Friday, May 17, 2013, at 7:00 pm
LIC Arts Open Festival at The Gotham Center
42-09 28th Street at Queens Plaza South (map)
Long Island City
Subway: N, Q, 7 to Queensboro Plaza; E, M, R to Queens Plaza
Suggested donation: $10
See the full interview here.
Program:
FREDERIC HAND Chorale*
PAT IRWIN Unsung Hymn for a Friend*
JOSHUA EUSTIS How Slowly, All of a Sudden*
ALAN HIRSH A New Dawn
CORELLI Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 8
* Commissioned by the NYCCGS for the New York City Guitar Orchestra
The New York City Guitar Orchestra, now in its third season, is a unique community organization with a mission to build the repertoire for guitar ensemble while providing great performances and an engaging and social musical experience for orchestra members and audiences alike. The Orchestra’s ambitious commissioning program has produced works from composers who range from the world of film scoring to the avante-garde — as well as the guitarist of the B-52s — made possible by a generous grant from The Augustine Foundation. The Orchestra is a project of the New York City Classical Guitar Society.
Director Jason Sagebiel is a composer, conductor, guitarist, and former US Marine Corps Sergeant who studied Iraqi music and the ‘ud in Iraq during the war in 2003. Despite suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, Jason has since been featured on the radio programs SoundCheck and The Front Row; has performed and conducted at many major venues including Carnegie Hall and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and was a featured performer and composer on the acclaimed “Concerts and Conversations” series at Elebash Hall, where music critic Alex Ross responded, “I’m fascinated by [Jason’s] story and music, and very moved, I think, by the layers of meaning … it’s really quite amazing.” Jason’s compositions have been performed across the U.S., by the Second Instrumental Unit, the Alias Chamber Ensemble, and the Cygnus Ensemble, among others. He is currently composing a new piece setting the poetry of the Iraqi Drees Reisan Abul-Ameer. Jason is published by EarthSongs Music and is currently writing a book about his experiences in Iraq. He is on the faculties of the City University of New York and Concordia Conservatory, and runs his own music school, Sage Music.
