Either/Or is a cutting-edge contemporary music ensemble based in New York City. Founded in 2004 by pianist/composer Richard Carrick and percussionist David Shively, Either/Or focuses on compelling new and recent works for unconventional ensemble formations rarely heard elsewhere. The group draws upon its roster, featuring some of New York's leading interpreters, to present intense chamber music alongside larger ensemble works. E/O has performed to critical acclaim at Miller Theatre, Merkin Concert Hall, The Kitchen, MATA Festival, the Austrian Cultural Forum, and ICA:Boston, in addition to frequent appearances at experimental music venues such as The Stone, Roulette, and Issue Project Room.
Programs have included numerous world, U.S., and New York premieres; these range from major works of American experimental music to rarely heard classics from the dynamic margins of the European avant-garde. In addition to its ongoing collaborations with emerging artists, Either/Or has brought distinguished composers such as Helmut Lachenmann (2008), Paolo Aralla (2009), and Chaya Czernowin (2010, 2011) to New York for portrait concerts and lectures through E/O's Composer's Atelier series.
Either/Or will be releasing its first two CDs in 2011, on Starkland and on New World Records. Additionally, Either/Or and its directors have been Artists in Residence at Eugene Lang College of the New School for Social Research (2010) and New York University Faculty of Arts & Sciences (2008-9). Educational activities have included lectures, workshops, open rehearsals, and premieres of student works.
Richard Carrick - Shadow Flow, John Pickford Richards, viola
Hans Thomalla - Piano Counterpart, Richard Carrick, piano
Keeril Makan - Zones d'accord, Esther Noh, violin
Keeril Makan - Mu, Alex Waterman, cello
Keeril Makan - Voice within voice, Geoff Landman, baritone saxophone