The Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music) will present Forward Flight, the third and final event of its 7th annual performance season, from Wednesday, January 13th through Saturday, January 16th at New York’s Abrons Arts Center.
This four-night celebration of the eclecticism of the trumpet in contemporary music, curated by Dave Douglas and Taylor Ho Bynum, will feature events on two stages, including performances by a diverse range of ensembles, three free FONT Music Workshop Series events and an opening night tribute to unheralded veteran trumpet player, Wilmer Wise.
The program will include world premieres of music from the New York-based composers collective Anti-Social Music (ASM) and composer David Sanford, whose piece, “Seven Kings”, was commissioned by FONT Music with support from Chamber Music America to be performed by the Meridian Arts Ensemble with guest soloist Dave Ballou. And, The New York Trumpet Ensemble, directed by Mark Gould, will present the New York premiere of Charles Wuorinen‘s Brass Quintet.
Headlining events will include indie folk band The Low Anthem with a special appearance by Dave Douglas, a celebration of the Chicago Underground Duo‘s new CD, Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey), a rare performance of Ornette Coleman’s “The Sacred Mind of Johnny Dolphin” by Wilmer Wise and the American debut of the Open Circuit International Trumpet Ensemble, featuring an all-star cast of trumpet players from America, Austria, Japan and France, presented with support from CMA/FACE French-American Jazz Exchange.
“Forward Flight is a collection of performances designed to highlight the forward-looking trajectory of current brass music,” Douglas explains. “The name is taken from a late fifties album by Booker Little, and like that trumpeter it shows the wide ranging possibilities for this instrument. In the context of alternative folk and rock, in contemporary classical composition, in international hybrids of improvised music and electronics, brass instruments continue to breathe air into the expansion of contemporary trends.”
He adds, “FONT Music is for the first time becoming a membership organization, and this festival feels like a part of that step. In our own community, longtime board member Wilmer Wise will be feted with a ceremony and special performance on January 13th. When combined with a series of workshops free to the public, this seems like a big step in a very special year for FONT Music as an organization and as a music festival.”
Forward Flight schedule:
Wednesday, January 13th at 7:30 p.m.
FONT Music Celebrates the Music and Legacy of Wilmer Wise
Featuring Dave Douglas, Wilmer Wise and several special guests
Thursday, January 14th at 5:00 p.m.
Free workshop: Oral History Project with Wilmer Wise
Anti-Social Music
The New York Trumpet Ensemble directed by Mark Gould
Wilmer Wise
Friday, January 15th at 5:00 p.m.
Free workshop: Ableton Live User Group co-hosted by Dubspot
Opsvik & Jennings plus the Ignite A Noise Trumpet Trio
Chicago Underground Duo
The Low Anthem with special appearance by Dave Douglas
Saturday, January 16th at 5:00 p.m.
Free workshop: Group improvisation with the York College Blue Notes
Mr. Tamerman‘s Maggot and Sarah Ferholt‘s Vevertise
Meridian Arts Ensemble with Dave Ballou
Open Circuit International Trumpet Ensemble
Thursday, Friday and Saturday night events will begin at 5:00 p.m. with a free workshop followed by an early performance in the Blackbox Theatre and headline performances at 7:30 and 9:00 p.m. on the Main Stage.
Tickets for the opening night benefit concert are $35, which also includes a membership in FONT Music and admission to the pre-concert reception. Tickets for the other three nights are $15 ($12 for students with ID and FONT Music members) per night. All tickets can be purchased at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/702215.
A festival pass is also available for $40 ($30 students with ID and FONT members). Passes can be purchased at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/store/209
The Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street (at the corner of Pitt Street) on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Venue information is available at (212) 598-0400 and http://www.abronsartscenter.org
About FONT Music:
FONT Music is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that sustains trumpeters and new trumpet music by commissioning composers, producing concerts, presenting workshops and panels, and supporting music programs in New York City’s public schools. Created by trumpeters for trumpeters, the organization and its diverse programs are currently overseen by Artistic Director Dave Douglas and a volunteer board featuring some of contemporary trumpet music’s most celebrated practitioners.
Founded in 2003 by Douglas and Roy Campbell, FONT Music has presented over 200 concerts by emerging artists and creative pioneers alike at venues all over New York. It has also commissioned new works from more than a dozen young trumpet players, paid tribute to such legendary performers as Louis Armstrong, Don Cherry and Woody Shaw, and presented world premiere performances of music by a long list of notable composers that includes Anthony Braxton, Laurence “Butch” Morris and Wadada Leo Smith.
Its acclaimed efforts have been called “a grand highlight of the musical season” (The New Yorker), “one of the most exciting and diverse of NYC’s annual music festivals” (Time Out New York), “a key showcase for some of the most exciting horn players on the planet” (Chicago Reader) and “an expectedly stellar and eclectic schedule of genre-blurring commissions and exploratory collaborations” (JazzTimes). “By definition,” adds the New York Times‘ Nate Chinen, “the Festival of New Trumpet Music prizes a spirit of innovation; that ‘new’ in the title is no accident.”
Learn more about FONT Music at http://fontmusic.org
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