Five Boroughs Music Festival Presents The New Consort

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Contact: Katlyn Morahan | Morahan Arts & Media 
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Five Boroughs Music Festival Presents 
The New Consort

The New Consort Makes 5BMF Debut with Concerts at 
Brooklyn Art Haus on November 1; 
Trinity Lutheran Church on Staten Island on November 2 

5bmf.org

New York, NY (September 26, 2024) — New York City’s Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) continues its 2024-25 Season with the debut of vocal chamber ensemble The New Consort performing their program RETURN / REVIVE: A Meditation on Grief, Hope, and Community on Friday, November 1, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Art Haus and Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church on Staten Island. 

"Jonathan and I have been discussing a piece for The New Consort that grows out of Robert White's Lamentations since the height of the pandemic - when, from the loss of colleagues and friends to the overnight collapse of our industry, there was all too much for vocal musicians to lament,” baritone and Artistic Director of The New Consort, Brian Mummert, said. “I'm thrilled to be able to present the world premiere of Jonathan Woody's Lamentation at these concerts, and to share this program with you. We hope that the story we tell with RETURN/REVIVE - one of adversity, yes, but also one of contemplation, and healing, and community - helps inspire you to face the adversities of our own time with strength and compassion."

The program pairs two major works, one ancient and one brand new. First, marking the 450th anniversary of Tudor composer Robert White, The New Consort performs his Lamentations a5, which gorgeously, viscerally expresses Jeremiah's sorrow at the Biblical destruction of Jerusalem, made all the more poignant in light of his tragically early death from the Black Plague in 1574. In response, acclaimed composer and ensemble member Jonathan Woody’s Lamentation, commissioned with the support of Chamber Music America's Classical Commissioning Grant, explores modern experiences of LGBTQ loss and otherness, but also celebrates the ability of communities to mold adversity into hope and purpose. These two musical pillars are interwoven with music by David Lang, Billie Eilish, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and more, to take the listener on a journey from darkness to light, perfect for the weekend of All Saints' and All Souls' Day.

In the new year, celebrated Grammy Award-winning Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh returns to 5BMF with the Grammy Award-winning Aizuri Quartet for a collaborative program titled Music and Migration on Sunday, February 2, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. at Brooklyn Public Library as part of BPL Presents and on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, tickets and reservation information available soon. 

Event Information:
5BMF Presents THE NEW CONSORT in RETURN / REVIVE: A Meditation on Grief, Hope, and Community
Friday, November 1, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Art Haus | 24 Marcy Ave | Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tickets: $15
Link: https://5bmf.org/the-new-consort/ 

Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church | 309 Saint Paul's Avenue | Staten Island, NY 10304
Tickets: $15
Link: https://5bmf.org/the-new-consort/ 

Program:
Jonathan Woody - Lamentation 
Jonathan White -  Lamentations a5
Additional Works TBA

Artists:
The New Consort

About The New Consort
Winners of the American Prize in Chamber Music, The New Consort is a vocal chamber ensemble dedicated to exploring the roles that musical ritual and community can play in 21st-century lives. The group programs historical works for voices, then recontextualizes them for a modern audience; commissions and highlights significant new works that think deeply about vocal music’s legacy and future; and knits rituals and stories out of performances, marrying old and new wisdom about inspiring empathy, community, and awe. The New Consort brings the unique emotive power of vocal ensemble music out of its historical place in religious ceremony, using it instead to humanize the marginalized and illuminate thematic connections among creators in many genres of musical expression. 

Founded by baritone & Artistic Director Brian Mummert, The New Consort has been presented by organizations including Trinity College, Cambridge; Tippet Rise Art Center; Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue; Williams College; Sacred Music at Columbia University; Princeton University Chapel; The Bach Store, an NYC pop-up concert hall; Pegasus Early Music and New York State Baroque; and at concert halls, churches, and schools throughout the Northeast United States. Recent and upcoming commissions include projects by Rossa Crean, Jonathan Woody, Simon Frisch, Hope Littwin, Niccolo Seligmann, Ethan McGrath, and Sarah Meneely-Kyder. Members of The New Consort appear as soloists, choristers, and conductors with some of the world’s best-respected ensembles, but relish the opportunity to collaborate as chamber musicians.

https://www.thenewconsort.org/ 

About Five Boroughs Music Festival
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 600 individual performers and ensembles is comprised of talented emerging artists and distinguished musicians alike, representing a diverse range of musical genres and styles. Its more than 70 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 70 composers and presented world premieres of their works all across New York City, most notably the borough-wide tours of its quinquennial commissioning project, the Five Borough Songbook Volumes I, II and III. 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.

Image at the top of the release by Kyle Picha.

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