KlezCalendar

Greetings Friends! This is David Lang writing from slushy Manhattan.

Next week we will host an absolutely fantastic concert here in New York City - The 2007 Peoples Commissioning Fund (PCF) Concert at Merkin Hall on Thursday, March 1 at 8pm. This year is also the 10th Anniversary of this program and over the last decade, the PCF Concert has become one of the true highlights of our season here in New York. Each year we pool contributions from many of you and commission new music from a wildly eclectic range of composers for the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Not only will we get to witness and hear the incomparable All-Stars attack 3 world premieres by composers Lukas Ligeti, Joshua Penman, and Stefan Weisman, but this year we are also thrilled to have the legendary songstress Meredith Monk take the stage with the group for the second half of the concert. If you havent already caught this rarely performed collaboration by two of New Yorks most innovative music-makers, youve got to come out and join the celebration. We hope to see you there!

Some of you have attended before and some of you are first-timers. Some of you are already among the valiant members of the PCF, having helped commission this music and make this evening possible. The PCF is a unique concert experience highlighted by the innovation and daring of a new generation of creative musicians. It is part of a world in which music is exciting, challenging, inextinguishable, and necessary.

The Peoples Commissioning Fund exists to bring composers and audiences together. When we started it we were looking for a way to show how many innovative ideas were percolating in the music world, how composers from different backgrounds were striking out in all directions, avoiding all the beaten paths. Every year we look for composers who have strong opinions, and this year is no different.

And then, theres the Bang on a Can All-Stars. The ensemble is fearlessly dedicated to the challenge of the new and unexpected. This evening is made possible by their ferocious energy and focus.

This year we are also joined by a special guest: the legendary composer, singer, director, choreographer, filmmaker and visual artist Meredith Monk. She personifies the notion that if the world doesnt do all you need it to then you must rebuild it yourself. Since the beginning of Bang on a Can we have been inspired by Merediths work, her invention, her incredible energy and infectious spirit, and in the past few years she has become one of our best musical friends, touring with the All-Stars all the way from Zankel Hall to Alaska and beyond. Last year Meredith was the featured artist at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, which we do every summer at Mass Moca, in North Adams, Massachusetts. Much of Merediths work is vocal, and for her own ensemble. In order to perform with her we have had to arrange her works for the All-Stars, adapting the specificity and focus of her originals to the explosiveness of the band. It has been an exciting challenge for us finding the places where we can support Merediths delicacy and wit with our own edgy energies.

We are honored to be performing with her, and we will be honored for you to join us.

Sincerely,
David Lang