Canceled: Sono Fest! at Soapbox Gallery
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Due to positive COVID-19 tests in the production staff, the remaining dates of Sono Fest! at Soapbox Gallery have been canceled.
This includes tonight's concert (June 12) with the Momenta Quartet, the concerts June 13-18 and the "Coda" concert with tenor Mark Padmore on June 23.
Canceled: Soapbox Gallery presents Sono Fest! June 6-18 & 23, curated by Ethan Iverson
"among the best chamber music shows I'd heard all season" – Seth Colter Walls, New York Times
Sono Fest! in the news:
Feature article in the New York Times.
Soapbox Gallery owner Jimmy Greenfield speaks with The Best is Noise host Ben Gambuzza in an interview on Radio Free Brooklyn.
Ethan Iverson speaks about Sono Fest! in an Insider Interview.
Program descriptions written by curator Ethan Iverson
All concerts are at Soapbox Gallery (636 Dean St., Brooklyn, NY)
Live-stream and in-person tickets available here
There are two hour-long concerts every night at 7:30 and 9 pm EDT, more like jazz practice than classical convention. We expect to turn the room over (there are only 60 seats) so most of those who are performing formally notated works will probably play the same program twice (a comparatively rare opportunity to enjoy such a liberating sequence).
Canceled: Sono Fest! June 6-18 & 23
June 6: Ethan Iverson/Miranda Cuckson, violin
June 7: Ethan Iverson/Chris Potter, saxophone
June 8: Miranda Cuckson, violin
June 9: Taka Kigawa, piano
June 10: Timo Andres, piano
June 11: Sam Newsome, saxophone and Sylvie Courvoisier, piano
June 12: Momenta Quartet
June 13: Judith Berkson, singer/pianist/composer
June 14: Marta Sanchez, piano
June 15: Aaron Diehl, piano
June 16: Scott Wollschleger, composer
June 17: Han Chen, piano
June 18: Composer Robert Cuckson (1st set)
June 18: Ethan Iverson (2nd set)
June 23: *Coda* concert with tenor Mark Padmore (details below)
More details here.
June 23: Tenor Mark Padmore at Soapbox Gallery
June 23: Tenor Mark Padmore in intimate gallery in Brooklyn
Concert with pianist Ethan Iverson and poet Sarah Deming concludes first annual Sono Fest!, in-person and live-streamed worldwide
Sono Fest! June 6-23 at Soapbox Gallery features two weeks of top contemporary classical and jazz artists
On June 23, tenor Mark Padmore comes to the intimate Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn (646 Dean St). Performing in a 60-seat venue, Padmore is joined by pianist Ethan Iverson and poet Sarah Deming for their "Songs of the Earth" program. The trio performs two sets at 7:30 and 9 pm EDT to in-person audiences, and live-streamed worldwide. The concert concludes the inaugural Sono Fest! at Soapbox, June 6-23.
The program features lieder from Britten, Schubert, Ives, and many others, alongside poetry from Mary Oliver, Lawrence Durrell, Philip Larken, and others.
Sono Fest! (June 6-23 at Soapbox Gallery) features nightly performances from the most spectacular artists in classical and jazz: pianists Ethan Iverson, Aaron Diehl, Taka Kigawa, Sylvie Courvoisier, Timo Andres, violinist Miranda Cuckson, Momenta Quartet, saxophonist Sam Newsome, and much more.
"This is a festival of modern greats" says composer/jazz and classical pianist superstar Ethan Iverson who curates the series. The festival boasts in-person and live-streamed performances at 7:30 and 9 pm EDT every night (June 6-18 and 23) at Soapbox Gallery (636 Dean St, Brooklyn, NY).
Calendar Listing
Sono Fest! "Coda"
Songs of the Earth
Mark Padmore, tenor
Ethan Iverson, piano
Sarah Deming, poet
June 23, 2023
sets at 7:30 pm and 9 pm EDT
Soapbox Gallery (636 Dean St., Brooklyn, NY)
Live-stream and in-person tickets available here
Billy Collins As if to demonstrate an eclipse
Franz Schubert Im Abendrot
Mary Oliver Mysteries, Yes
Gustav Mahler Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft
Kathleen Jamie Perfect Day
Aaron Copland Nature, the Gentlest Mother
Hanns Eisler Sprinkling of Gardens
Robin Robertson Keys to the Door
Gabriel Fauré Prison
Philip Larkin Going, going
Reynaldo Hahn Chanson d’automne
Tansy Davies Destroying Beauty
Seamus Heaney Clearances
Benjamin Britten The auld Aik
Charles Ives The Cage
Rainer Maria Rilke The Panther
Rebecca Clarke The Tiger
D H Lawrence The Snake
Sally Beamish O Hoopoe
Wallace Stevens Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Charles Ives Housatonic at Stockbridge
Franz Schubert Die Mutter Erde
Hayden Carruth Essay
Ralph Vaughan Williams Nocturne
Mary Oliver When Death Comes
Gustav Holst Betelgeuse
Thomas Hardy To Meet or Otherwise
Franz Schubert Frühlingsglaube
Sono Fest! Curated by Ethan Iverson
June 6-23, sets at 7:30 & 9 pm
In-person and live-streamed
Soapbox Gallery (636 Dean St, Brooklyn)
An explosion of creativity is bursting through the intimate Soapbox Gallery. The inaugural Sono Fest! features 13 nights of performances by some of the most spectacular artists in classical and jazz: pianists Ethan Iverson, Aaron Diehl, Taka Kigawa, Sylvie Courvoisier, and Timo Andres; violinist Miranda Cuckson, Momenta Quartet, saxophonist Chris Potter, and much more.
Curated by composer/jazz and classical pianist superstar Ethan Iverson, the festival boasts in person and live streamed performances at 7:30 and 9 pm EDT every night.
Details and programs here; in-person and livestream tickets here.
June 6: Ethan Iverson/Miranda Cuckson, violin
June 7: Ethan Iverson/Chris Potter, saxophone
June 8: Miranda Cuckson, violin
June 9: Taka Kigawa, piano
June 10: Timo Andres, piano
June 11: Sam Newsome, saxophone and Sylvie Courvoisier, piano
June 12: Momenta Quartet
June 13: Judith Berkson, singer/pianist/composer
June 14: Marta Sanchez, piano
June 15: Aaron Diehl, piano
June 16: Scott Wollschleger, composer
June 17: Han Chen, piano
June 18: Composer Robert Cuckson (1st set)
June 18: Ethan Iverson (2nd set)
June 23: *Coda* concert with tenor Mark Padmore (see details above)
Insider Interview with Sono Fest! curator Ethan Iverson
On June 6-18, and June 23, 2023, the Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn presents its first annual Sono Fest!, featuring top performers in jazz and classical music.
Pianist, composer and man of many other talents Ethan Iverson curated the two-week festival, which takes place in the cozy atmosphere of the 60-seat art gallery venue. Every music fan, no matter where they are, will be able to attend, as all of the performances are live-streamed worldwide.
Here is an interview with Ethan Iverson about the festival.
Classical Music Communications: How did you meet Soapbox Gallery owner Jimmy Greenfield, and how did the idea of Sono Fest! come about?
Ethan Iverson: When I played a nice jazz duo gig at Soapbox with trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, I was impressed with the interesting space, the excellent piano, and the fact that Jimmy was a nice guy.
Truthfully we are starved for venues in New York: so many worthy musicians, so few places to play. I’d been thinking about Soapbox a while, and then Jimmy called out of the blue, looking for input. I suggested that a festival of modern greats might raise the venue’s profile.
CMC: Why do you call it Sono Fest! ? What's the overarching theme of the festival?
EI: Jimmy came up with the name.
The theme is basically: these are all musicians I dig! I love both jazz and classical music, and these are some of the best practitioners of either genre.
There’s a certain amount of progressive thinking on view as well. Everyone on this program is moving it forward, at times on multiple paths. I play the first night with classical violin virtuoso Miranda Cuckson, then the second night with jazz saxophone virtuoso Chris Potter. It’s comparatively unusual for someone to do that, but I honestly believe this is the future we need and want. My next jazz album for the Blue Note label will include my fully-notated Piano Sonata: the first sonata on Blue Note.
Even the coda featuring Mark Padmore is progressive. Padmore sells out big halls doing German lieder with star pianists. But he’s also interested in community outreach and assessing the larger story of humans on this planet. His “Songs of the Earth” program, which combines songs with poetry recited by Sarah Deming, is a humble but sincere serve to making a better world.
CMC: How did you choose this collection of musicians?
EI: Many are friends or colleagues, people I really respect as a person and as a musician. The hardest part was not extending the programming for a month or two! For a moment I was even considering giving everyone just one set, that way I’d have twice as many slots to play with. Well, we will see how this goes and adjust accordingly for next time.
The people who I don’t really know personally are more from the classical side, the string quartet Momenta and the pianists Taka Kigawa and Han Chen. They are all playing programs of the highest technical and musical difficulty, after having spent hours and hours rehearsing and practicing those programs. For Soapbox, Momenta, Kigawa, and Chen are all performing their program twice the same night. After putting in all that work, often the classical musicians just get a chance to do a program once.
Some jazz cats could learn a bit about a serious work ethic from the classical cats — not that the jazz musicians on the Soapbox series don’t put in the work. In fact, that’s one unifying element about Sono Fest! cast: everyone present spends a lot of time alone in a room, working it out.
CMC: As both performer and curator for the festival, what is alluring about performing at Soapbox Gallery?
EI: The piano is excellent, maybe the best piano in Brooklyn. And it just so great to play in an intimate space.
CMC: There are so many incredible concerts for audiences to unpack here. What concert would you point to for the audience member who’s looking for a concert that’s… contemplative? … intellectual? …. someone looking for virtuosic thrill?
EI: Perhaps the best thing is to sort by genre. I’m known as a jazz musician, and the concerts with Chris Potter, Sam Newsome + Sylvie Courvoisier, Aaron Diehl, and Marta Sánchez are all going to have breathtaking improvisations: sounds created in real time. On the other hand, there are solo and chamber concerts of formal notation, which include Miranda Cuckson, Taka Kigawa, the Momenta Quartet, Han Chen, and Mark Padmore. There are two composer features, Scott Wollschleger and Robert Cuckson, both offering mixed programs with the best freelance chamber musicians in NYC. (The Momenta sets are also a bit of composer feature, I specifically asked them to play quartets from Alvin Singleton.) Judith Berkson is unclassifiable, she will be singing, playing piano, and generating electroacoustic work, while Timo Andres is also polymath, playing rags, mazurkas, and his own piano music. I’m looking forward to each and every set!
Ethan Iverson curates 2 weeks of spectacular artists
Soapbox Gallery presents Sono Fest! June 6-18, curated by Ethan Iverson
Two sets nightly live-streamed & in-person by Ethan Iverson, Taka Kigawa, Aaron Diehl, Timo Andres and more
Just added: June 23 "Coda" concert with tenor Mark Padmore
An explosion of creativity is bursting through the intimate Soapbox Gallery (636 Dean St) in Brooklyn June 6-18. The inaugural Sono Fest! features nightly performances by the most spectacular artists in classical and jazz: pianists Ethan Iverson, Aaron Diehl, Taka Kigawa, Sylvie Courvoisier, Timo Andres, violinist Miranda Cuckson, Momenta Quartet, saxophonist Sam Newsome, and much more. Newly announced is a "Coda" concert with tenor Mark Padmore on June 23.
Curated by composer/jazz and classical pianist superstar Ethan Iverson, the festival boasts in person and live-streamed performances at 7:30 and 9 pm EDT every night. Full program details below.
Tickets are $25 in-person, or $15 for the live-stream, available at SoapboxGallery.org.
Program descriptions written by curator Ethan Iverson
All concerts are at Soapbox Gallery (636 Dean St., Brooklyn, NY)
Live-stream and in-person tickets available here
There are two hour-long concerts every night at 7:30 and 9 pm EDT, more like jazz practice than classical convention. We expect to turn the room over (there are only 60 seats) so most of those who are performing formally notated works will probably play the same program twice (a comparatively rare opportunity to enjoy such a liberating sequence).
Tuesday, June 6: Ethan Iverson, piano with Miranda Cuckson, violin
Ethan Iverson duo with Miranda Cuckson showcases my admiration of formal composition in the American grain. Our repertoire includes mid-century violin sonatas by Louise Talma and George Walker alongside an Elegy by another particular favorite, Peter Lieberson. To round out the program, I’ll also play my recent Piano Sonata. (More on Miranda below, she appears four times in the festival.)
Program:
Louise Talma Violin Sonata
Peter Lieberson Elegy
Ethan Iverson Piano Sonata
George Walker Violin Sonata
Wednesday, June 7: Ethan Iverson duo with Chris Potter, saxophone
After the first night of formal composition, I will relax into the second night’s improvised excursions featuring a brilliant and versatile avatar of modern jazz, saxophonist Chris Potter. The set list will include whatever we feel like playing that evening...
Thursday, June 8: Violinist Miranda Cuckson
Miranda Cuckson delivers the most challenging music in a forthright and engaging manner. If I had an unlimited budget and resources I’d present the New York City premiere of the violin concerto Georg Friedrich Haas wrote for her; as it stands, I will enjoy her sublime solo sets. When she plays microtonal pieces by Xenakis, Sciarrino, and other high modernists, one can hear Miranda sing the blues.
Program:
J.S. Bach C major Sonata BWV 1005
Stewart Goodyear Solo
Iannis Xenakis Mikka S
Friday, June 9: Pianist Taka Kigawa
Taka Kigawa is famous for legendary programs of contemporary music in unlikely spaces. A few months ago, I was on assignment in somewhat random circumstances and suddenly realized Taka Kigawa was sitting right in front of me. For much of this list I am calling in favors…but in this case I now owe Mr. Kigawa one.
Program:
Pascal Dusapin Etudes (complete)
Saturday, June 10: Pianist Timo Andres
Timo Andres fits the bill: he’s a true composer-pianist of the old school, a proper virtuoso and a major voice in composition. To my delight, Timo has offered to play his program of Joplin Rags and Chopin Mazurkas. I have also insisted that he include a few of his own remarkable rhythmic and poetic piano pieces, which someday will be thought of as classic Americana.
Program:
Robin Holcomb Wherein Lies the Good
Frédéric Chopin Mazurka Op. 24 no. 2
Scott Joplin Magnetic Rag
Chopin Mazurka Op. 17 no. 1
Joplin Gladiolus Rag
Chopin Mazurka Op. 59 no. 3
Joplin A Breeze From Alabama
Chopin Mazurka Op. 24, no. 4
Joplin Euphonic Sounds
Chopin Mazurka Op. 56 no. 1
Joplin Paragon Rag
Timo Andres Wise Words
Andres Honest Labor
Sunday, June 11: Saxophonist Sam Newsome
Sam Newsome is a regular collaborator of mine in the score to Pepperland for the Mark Morris Dance Group, which we have performed together over 60 times. Hidden in plain sight, Sam is one of the freshest musical minds in New York. He mastered straight-ahead jazz, playing solid tenor for Terence Blanchard in the ‘90s, before changing to soprano and adopting a decidedly avant-garde approach, incorporating extended techniques and developing a language for solo saxophone. Joining him for some duo explorations will be innovative pianist and improviser Sylvie Courvoisier.
Monday, June 12: Momenta Quartet
The Momenta Quartet (Emilie-Anne Gendron, Alex Shiozaki, Stephanie Griffin, Michael Haas) has recently released a wonderful recording of Alvin Singleton quartets. I have interviewed Singleton and regard him as one of the true living masters, with the four string quartets being a major contribution to this hallowed form. Momenta will play Singleton’s quartets no. 2 “Secret Desire to Be Black” and no. 4 “Hallelujah Anyhow” at Soapbox, alongside Meredith Monk’s lovely “String Songs.”
Program:
Alvin Singleton Quartet no. 2 “Secret Desire to Be Black”
Meredith Monk String Songs
Alvin Singleton Quartet no. 4 “Hallelujah Anyhow”
Tuesday, June 13: Judith Berkson
Judith Berkson: singer, pianist, composer, cantor. My first exposure to Judith was at a rare NYC concert by the late Joe Maneri, an epic event that lives in my mind as one of the finest avant-garde jazz gigs I’ve ever seen. Judith has diverse capabilities. She creates electronic re-toolings of Robert Schumann; her solo ECM album Oylam is hypnotic; when she unleashes her full cantorial vocal style, the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
Program:
Berkson electroacoustic pieces
Schubert lieder
Wednesday, June 14: Pianist Marta Sánchez
Marta Sánchez has a bright future. I have written liner notes for two of her records and dig David Murray’s current quartet with Marta in a heavily-featured role. Her intricate and contrapuntal jazz compositions are in the modern style, but, crucially, they are also informed by the long musical lineage of her native country, Spain.
Program:
Marta Sánchez new etudes for prepared piano
Thursday, June 15: Pianist Aaron Diehl
Aaron Diehl has grown into being not just a pianist of the first rank but an ambassador across several disciplines. Aaron swings Gershwin with the symphony, he smartly updates James P. Johnson and John Lewis for the modern taste, he casually deals out correct Bach at a recital, and rages into atonality with Tyshawn Sorey at the club. One of a kind.
Friday, June 16: Composer Scott Wollschleger
Scott Wollschleger possesses an ear for fresh notes, and delivers them in a slow and almost terrifying manner: Morton Feldman meets Thelonious Monk meets H.P. Lovecraft. His pianist is the stellar Karl Larson, who will supply mostly solo Wollschleger for the first set, with Miranda Cuckson joining on viola for one piece. In the second set, Miranda will play a Wollschleger violin premiere; other solo and chamber music will include Miranda, Larson, John Popham and Kevin Sims.
Program: Set 1
Scott Wollschleger
Tiny Oblivion
Music Without Metaphor
Brontal No. 2
Brontal No. 6
Brontal No. 11
Brontal No. 12
Secret Machine No. 4
Secret Machine No. 6
Karl Larson, piano
Soft Aberration No. 2
Karl Larson, piano; Miranda Cuckson, viola
Program: Set 2
Lost Anthems (NYC premiere)
Karl Larson, piano; Miranda Cuckson, viola
Fish of the sea (NYC premiere)
Kevin Sims, percussion
Secret Machine No. 7 (World premiere)
Miranda Cuckson, violin
Brontal Symmetry
Cuckson, violin; Larson, piano; John Popham, cello
Saturday, June 17: Pianist Han Chen
Han Chen is a major virtuoso and has carved out a vital place in the NYC scene. When Thomas Adès gave a master class at New England Conservatory several years ago, I cancelled my own NEC students in order to go check it out. Chen played Adès’s “Traced Overhead” and the composer told him, “You play it better than me.” The whole Naxos recital of Adès by Chen is marvelous. At Soapbox, Chen will play “Traced Overhead” alongside further masterpieces by Berg, Corigliano, and Ravel.
Program:
Alban Berg Piano Sonata Op. 1
John Corigliano Etude-Fantasy
Thomas Adès Traced Overhead
Maurice Ravel Gaspard de la nuit
Sunday, June 18: Composer Robert Cuckson (first set)
Robert Cuckson is another great NYC composer who lives a bit below the radar. When Miranda told me her dad was really good I demanded aural evidence, and, of course, Miranda was right. His style features long form structures that unfold in an unforced manner, high on lyricism and swept with chromaticism. For Father’s Day, Miranda will join a cast of elite chamber musicians including Haodong Wu, David Ordovsky, and Blair McMillen for a set of flute, violin, viola, and piano music.
Program:
Robert Cuckson
Objets de vertu
Haodong Wu, piano
Lines from Vergil
Wu, piano; David Ordovsky, flute
The Ballad of Camden Town
Ordovsky, flute
Boat of Ra
Miranda Cuckson, violin; Blair McMillen, piano
Six Piano Pieces
McMillen, piano
Fantasia on a Song by Delius
Miranda Cuckson, viola; Blair McMillen, piano
Sunday, June 18: Pianist Ethan Iverson (second set)
To conclude the festival I will play a solo set of surprises, undoubtedly influenced by all the sounds I’ve taken in from the previous two weeks. Dancer Reggie Parker also plans to make an appearance….
“Coda” Concert
Friday, June 23: Tenor Mark Padmore
with Ethan Iverson, piano and poet Sarah Deming
Mark Padmore is visiting America to join the summer session of Marlboro Music under Mitsuko Uchida. On his way there, Padmore will be stopping by Soapbox to give his Songs of the Earth program, featuring lieder from Britten, Schubert, Ives, and many others, alongside poetry from Mary Oliver, Lawerence Durrell, Philip Larkin, and many others. Sarah Deming will recite the poetry and I will play the piano. We performed this program last season and it was a hit with audiences; it also an extremely rare opportunity to hear Padmore in such an intimate space.
Program descriptions written by curator Ethan Iverson