The New Virtuosity:
The Musicians of New Amsterdam Records
Curated by Judd Greenstein
Featuring Solo Performances by:
Andrew McKenna Lee (guitar)
Nadia Sirota (viola)
On November 19, MATA & New Amsterdam Records present with ISSUE Project Room the second installment of the 2008-09 Interval series season. Curated by rising star composer Judd Greenstein, this event, entitled The NEW New Virtuosity: The Musicians of New Amsterdam Records, explores virtuosity from within New York’s indie classical scene, as two of the city’s most highly-regarded young soloists perform works that demonstrate the breadth of their talents and their musical experience. Guitarist/Composer Andrew McKenna Lee and violist Nadia Sirota each combine impeccable technique with a broad-minded taste and a highly refined style: Lee, with his incredibly personal compositions that draw equally from Bach and Hendrix, combining them to form a unique expressive language; and Sirota, whose passion for the interpretation of newly composed music extends, with equal skill, from the far reaches of Modernism and New Complexity to music that lies on and beyond the borders of indie rock.
For this performance, Nadia and Andrew will explore two dimensions of their solo repertoire, the acoustic and the electric; Nadia will play a work for viola alone by event curator Judd Greenstein, as well as a pair of works by Marcos Balter and a selection of études with electronics by Nico Muhly, while Andrew will perform his own works for both the acoustic and electric guitars. Both Nadia and Andrew share an approach to music-making that is idiosyncratic and dynamic, ever-changing in response to the music that moves them, and buttressed by true mastery of their instruments. Moreover, they are each deeply ingrained in the independent classical scene in New York City, opening their ears and minds to the incredible world of sound and music being made among their peers, in the New Amsterdam community and beyond.
Artist Bios
Described as “full of imagination and technical expertise,” Andrew McKenna Lee’s music is an organic synthesis of contrasting elements from a variety of styles and influences. A native of Charleston, SC, Andrew began his musical studies on the guitar at age twelve and soon after went on to pursue composition. In recent years, his music has been performed by such ensembles as the Brentano String Quartet, The American String Quartet, ensemble ereprijs, Talujon, the New Jersey Symphony, Kroumata, Proteus, Janus, and eighth blackbird. Upon the premiere of his orchestral work Vortices by the New Jersey Symphony, The New Jersey Star Ledger praised the work’s ”hard edged contrasting orchestral color,” and proclaimed, ”Lee’s command of his style must be respected. His orchestration is precise, the composition balanced with clear directional goals and the means to get there.” His works have been presented at many festivals, including the International Music Festival of Toroella de Montgrí, Spain, International Gaudeamus Week of the Netherlands, the Stockholm Arts and Sciences Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. His music has also been heard on WNYC’s New Sounds series with host Jonathan Schaefer and featured in a segment of New Hampshire Public Television’s weekly broadcast, New Hampshire Outlook. As a guitarist, he has given solo recitals and performances in venues such as New York City’s Symphony Space, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, BAM Café, the Harris Theatre of the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, The Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, the Royal University College of Music in Stockholm, and in conjunction with the Aspen Music Festival. He has also collaborated in live performances with other artists, including renowned bassist Mark Dresser, cellist Frances-Marie Uitti, the New York based chamber ensemble Janus, and composer Steven Mackey. His debut album, on New Amsterdam Records, will be released in the Winter of 2009. https://www.newamsterdamrecords.com/#Andrew_McKenna_Lee
New York-based violist Nadia Sirota is best known as an interpreter of new music, having commissioned and premiered dozens of works by composers and songwriters including Marcos Balter, Ben Frost, Judd Greenstein, Nico Muhly, Valgeir Sigurðsson, and Ryan Streber. She received her undergraduate and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where she performed as co-founder of the AXIOM ensemble, initiated the Castleman/Amory/Huang studio’s New Music Project, and created the Juilliard Plays Juilliard program for student composers and performers. After winning the top prize in Juilliard’s 2005 concerto competition, Nadia performed Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher with conductor Marin Alsop and the Juilliard Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall, and she has also collaborated as soloist and chamber musician with such artists as Joseph Kalichstein, Itzhak Perlman, and the Silk Road Ensemble. Nadia is currently a member of the Tetras String Quartet, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), and the collaborative multimedia group Vision Into Art (VIA), and was a founding fellow of the Academy, a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute. In the fall of 2007, Nadia joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music for its new Masters Program in Contemporary Music Performance. She has performed in-studio for NPR’s Morning Edition, BBC Radio 3, CBS Morning Edition, and A&E Breakfast with the Arts, and her recording credits include work for MTV2, Neuma, Bedroom Community, the Royal Academy of Music, and 11:11 Records. In the spring of 2009, Nadia will make her solo recording debut with an album on the New Amsterdam label, including music by Judd Greenstein, Nico Muhly and Marcos Balter. https://www.newamsterdamrecords.com/#Nadia_Sirota
About MATA Interval
Started during the 2007-08 season, MATA Interval is a bi-monthly series dedicated to small-scale performances by emerging performers and composers based in New York City. Produced in conjunction with Issue Project Room (IPR), Interval features programs developed and produced by young participants in MATA’s Curatorial Associate program. The series is committed to presenting various streams of thought and aesthetics from the field, mapping areas in which the traditional and the experimental coexist. More information at http://www.matafestival.org/interval
