VERGE Ensemble : An evening of electronic/computer music.
Another Face for solo violin & video, David Felder
Lina Bahn, violin
Come Into - A cello & computer improvisation, Steve Antosca & Ignacio Alcover
Ignacio Alcover, cello
Steve Antosca, computer
Threnody for clarinet and audio, Larry Austin
David Jones, clarinet
Video IX for piano, computer and video, Frederick Weck
Jenny Lin, piano
ReaLive2008, Steve Antosca
Ignacio Alcover, cello
Steve Antosca, computer
Lina Bahn, violin
David Jones, clarinet
Jenny Lin, piano
VERGE Ensemble, formerly known as the The Contemporary Music Forum, has been presenting concerts of new music to Washington audiences for 35 years. Throughout its existence, the ensemble has pioneered the performance of works involving music and technology, and supported music by American women composers, Native American composers and the music of African-American composers.
The ensemble recently performed an all John Cage concert at the National Gallery of Art as part of the Gallery’s 62nd American Music Festival in conjunction with the Gallery’s exhibit Jasper Johns: An Allegory in Painting 1955 - 1965. In May 2007, the ensemble joined Ensemble Aleph at Theatre Dunois in Paris for the Festival de musique Americaine to present four concerts of American music.
For the 2007/2008 season, VERGE worked with the Embassy of France to create a unique, year-long collaboration between French and American musicians, promoting new American and French music. A consortium of venues in Washington participated in these events including The National Gallery of Art, La Maison Francaise, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Loyola College in Baltimore. In November 2007, this collaboration produced a world premiere of Sanctuary, a work for percussion and computer by Roger Reynolds at the National Gallery of Art East Building and a concert of French violin and piano music at La Maison Francaise. The festival included a series of three concerts in Washington with VERGE and Ensemble Aleph in April 2008.
During the 2008/2009 season, VERGE promoted the 3-gen festival in Washington. The festival included special concerts throughout the Fall celebrating the centennial birthdays of Elliott Carter and Olivier Messiaen at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the National Gallery of Art, La Maison Francaise and the Library of Congress. VERGE ensemble was in residence at Cleveland State University in October 2008 and will be in residence at June in Buffalo in 2009. VERGE ensemble is the new music ensemble in residence at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.