The 2011 Ecstatic Music Festival, presented by New York City's Merkin Concert Hall in association with New Amsterdam Records, is a showcase of collaborative evenings between more than 150 genre-pushing composers, songwriters and performers who represent a new generation of artists combining diverse influences and techniques to explore the crossover of classical and pop music. All concerts include premieres. Concerts during the first two months of the festival featured collaborations by Roomful of Teeth & tUnE-yArDs, Newspeak & Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Buke & Gass & Victoire, Dan Deacon & So Percussion, The Chiara String Quartet and the Music of Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurdsson, Alarm Will Sound & Face the Music, and many more. The distinctly captivating lineup continues in March.
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March 2011 Ecstatic Music Festival Schedule:
Thu, 3/3/11 at 7:30 pm
Judd Greenstein (The Yehudim) & Olga Bell (Bell)
Composer and Ecstatic Music Festival curator Judd Greenstein’s new 13-person ensemble, The Yehudim, premieres Sh'lomo, Greenstein's re-imagining of the King Solomon story. Fronted by singer/keyboardist/
composer Olga Bell along with Greenstein on lead keyboards, The Yehudim includes vocalists from polystylistic octet Roomful of Teeth and the acclaimed percussion quartet Line C3. Krai, the Moscow-born Olga Bell's collage of recollections and impressions of Russia, reconfigures her acclaimed electro-rock band, Bell, as a set of chamber musicians at the ensemble's centerpiece.
Sat, 3/5/11 at 7:30 pm
Timothy Andres & Gabriel Kahane: An Evening with Charles Ives
Composer/pianist Timothy Andres and composer/pianist/vocalist Gabriel Kahane explore the legacy of the devotional in concert music through the lens of Charles Ives, offering a musical palimpsest ranging from songs by Ives and Bach chorale transcriptions by Kurtag to new re-workings of chorales and hymns, as well as their own original compositions that speak to the ongoing dialogue between the sacred and profane.
Wed, 3/9/11 at 7:30 pm
Nadia Sirota & Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) with Owen Pallett
The evening will include the world premiere of a new work by Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy) written for violist Nadia Sirota. Sirota will also join Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) to perform new songs by Bartlett and premieres by Nico Muhly and Missy Mazzoli. The two will join Pallett for arrangements of his songs as well.
Sat, 3/12/11 at 7:30 pm
Clogs & Brooklyn Youth Chorus
The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, heralded as "a polished ensemble of miniature professionals" (New York Times), joins the legendary chamber/rock quartet Clogs for an evening of new works by Clogs’ Bryce Dessner (The National) and Padma Newsome.
Wed, 3/16/11 at 7:30 pm
Shara Worden, Sarah Kirkland Snider & yMusic
A Special Presentation of New Sounds® Live with WNYC’s John Schaefer
Composer/vocalist Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) is joined by the diversely talented sextet yMusic for an evening of works by Worden and Sarah Kirkland Snider, “a composer with an enviable knack for crafting moody, strikingly beautiful works" (Time Out New York). The show will include a selection of new and recent works by both composers, including the premiere of an instrumental work by Worden for yMusic, a premiere by Sarah, and selections from the duo's standout 2010 album, Penelope.
Mon, 3/28/11 at 7:30 pm
So Percussion & Bobby Previte with Zeena Parkins, John Medeski, DJ Olive & Jen Shyu
A Special Presentation of New Sounds® Live with WNYC’s John Schaefer
Composer Bobby Previte, whose ensembles "speak in visionary tongues" (The New Yorker), premieres TERMINALS, Part 1: DEPARTURES – five concertos for the quartet So Percussion and star soloists Zeena Parkins, harp; John Medeski, keyboards; DJ Olive, turntables; vocalist Jen Shyu; and Bobby Previte on drums.
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Single tickets: $25; Students with ID (in person sales only): $15
Subscriptions: Tickets are $20 each for 4 or more concerts.
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)
Tickets and information at 212 501 3330 or http://www.kaufman-center.org
The Backbeat Jazzfest Series
My Morning Jacket
Meet the Band / DVD Signing Thursday August 26th!
Axe the Cables is available now exclusively through 1320 Records and iTunes. 
In December of 2009, 