Talea Ensemble’s Acclaimed Series Written for Talea Returns on March 28

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katlyn Morahan | Morahan Arts and Media
katlyn@morahanartsandmedia.com | 646-378-9386

Talea Ensemble’s Acclaimed Series Written for Talea 
Returns on March 28 at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew

Program Titled Cycles of Unrest Features New and Recent
Works Written for Talea, Including the World Premiere of
Talea’s Early Career Composer Commission

“Talea is a treasure.” – Musical America

"meticulously prepared and compellingly rendered" – The New York Times

taleaensemble.org

March 4, 2025 (New York, NY) — Talea Ensemble’s acclaimed series Written for Talea returns on Friday, March 28, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew with a program titled Cycles of Unrest, consisting of new and recent works written especially for Talea Ensemble.

The title Cycles of Unrest refers to the narrative of one's experience with trauma, beginning with ideas of isolation in Emily Koh's piece, bridging:isolation, which was written for Talea and originally performed only once at the ensemble’s residency at Brandeis University in 2014, and now reprised for a new audience. 

The program’s narrative takes the listener through trauma in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in Eric Chasalow's Fever Dream (world premiere); a reflection on historic civil unrest in Andreas Tsiartas's We Have All Forgotten (US premiere); unsettling yet thoughtful sound worlds in Ni Zheng's Chimeric Chamber (world premiere, Talea Ensemble 2024 Early Career Commission); and later hope brought by Aphrodite in Evis Sammoutis's work, Kyprogen?s (world premiere). The study of the nature of cycles in music comes full circle with the US premiere of George Christofi's Kýklos. This program spotlights the creative voices of Cypriot and Cypriot-American composers Andreas Tsiartas, George Christofi, and Evis Sammoutis, following the Talea’s debut at the International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival in Nicosia, Cyprus in fall 2024.

Talea is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Talea Ensemble's 2024-25 season projects are supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and in part by the Aaron Copland Fund, Alice M. Ditson Fund, Amphion Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, and generous donors like you. Talea’s season is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. 

Concert Information
Written for Talea: Cycles of Unrest
Friday, March 28, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, Parish Hall | 520 Clinton Avenue | Brooklyn, NY 11238
Tickets: $20; $10 students & seniors
Link: https://writtenfortalea2025.eventbrite.com 

Program:
Emily Koh - bridging:isolation (2013)
George Christofi - Kýklos (2024) *US Premiere
Andreas Tsiartas - We Have All Forgotten (2024) *US Premiere
Evis Sammoutis - Kyprogen?s (2025) *World Premiere
Eric Chasalow - Fever mDream (2025) *World Premiere
Ni Zheng - Chimeric Chamber (2025) *World Premiere - Talea Ensemble Early Career Commission

Artists:
Talea Ensemble

About the Talea Ensemble
Heralded as “a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere” by The New York Times, the Talea Ensemble’s mission is to champion musical creativity, cultivate curious listeners, and bring visionary new works to life with vibrant performances that remain in the audience’s imagination long after a concert. Recipients of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the ensemble has brought to life over 50 commissions of major new works since it was founded in 2008, including bold and inventive productions that span multiple genres, bringing together music and other contemporary art forms such as theater and visual art. Talea has helped introduce NYC audiences to important works of seasoned composers such as Pierre Boulez, Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Olga Neuwirth, Unsuk Chin, and Hans Abrahamsen, and has regularly commissioned composers of the following generations. 

The Talea Ensemble’s work has spanned imaginative performances, collaboration with composers, artist development projects, discussion, and reflection around music. Highlights from Talea’s most recent performance seasons have included: world premieres by Wang Lu, Tyshawn Sorey, Sarah Hennies, Natacha Diels, Anthony Cheung, Agata Zubel, Mark Applebaum, and more; a production of Georg Friedrich Haas’s concert-length Solstices in complete darkness; the US premiere of the immersive theater work Love & Diversity by Manos Tsangaris; and a performance of Julius Eastman’s Femenine in the NY Philharmonic Artist Spotlight Series. 

Festival engagements have included performances at Lincoln Center Festival, Donaueschingen Musiktage, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, TIME:SPANS, Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Wien Modern, Vancouver New Music, Festival Musica, and many more. The ensemble has also partnered with institutions from across disciplines, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, the City of Ideas Festival in Mexico, and the Storm King Art Center. 

Talea undertakes residencies in music departments around the country to support early-career composers. Residencies in the current season include the Peabody Institute, Rice University, Hunter College, Brown University, Ithaca College, and Queens College. Since 2020, Talea has targeted support to early career composers through the Talea Access Project, which includes a commissioning program and a composer recording workshop. Talea is committed to continuing to build these artist development programs in the upcoming seasons.  

Image at top of release by Drew Bordeaux Photography

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