PHILIP GLASS ENSEMBLE BIOGRAPHY

Established by composer Philip Glass, the first performance by the Philip Glass Ensemble was held in May 1969 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, City. Embraced first by the visual art community working in Soho in the early 1970’s, the early concerts performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble were considered visual as well as musical events and were often performed in art galleries, artist lofts, and museum spaces rather than traditional performing art centers.

Since that time, the members of the PGE have become known as the premiere performers of the music of Philip Glass and continue to be an inspiration for new work. Over the past thirty years, the group has performed on four continents in some of the most prestigious music festivals and concert venues throughout the world. They have been featured in Philip Glass’ opera Einstein on the Beach as well as the music theater projects Hydrogen Jukebox; 1000 Airplanes on the Roof; The Photographer; La Belle et la Bête; and Monsters of Grace.

The Philip Glass Ensemble recently toured internationally with Philip on Film, a festival of film scores by Philip Glass played live in concert with screenings of the original films: Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, La Belle et la Bête, Dracula, and Shorts. On June 4, in Athens, Greece, Glass premiered Orion, a new work for ensemble and world musicians commissioned by the Cultural Olympiad 2001-2004. Following its world premiere in Athens, Orion was performed at the Forest Theater in Thessaloniki, Greece; the Ravenna Festival in Ravenna, Italy; the Les Nuits De Fourviere in Lyon, France; and the Barbican Centre in London, England.

June 2004

 

GUEST COMPOSERS AND PERFORMERS

ELEFTHERIA ARVANITAKI , Vocalist

"There is no doubt about it, the hot name internationally on the Greek music scene isEleftheria Arvanitaki. Her voice has clarity and emotional depth that registers whether or not you understand the words, and the music she sings has a lyricism and instrumental sophistication that sets it apart. Her performances at WOMAD festivals in 1998 marked a transition from performing to Greek communities round the world to a new audience of World Music fans. They weren't disappointed" (Simon Broughton, Editor of World Music Rough Guide, 1999) Eleftheria started her career in the early 80s as the singer of a popular group of rembetika revivalists, named Opisthodromiki Kompania. Rembetika is a music idiom that developed in Greece among the under classes in the early part of the 20th century and was particularly indebted to the Greek refugees from Asia Minor. In 1985, Eleftheria Arvanitaki began her solo career, which quickly established her as one of the most promising female voices for the years to come. Eleftheria's vocal qualities and her ability to combine the traditional and contemporary music of Greece have inspired some of the most distinguished composers, lyricists, and poets of the day to write songs for her. Songs that are now considered 'classics' in Greek music. All her albums have gone platinum.

MARK ATKINS, Didjeridoo

Acknowledged as one of Australia’s very finest didgeridoo players, Mark Atkins is also recognised internationally for his collaborative projects with some of the world’s leading composers and musicians. A descendant of Western Australia’s Yamijti people, as well as of Irish/Australian heritage, Atkins is known not only for his amazing didge-blowing skills, but also as a storyteller, songwriter, drummer, visual artist and instrument maker.

As both a soloist and an ensemble player, Atkins has incorporated the didgeridoo sound into some unlikely musical environments, adding its primal pulse to orchestral works, theatrical productions and dance presentations. He has appeared with the London Philharmonic and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and founded the cross-cultural groups Kooriwadjula (black man/white man) and Anakala. He has worked alongside Philip Glass and Peter Sculthorpe, appeared with Ireland’s Donal Lunney, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and Australian icons James Morrison, Jenny Morris, John Williamson and Gondwana. His iconic didge has also been utilised on a number of symbolic occasions, including the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games, and the Queens Jubilee Concert in London. He also welcomed in the new millennium by playing didge from the sails of Sydney’s famous Opera House. Mark creates and paints his own didgeridoos from bush logs which he collects near his home in Tamworth NSW. Exhibitions of his traditional and contemporary visual artwork have also been shown in Japan, Europe and the United States. In 2003 Atkins was featured in a film documentary about his work, Yamaji Man: Geralton 6350 via New York, which was screened on SBS.

ASHLEY MACISAAC, Violin

Ashley MacIsaac, one of the world’s finest Celtic fiddle players, is known and loved from his native Cape Breton to the dozens of countries in which he has delivered his legendary performances. Since the release of his debut album in 1992, Close to the Floor, Mr. MacIsaac has played with symphonies, appeared off-Broadway in Woyzeck, scored movies, and made numerous television and flim appearances. In 1996 he released his triple-platinum album, Hi, Howa Are You Today. His traditional album, Fine, Thank You Very Much, followed in 1997, rocketing to platinum in less than three months. Mr. MacIsaac’s Gaelic single, “Sleepy Maggie,” shot to the Top 10 on the Canadian charts. He has received Juno, Gemini, Canadian Country Music, and East Coast Music awards and nominations. Mr. MacIsaac has worked with many outstanding poets, songwriters, and musicians, including Philip Glass, Alan Ginsburg, Paul Simon, David Byrne, and Melissa Etheridge, and has also done more than 100 shows with the Chieftains. His latest album is the self-titled Decca Records release, Ashley MacIsaac.

WU MAN, Pipa

Wu man is one of the most outstanding pipa soloists performing today. An inheritress of the Pudong School of Pipa playing - one of the best known pipa schools in China – is recognized internationally as a leading interpreter of contemporary pipa music. Since moving to the United States she has continued to champion new works by composers such as Tan Dun, Bun-Ching Lam, Liu Sola, Zhou Long, Chen Yi and others. In over 300 concert appearances, Wu Man has collaborated with the Kronos Quartet, the New York New Music Consort, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the BBC Scotland Ensemble, the Austria (IRF) Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Nieuw Ensemble in Holland. She has appeared in leading music centers including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York; the Riyal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London; the Theatre de la Ville and Opera Bastille in Paris; and the Cultural Center in Hong Kong; She has taken part in numerous international festivals including the Henry Wood BBC Promenade concerts in London; the Festival d’Automne and the Festival de Radio France in Paris; the Wien Modern Festival and the Musicprotodoll '96 in Austria; the Festival International Cervantino in Mexico; the Asian Arts Festival in Hong Kong; the Music Lifes! Festival in Pittsburgh; the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco; Bang on a Can! in New York; and the Chicago Jazz Festival. Wu Man's playing can be heard on two albums release by Nimbus - Wu Man (1993) and Wu Man & Ensemble (1996), as well as on Kronos Quartet's new recording Ghost Opera (Nonesuch), Henry Threadgill's Carry the Day (Sony), and composer/singer Sola's Blues In The East (Polygram). Wu man has made radio and television broadcasts throughout China, the United States, Japan and British. She has recently appeared on National Public Radio and New York public radio station WNYC. Born in Hangzhou, China, Wu Man began her professional music training at the age of ten. Graduate of Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the first recipient of a master degree in pipa. She is the winner of China First National Academic Competition for Chinese Music Instruments. Wu Man currently lives in Massachusetts.

RAVI SHANKAR, Composition for Sitar

Ravi Shankar, the legendary sitarist and composer is India's most esteemed musical Ambassador and a singular phenomenon in the classical music worlds of East and West. As a performer, composer, teacher and writer, he has done more for Indian music than any other musician. He is well known for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West. This however, he did only after long years of dedicated study under his illustrious guru Baba Allaudin Khan and after making a name for himself in India. Always ahead of his time, Ravi Shankar has written two concertos for sitar and orchestra, violin-sitar compositions for Yehudi Menuhin and himself, music for flute virtuoso Jean Pierre Rampal, music for Hosan Yamamoto, master of the Shakuhachi and Musumi Miyashita - Koto virtuoso, and collaborated with Phillip Glass (Passages). George Harrison produced and participated in two record albums, "Shankar Family & Friends" and "Festival of India" composed by Ravi Shankar. He has composed extensively for films and Ballets in India, Canada, Europe and the United States, including Charly, Gandhi and Apu Trilogy. Ravi Shankar is an honourary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and is a member of the United Nations International Rostrum of composers. He has received many awards and honours from his own country and from all over the world, including fourteen doctorates, the Padma Vibhushan, Desikottam, the Magsaysay Award from Manila, two Grammy's, the Fukuoka grand Prize from Japan, the Crystal award from Davos, with the title 'Global Ambassador' to name some. In 1986 he was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha, India's upper house of Parliament. His recording "Tana Mana", released on the private Music label in 1987, brought Mr. Shankar's music into the "New age" with its unique method of combining traditional instruments with electronics. In the period of the awakening of the younger generation in the mid 60's, Ravi Shankar gave three memorable concerts - Monterey Pop Festival, Concert for Bangla Desh and The Woodstock Festival. Mr. Shankar has several disciples and many of them are now very successful concert artists and composers. The love and respect he commands both in India and in the West is unique in the annals of the history of music. In 1989, this remarkable musician celebrated his 50th year of concertising, and the city of Birmingham Touring Opera Company commissioned him to do a Music Theatre (Ghanashyam - a broken branch), which created history on the British arts scene.

KARTIK SESHADRI , Sitar

Kartik Seshadri, sitar virtuoso, is internationally acclaimed as one of India’s outstanding musicians and the foremost disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. His initial training in music began with Shri Shankar Rao of All India Radio, who nurtured his precocious musical abilities. As a young genius, Kartik had an illustrious performing career, and in 1965 he met the world renowned maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, who was already a profound musical influence in his life. Kartik became a disciple of the maestro in 1974 and has since been receiving talim (knowledge) steeped in the distinctive and pure styles of the senia, beenkar and dhrupad traditions. His concerts in India frequently include prestigious festivals such as the Sangeeth Nataka Academy, Dover Lane Music Conference, Madras Music Academy, Gunidas Sangeeth Sammelan, Indian Fine Arts Society, Saptak, and Sangeeth Research Academy (SRA) Music Festival, establishing him as a musician of national importance. In the United States and Canada, Kartik’s recent solo engagements have included the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, World Music Institute, Asia Society, Vancouver Jazz Festival and Ravi Shankar’s 75th Birthday Celebrations. Kartik has had the added honor of accompanying Pandit Ravi Shankar in major concert halls through-out the world: India, Europe, Middle East, Japan, Mexico and the United States, including Carnegie Hall. Kartik is also a distinguished composer and educator of Indian music. His composition Quartet for a Raga received its world premiere in Washington, DC under the auspices of the Contemporary Music Forum. He also serves on the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, where he heads one of the largest programs of Indian Classical music in the country.

Foday Musa Suso is an internationally recognized musician and a Mandingo griot (musician/oral historian of the Mandingo people) born in West Africa. Suso grew up in a society where griots function as walking libraries, singing their stories for the community while providing history, wisdom and entertainment. Tribal conflicts, empires and kingdoms, cultural heroes, and family lineage are part of his traditional repertoire, which encompasses extensive verbal and musical recitations. In addition to his virtuosic kora (West African 21-stringed harp lute) playing and singing, Suso is also a drummer and composer. Suso was born in the West African nation of Gambia and spent his childhood on a peanut farm, studying music and history as an heir to the hereditary griot lineage. After years of rigorous study he left his homeland and established himself in Chicago in the 1970's. Since that time he has performed throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Interested in both traditional and cutting-edge idioms, Suso has toured and recorded with many prominent musicians including Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, Pharoah Sanders, and Ginger Baker.

In addition, Suso has worked closely with the Kronos Quartet, an ensemble who commissioned him to compose five works. They collaborated at venues ranging from New York's Lincoln Center and California's Institute of the Arts to the Staatsoper Opera House in Vienna, Austria and the Royal Festival Hall in London. Performing with a variety of other artists, as a soloist, or as leader and founder of the fusion-jazz band, The Mandigo Griot Society, Suso has also appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall and Central Park Summerstage, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Frankfurt International Jazz Festival in Germany and at the Cultural Center in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Among the many record labels Suso has recorded for: Island, Lyrichord, Folkways, Axiom, CBS, Sony, Flying Fish, Celluloid, CMP, Point Music/Philips Classics, Ellipsis Arts, Rhizome Sketch, Polygram, and Nonesuch. He has also performed on several film soundtracks including Roots, Powaqqatsi, and Mountain of the Moon. Other career highlights include working as a performer and consultant for a Japanese documentary film on African music and the book/cd, Jali Kunda: Griots of West Africa and Beyond.

The award winning experimental Brazilian group UAKTI (Paulo Sérgio dos Santos, Artur Andrés Ribeiro, Décio de Souza Ramos Filho, and Musical Director/Instrument Creator Marco Antônio Guimarães) has delighted audiences and crossed musical genre lines for decades. Using materials such as glass, metal, rocks, rubber, gourds, and even water, UAKTI constructs their own instruments, believing that everything can produce sound. UAKTI has collaborated with celebrated artists such as Paul Simon, Manhattan Transfer, Milton Nascimento, and Philip Glass. The dynamic collaboration with Philip Glass produced three albums, as well as a ballet score for the Brazilian dance company, Grupo Corpo, entitled 7 or 8 Pieces for Ballet. UAKTI has received various awards for their work over the years, most notably the Ministério da Cultura award for best Brazilian Popular Music group, as well as the Satista 97 award for innovation in Brazilian Popular Music.UAKTI draws its name from the Brazilian Indian legend of an enormous creature that lived on the banks of the Negro River in the Amazon. The mythic UAKTI had holes all over his body, and when he ran through the forest, the wind, passing through his body, would make fantastic, unusual sounds. The Indian women were captivated by the sound, and the men, in jealousy, hunted and killed the UAKTI. On the site of the creature’s burial, three big palm trees grew, whose trunks were used by the Indians to make musical instruments that when played would evoke the sounds of the UAKTI running freely through the woods.

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