Ensemble Connect is made up of extraordinary young professional classical musicians residing in the US who take part in a two-year fellowship program created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute. The program prepares fellows for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership by offering top-quality performance opportunities, intensive professional development, and partnerships throughout the fellowship with New York City public schools.
Ensemble Connect returns to Weill Recital Hall on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 to offer the New York premiere of seven sisters paint the earth by inti figgis-vizueta (commissioned by Carnegie Hall), which follows the musicians’ world premiere of the same piece a few days earlier at Skidmore College. The musicians also perform Gabriela Lena Frank’s early career gem Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout, Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Tania León’s woodwind quintet De Memorias, and Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major.
Ensemble Connect Up Close Up Close, 05/08/2023 (photo Fadi Kheir)
Opening its fifth season, Ensemble Connect returns to the Weill Music Room in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing with an Up Close performance. These concerts explore different approaches to presenting classical music by experimenting with concert formats, audience engagement, and multimedia to activate the performance space in exciting new ways. (Click here to get a special glimpse into the series.)
On Monday, March 18 at 7:30 PM Tania León collaborates with Ensemble Connect on an Up Close program that features music exclusively written by living composers. There are two world premieres, both commissioned by Carnegie Hall: Natalie Brown’s insomni/black featuring choreography by Eduardo Vilaro, Ballet Hispánico’s artistic director, and Nathalie Joachim’s I’m Right Here. Ms. León’s Axon for Violin Solo and Interactive Computer, Viet Cuong’s Fine Lines, and selections from Paquito D’Rivera’s Aires Tropicales complete the program.
On Tuesday, April 9 at 7:30, also at Weill Recital Hall, is a special performance as part of Carnegie Hall’s citywide festival: Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice. Anchored by Berg’s dramatic Lyric Suite, a string quartet that achieved immediate and lasting popularity long before the discovery of its hidden origins and the illicit affair baked right into its score. This enlightening program also features Gershwin’s Lullaby, a string quartet unheard for decades; Schulhoff’s stylistically fluid Concertino for Flute, Viola, and Double Bass; and Kurt Weill’s String Quartet, Op. 8., written by Weill when he was under the tutelage of Busoni.
On Monday, May 6 at 7:30, electronics designer and percussionist Levy Lorenzo joins as artistic partner for a second Up Close performance that transcends boundaries in the Weill Music Room, featuring original music by Lorenzo alongside his fresh take on iconic works. The ensemble will embark on a journey of creativity, constructing their own electronic instruments to unveil a fusion of classical mastery and modern technology.
Tickets for the February 20 and April 9 performances in Weill Recital Hall are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website.
Tickets for events held in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing can be purchased exclusively by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org; they are not available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office.For more information on discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts.