American Composers Orchestra; Playing in UNsafe at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall

American Composers Orchestra’s (ACO) six-month Playing It UNsafe project, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, will culminate on Friday, March 4, 2011 with a performance by ACO’s Orchestra Underground led by ACO’s Music Director George Manahan at 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall (57th and 7th Avenue). Five composers were chosen to participate in Playing It UNsafe – including saxophonist and composer/improviser Henry Threadgill. Henry Threadgill’s “No Gates, No White Trenches, Butterfly Effect,” which will be world premiered on March 4, embraces improvisation and requires new levels of interaction and collaboration with the orchestra conductor and players...

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American Composers Orchestra’s (ACO) six-month Playing It UNsafe project, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, will culminate on Friday, March 4, 2011 with a performance by ACO’s Orchestra Underground led by ACO’s Music Director George Manahan at 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall (57th and 7th Avenue). Five composers were chosen to participate in Playing It UNsafe – including saxophonist and composer/improviser Henry Threadgill. Henry Threadgill’s “No Gates, No White Trenches, Butterfly Effect,” which will be world premiered on March 4, embraces improvisation and requires new levels of interaction and collaboration with the orchestra conductor and players. A unique aspect of the piece is the expanded role the conductor plays in facilitating the improvisation within the structure of the piece: in addition to setting tempos and dynamics, the conductor is asked to use a series of gestures to cue different sections of the orchestra to improvise.

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