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Hailed by the New York Times as a “versatile sextet…of resourceful players,” yMusic is a group of young performers actively engaged and equally comfortable in the overlapping classical and pop music worlds. Its unique instrumentation includes a traditional string trio as well as the distinctive combination of flute, clarinet and trumpet. This exciting composite of sounds has sparked a burgeoning repertoire of commissions from some of today’s most important artists. Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Ryan Lott (Son Lux), a select group of indie rock luminaries, have crafted instrumental works specifically for the ensemble. yMusic pairs these compositions with new works by New Amsterdam co-founders Judd Greenstein and Sarah Kirkland Snider, as well as Gabriel Kahane, for their fall 2011 release on the label. The pieces have been debuted throughout the 2010-11 season which includes performances at American Songbook and the Ecstatic Music Festival in New York as well as a two-night residency at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis.
In addition to its work as a chamber ensemble, yMusic also serves as a ready-made collaborative unit for artists interested in expanding their sonic palette on recordings and in performance. In April of 2010, the group served as artist-in-residence at the Music Now Festival in Cincinnati. In addition to performing its own set, it joined St. Vincent and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) for collaborative performances in the historic Memorial Hall. In March of 2010, the ensemble served as the instrumental cornerstone for Gabriel Kahane‘s Lincoln Center debut at American Songbook. This critically acclaimed concert will be reprised in the summer of 2011 at various festivals including Chamber Music Northwest and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. yMusic also performed in The Long Count, a multimedia song cycle written by The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner and visual artist, Matthew Ritchie. Co-commissioned by the Krannert Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Long Count featured guests vocalists Kim and Kelley Deal, Shara Worden and Matt Berninger and was performed during the 2009 Next Wave Festival. It will be reprised in the summer of 2011 at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam.
yMusic was created in 2008 and its members have toured and recorded with top artists across genre lines such as Bjork, Peter Gabriel, Antony and the Johnsons, Ryuichi Sakamoto, The National, Rufus Wainwright, Grizzly Bear, Meredith Monk, Yo-Yo Ma, The New York Philharmonic, David Byrne and Sufjan Stevens.
