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Press Releases
Five Boroughs Music Festival and The Muse Present Elliot Cole and Fiona Gillespie’s Tam Lin and Stravinsky’s Firebird
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts & Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214
Five Boroughs Music Festival and The Muse Present Elliot Cole and
Fiona Gillespie’s Tam Lin and Stravinsky’s The Firebird, October 31
NEW YORK, NY (September 28, 2021) — Five Boroughs Music Festival’s (5BMF) 15th anniversary season continues on Sunday, October 31, 2021 at 3:00pm with a special co-production and double-feature of Elliot Cole and Fiona Gillespie’s Tam Lin and Stravinsky’s The Firebird to be held at The Muse in Brooklyn.
Tam Lin is a folk-rock cantata setting of the eponymous 18th-century Scottish ballad and fairytale, composed by Elliot Cole and Fiona Gillespie and performed by Makaris, a new ensemble featuring members from ACRONYM, Alkemie, the Chivalrous Crickets, Oracle Hysterical, and others. It is a musical drama set on All Hallows’ Eve (fortuitously aligned with the performance date) that interweaves traditional Celtic, medieval, and modern musical styles and instruments. The performance will also celebrate the release of Makaris’ new recording of Tam Lin.
Part two of the double bill is a new adaptation for dancers and acrobats of Stravinsky’s The Firebird, presented under the Creative Direction of Cynthia Dragoni of Next Realm Productions and the Cirque Direction of Angela Buccinni Butch of The Muse Brooklyn / ABCirque. ??The Firebird tells the story of Prince Ivan, who spares the life of the titular creature while hunting in the forest, then receives its aid in vanquishing the evil Koschei the Immortal. The cast will be a mix of professional dancers and circus artists as well as select students from The Muse’s children's programs.
These two stories, of mythical creatures and of the struggles to lift curses, couldn’t be a more perfect pairing on a Hallowe’en afternoon, in a presentation designed to be friendly for families and for all those with a still-keen sense of wonder.
Additional 2021-2022 season events presented by 5BMF include the Cramer Quartet’s Seven Last Words Project, featuring Haydn’s renowned work interspersed with seven companion pieces composed by Jessica Meyer, Colin Jacobsen, Nico Muhly, Tania León, Reena Esmail, Paola Prestini, and Caroline Shaw; Castle of Our Skins performs their NYC debut in a program featuring Florence Price’s Piano Quintet and Undine Smith Moore’s Soweto for piano trio, paired with a lecture by Dr. Samantha Ege, a musicologist and Price scholar based at Oxford University; and the return of 5BMF’s flagship project, the Five Borough Songbook, Volume III, comprised of 15 new songs by 15 composers, co-presented by On Site Opera and performed by vocalists from Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble.
Five Boroughs Music Festival is committed to the health and safety of patrons, artists, and staff, and continues to monitor and comply with current New York City COVID-19 guidelines and requirements. All guests aged 12 and up attending 5BMF’s indoor, or indoor/outdoor hybrid, performances are required to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 at time of entry. Proof of vaccination may be displayed via Excelsior Pass, NYC COVID Safe App (Android, iOS), or CDC Vaccination Card (or photo). Masks are required at all times inside 5BMF venues. 5BMF’s health and safety guidelines are subject to change as federal, state, and city recommendations evolve.
Concert Information
Tam Lin and The Firebird
Sunday, October 31, 2021 at 3:00pm
The Muse | 350 Moffat St | Brooklyn NY
Tickets: Early Bird Tickets (on sale up to 48 hours before event start): $20/person; $36/adult & child pair; $120 for VIP booth, seating up to 4 (priority seating, best view, only available by reservation)
At the Door: $25/person; $45/adult & child pair
Link: https://5bmf.org/events/tam-
Program:
ELLIOT COLE, FIONA GILLESPIE: Tam Lin
STRAVINSKY: The Firebird
Performers:
Makaris
Bradley King as Tam Lin, tenor
Fiona Gillespie as Jenny, soprano, Irish whistle
Molly Netter as the Narrator
Tracy Cowart as the Fairy Queen, mezzo-soprano, harps
Elliot Cole, guitar, voice harmonium
Kivie Cahn-Lipman, cello, voice
Karl Ronneburg, percussion
Caitlin Hedge, fiddle, voice
Loren Ludwig, viola da gamba, colascione
Ben Matus, bassoon, voice
Paul Holmes Morton, baroque guitar, theorbo, voice
Sian Ricketts, voice, recorders, douçaine
A.R. Welm, illustrator
ABCirque and Next Realm Productions
Angela Buccinni Butch and Cynthia Dragoni, directors and choreographers
Performance venue is a large warehouse, approximately 2.5 stories tall with two large garage doors that will be kept open for the duration of the performances for improved air flow. Weather permitting, the Tam Lin portion of the program will be performed in The Muse’s outdoor courtyard.
The Muse requires proof of vaccination for all ticket holders. Read The Muse’s COVID-19 protocols at https://themusebrooklyn.com/
About Elliot Cole
Elliot Cole (*1984) is a composer and "charismatic contemporary bard" (The New York Times). He scored Evolver (e.d. Terrence Malick), alongside Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and Wu Tang Clan, and he has written for and performed with Grammy Winners Roomful of Teeth, Grammy Nominees A Far Cry and Metropolis Ensemble, and many other ensembles. His percussion music evokes "sparkling icicles of sound" (Rolling Stone) and has been performed by over 250 groups all over the world. He is currently on faculty at the The New School and Juilliard Evening Division, and is Program Director of Musicambia at Sing Sing, where he runs a music school for incarcerated men. He is a PhD candidate in Composition at Princeton University. www.elliotcole.com.
About Fiona Gillespie
Fiona Gillespie is a folk and Classically-trained singer, songwriter, composer, and music educator. Raised in a family of traditional Celtic musicians Fiona grew up step dancing, singing ballads, and playing the Irish whistle, on which she competed nationally and internationally until 2006.
Fiona's first project with Makaris, an album of Scottish folk songs arranged by composers of the Viennese School, “Wisps in the Dell”, was released in 2019. Recent/upcoming engagements: The Queen's Baroque Ensemble Paris, Mountainside Baroque, The Academy of Sacred Drama, Labyrinth Baroque Ensemble, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Fire and Grace, ALKEMIE, her duo, Disordering the Attic, The Carmel Bach Festival, Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Apollo's Fire, Kinnara Ensemble, and St. Tikhon's Choir.
Fiona is a co-founder and manager of the band The Chivalrous Crickets, which explores the crossover between English, Celtic, and Old Time American folk music with music of the Renaissance and Baroque, as well as writing many original songs and tunes. The group, comprised of both folk and early music specialists, performs around the United States, and recently made their (virtual) European debut with the Derby Folk Festival in the UK. A recent transplant from Manhattan to Philadelphia, Fiona holds degrees in voice from Westminster Choir College and the University of North Texas, and now teaches classical, pop, and musical theater voice lessons at Muhlenberg College, as well as leading folk and group singing workshops. www.fionagillespiemusic.com.
About Makaris
Makaris was founded by cellist Kivie Cahn-Lipman in 2018 in order to explore the musical and historical culture of Scotland. Named for the Makars (pl. makaris) – the famed professional minstrels of the 16th-century Scottish courts – Makaris’ debut album, "Wisps in the Dell", was released in 2019 and focuses on folk songs arranged for the parlor by composers of the Viennese school. The ensemble maintains a flexible roster of both early and contemporary music specialists, depending on the needs of each project.
About Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF)
Since 2007, Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) has brought virtuosic chamber music performances of the highest caliber to every borough of NYC, cultivating new audiences for the genre and encouraging music lovers to look beyond Manhattan for outstanding performances. Lauded as “imaginative” by The New York Times, “enterprising” by The New Yorker, and “vital” by WQXR’s Operavore blog, 5BMF’s commitment to musical outreach and diverse programming has distinguished it as a standout presence in the New York City arts community from its earliest days.
5BMF’s artist roster of over 250 individual performers and ensembles is comprised of talented emerging artists and distinguished musicians alike, representing a diverse range of musical genres and styles. Its venues are just as eclectic, and have included performing arts spaces, cultural centers, and historic New York City landmarks such as Federal Hall, Pregones Theater, Flushing Town Hall, King Manor Museum, Brooklyn Historical Society, the Alice Austen House, and the Staten Island Museum, to name merely a few.
As champions of new music, 5BMF has commissioned over 50 composers and presented world premieres of their works all across New York City, most notably the two borough-wide tours of its Five Borough Songbook Volumes I and II. 5BMF’s outreach initiatives continue to expand every year, and have included program-related interactive lectures and discussions, public masterclasses with world renowned performing artists, and free public programming. Learn more at www.5bmf.org.
About The Muse and ABCirque
The Muse is, above all else, a creative community. We are a home for artists from all over the world, and together we celebrate circus in all its forms: circus as therapy, as fitness, as a form of play, and especially as high quality art and spectacular entertainment. Ethics and safety for our performers, guests, and staff are held at a high standard and we pride ourselves on doing better for the industry at large. We dream of a world where artistry, physicality, and creativity can flourish: and we work hard to make sure our programming is affordable, welcoming, and fun.
ABCirque is The Muse's in-house professional circus, dance & theater performance company with the most talented and versatile specialty performers, with expertise in a variety of apparatuses, skill-sets, and performance styles. Under the creative direction of acclaimed choreographer & director Angela Buccinni Butch, ABCirque creates original productions and events that defy categorization, seamlessly blending circus, dance, music, and more – which we feature regularly in our venue and in venues across the world as well as featured commercials and shows.
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