premiere of a chamber viola concerto for Melia Watras, the clouds receding into the mountains, by Orlando Jacinto Garcia.
14 April 2018 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
Jonathan Harvey’s Bhakti for 15-piece ensemble and quadraphonic tape (1982, 50′)
9 June 2018 (Thursday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Highlights, 2016-2017 season
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
Vykintas Baltakas’s Redditio (U.S. premiere), Wolfgang Rihm’s Chiffre II (“Silence To Be Beaten”), and the premiere of Andrew Waggoner’s Concerto for Piano with guest Gloria Cheng.
3 November 2016 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Berg Concerto for Piano, Violin, and 13 Wind Instruments, with Cristina Valdés and the UW Wind Ensemble conducted by Tim Salzman.
A rare treat!
8 December 2016 (Thursday, at 7:30pm), Meany Theater
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
Milanda Embracing and the premiere of S.M.O.R.E.S., both by Stuart Dempster, plus The Idea of Order at Key West (Maria Männistö, soprano) and Pacific Sirens by Robert Erickson. Stuart will perform Erickson’s General Speech.
11 March 2017 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 and Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with principal trumpeter Natalie Dungey.
18 March 2017 (Saturday, at 8pm), Holy Rosary, 4142 42nd Ave SW, Seattle WA
Brahms’s Violin Concerto (as soloist), with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain.
Also Respighi’s Pines of Rome and Fanfare by Samuel Jones.
29 April 2017 (Saturday, at 8pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Seattle Modern Orchestra:
Premiere of Jérémy Jolley’s Archipel... en résonnant à Venise... for clarinet and ensemble; also Kya and Ko-Lho by Giacinto Scelsi, all with guest Carol Robinson. Carol will also perform Rites by William O. Smith.
3 June 2017 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Highlights, 2015-2016 season
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, guest concertmaster;
Stravinsky’s Orpheus, Saint-Saëns’s film score(!) L’Asassinat du duc de Guise, and works by Dvořák and Beethoven.
19 September 2015 (Saturday, at 8pm), First Free Methodist Church
Tango concert, dance, and workshop with the Ben Thomas Quartet, Victoria BC.
Concert: Sat. Oct. 3, 7:30pm, Wood Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
Dance: Sat. Oct. 3, 9:30pm-12am, Victoria Event Centre
Workshop: Sun. Oct. 4, 1:30pm-4:30pm, Intrepid Theatre Club
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Julia Wolfe’s sextet Singing in the Dead of Night, the premiere of the chamber piano concerto From Darkness to Luminosity by Orlando Jacinto Garcia with pianist Cristina Valdés, Feldman’s The Viola in My Life I with violist Melia Watras, plus Varèse’s Octandre.
17 October 2015 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
A concert of tango music by Piazzolla, Troilo, Canaro, Pugliese, and others, with the Tangabrazo quartet.
13 December 2015 (Sunday, at 8pm), Resonance concert series, Bellevue
Chamber music inspired by the American West, including Brian Cobb’s Campfire Songs. With Brian Chin, as part of his Universal Language Project.
22 January 2016 (Friday, at 8pm), Resonance (event info here)
23 January 2016 (Saturday, at 8pm), Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave, Seattle
CD release recital: solo violin works by Xenakis, Carter, Scelsi, Lachenmann, and others, and Sift for violin + computer-realized sound by Kotoka Suzuki.
25 February 2016 (Thursday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Suggested donation $5–$15 at the door; free CD with $15 donation.
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Saariaho’s Lichtbogen and the premiere of a new work for ensemble and surround-sound live electronics by Ewa Trębacz, plus Differences by Berio.
9 April 2016 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 and the premiere of a flute concerto by Sarah Bassingthwaighte with principal flutist Merrie Siegel.
30 April 2016 (Saturday, at 8pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, guest concertmaster;
Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre with soprano Maria Männistö, Carter’s Two Controversies and a Conversation with pianist Cristina Valdés and percussionist Matthew Kocmieroski, Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 (“Military”) and the overture to Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio.
21 May 2016 (Saturday, at 8pm), First Free Methodist Church, Seattle
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Discrete Infinity by Anthony Cheung, plus Grisey’s septet Periodes and Samarkand by Claude Vivier.
11 June 2016 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Highlights, 2014-2015 season
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Boulez’s Dérive 1, Murail’s 13 couleurs du soleil couchant, and the U.S. premiere of Alêtheia by Huck Hodge, plus Hodge’s Zeremonie for computer-realized sound.
15 November 2014 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
New chamber works by former Metropolitan Opera clarinetist Sean Osborn.
Works for quartet and sextet, plus a woodwind trio and solo clarinet piece, featuring Sean, pianist Cristina Valdés, and other local favorites.
10 December 2014 (Wednesday, at 7:30pm), Chapel Performance Space
Daniel Schnyder’s subZERO, concerto for bass trombone and ensemble,
with soloist Douglas Yeo and an ensemble conducted by Tim Salzman.
10 February 2015 (Tuesday, at 4:30pm), Meany Theater
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (solos), alongside Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.
13 February 2015 (Friday, at 7:30pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Sciarrino’s Le Stagioni Artificiali, Donatoni’s Spiri, and a premiere by Jérémy Jolley, all with soloist Graeme Jennings. Graeme will also perform Berio’s Sequenza VIII.
11 April 2015 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and Ives’s The Unanswered Question.
25 April 2015 (Saturday, at 8pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat and the premiere of Saci, for the same players, by Jovino Santos Neto.
With Brian Chin, as part of his Universal Language Project.
15 and 16 May, 2015, 8pm, Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave, Seattle
Seattle Modern Orchestra, with guest composer Kate Soper,
Soper’s Now is Forever (premiere of chamber orchestration version), Haas’s Monodie, and Romitelli’s Blood On the Floor: Painting 1986 (after Bacon). Also Soper’s “Door.”
6 June 2015 (Saturday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Highlights, 2013-2014 season
Takemitsu’s From Far Beyond Chrysanthemums and November Fog and works for violin & piano by Koechlin, Killmayer, and Pärt, alongside songs by Rihm, Britten, and others, with Jerrod Wendland, piano and Emily Greenleaf, mezzo-soprano.
27 September 2013, 7:30pm, Ultan Recital Hall in Ferguson Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Free!
The inimitable Garth Knox in works for solo viola and small chamber ensemble (his piece Wild Animals and Jonathan Harvey’s Jubilus), plus works for viola + electronics and 2 violas.
22 October 2013 (Tuesday, at 7:30pm), Meany Theater
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Earle Brown’s Synergy II, the world premiere of Tom Baker’s Shendos No. 12, and solo percussion works by Bussotti and Stockhausen, featuring Bonnie Whiting.
22 November 2013 (Friday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
An evening of tangos (Piazzolla, etc.) with the Tangabrazo quintet
Century Ballroom, 915 E Pine St.
(Introductory dance lesson for couples, 8:30pm–9:30pm.)
14 February 2014 (Friday, from 10pm–12:30am)
Back-to-back concerts with Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai:
Gubaidulina’s Detto II and Xenakis’s Epicycles, for cello and ensemble, with guest Séverine Ballon, alongside solo cello works by Lachenmann, Lim, and Dillon.
20 February 2014 (Thursday, at 8pm), Cornish College, PONCHO recital hall, 710 East Roy Street
U.S. premiere of Rebecca Saunders’s Ire, for cello, strings, and percussion, alongside solo cello works (± electronics) by Jonathan Harvey and Jérémy Jolley.
21 February 2014 (Friday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Short Stories, concerto for string quartet and wind orchestra (2013) by Joel Puckett,
with Pamela Liu (vn), Thane Lewis (va), Michael Center (vc), and Tim Salzman conducting the UW Wind Ensemble/Symphonic Band.
11 March 2014 (Tuesday, at 7:30pm), Meany Theater
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
15 March 2014 (Saturday, at 8pm), Holy Rosary, West Seattle
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Brahms, Symphony No. 3; Shostakovich, Festive Overture, and songs by Brahms, Mahler, Puccini, and Beyer, with guest soprano Alexandra Picard.
26 April 2014 (Saturday, at 8pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Earle Brown’s sextet Tracking Pierrot, Franco Donatoni’s Tema, and the world premiere of Joël-François Durand’s Tombeau de Rameau II for piano (Cristina Valdés).
13 June 2014 (Friday, at 8pm), Chapel Performance Space
Also an outreach concert:
Donatoni’s Tema, Durand’s solo violin piece Roman, and Cage’s Four for string quartet.
15 June 2014 (Sunday, at 2pm), St. Columba, 26716 Military Road S, in Kent, WA
Tangabrazo quartet outdoors on a perfect summer evening in the heart of downtown Seattle, at Dancing ’Til Dusk.
5 August 2014 (Tuesday, 7–9:30pm), Westlake Park, free!
Highlights, 2012-2013 season
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai, accompanying the Paul Taylor Dance Company in their piece The Uncommitted (2011).
Music by Arvo Pärt: the piano trio Mozart-Adagio, and the string orchestra works Summa, Ricercar (from Collage über B-A-C-H), and (with percussion) Fratres.
4, 5, 6 October 2012, UW World Series, Meany Theater
Barber Violin Concerto, with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain.
Also Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro Overture, and Boundless Horizons by Chris Thomas.
8 February 2013, Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, Wagner’s Entrance of the Gods Into Valhalla, and arias by Donizetti and Mozart with Cara Gabrielson, soprano.
16 March 2013, Holy Rosary Church/School, 4142 42nd Ave SW, Seattle WA
Northwest Symphony Orchestra, dir. Anthony Spain,
Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Yuka Sasaki, piano, and Northern Lights by Clement Reid.
27 April 2013 (Saturday, at 8pm), Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien, WA
Seattle Modern Orchestra, dir. Julia Tai,
Kurtág’s ... quasi una fantasia ... with pianist Corey Hamm and the world premiere of Jérémy Jolley’s EisBerg with pianist Cristina Valdés. Also Xenakis’s Eonta.
8:00pm Saturday 1 June 2013, Chapel Performance Space