BLUM & POE and THE CALDER QUARTET
present a benefit for the Calder Performing Arts Organizations
Performances by the Calder Quartet with special guest Terry Riley and DJ sets by artist Dave Muller
September 14, 2011
7:00pm - DJ set, drinks and appetizers
8:30pm - Live music performance
Blum & Poe is pleased to present a night of art and music featuring the Los Angeles-based Calder Quartet and a special guest performance by composer and musician Terry Riley. This event celebrates the release of the limited edition vinyl recording of two previously unreleased works: String Quartet (1960) and String Trio (1961). The evening's live performances will be accompanied by an installation and DJ set from artist Dave Muller.
The Calder Quartet first shared a program with minimalist icon Terry Riley at Los Angeles Philharmonic's Minimalist Jukebox Festival in 2006 and formed a strong bond through working with Riley and continuing to perform his music. More recently, the Calder Quartet opened for Riley at the 2010 Big Ears Festival. A shared love of Riley's music was found in Los Angeles artist Dave Muller and all three collaborated to form the limited edition vinyl release in honor of Riley's 75th birthday. With original artwork by Muller, the album features the world premiere recordings of Riley's first string quartet and string trio. The album is a limited edition of 75 and is only available with the purchase of a VIP ticket.
CALDER QUARTET The Calder Quartet musicians are Benjamin Jacobson, Andrew Bulbrook, Jonathan Moerschel and Eric Byers. Deemed "Superb" by The New York Times, the Calder Quartet continues to expand its unique array of projects by performing traditional quartet repertoire as well as partnering with innovative modern composers, emerging musicians, and performers across genres. The group, inspired by American artist Alexander Calder, was awarded the 2009 ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award in recognition of its exciting programming and collaborations. The quartet has worked with artists ranging from Terry Riley, Christopher Rouse and Thomas Adès to party rocker Andrew W.K. and indie rock bands The Airborne Toxic Event and Vampire Weekend. The Quartet regularly performs in world-famous venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center, and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra's Konserthuset. This past season included the Calder's Carnegie Hall debut and performances at the Melbourne Music Festival with Thomas Adés, the Washington Performing Arts Society, and on tour with GRAMMY® -winning pianist Gloria Cheng.
TERRY RILEY (b. 1935) Composer and performer Terry Riley is credited as a pioneer of the Minimalist movement in music. His seminal 1964 piece In C unveiled new forms of structured, interlocking and repetitive patterns previously unheard in Western music. The influence of Riley's hypnotic, multi-layered, polymetric and brightly orchestrated Eastern-flavored improvisations and compositions is heard across the field of music--it is present in the work of composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass and in Pete Townshend's use of the synthesizer with The Who. His collaborations with artists in a range of fields --from trumpeter Chet Baker to playwright Ken Dewey, dancer Anna Halprin and the Fluxus artists--secured Riley's position as a cornerstone of a cultural movement. While working at Mills College in Northern California in the early 1970s, Riley became close with David Harrington, founder of the Kronos Quartet. His relationship with the Kronos Quartet has produced 13 quartets, a quintet, and a two-hour multi-media piece commissioned by NASA.
DAVE MULLER (b. 1964) Los Angeles-based artist Dave Muller earned his B.A.S. at the University of California, Davis, and his M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts. Working primarily in Acrylic on paper, Muller's large scale painting and multi-media installations stem from his deep love of music and the communal dialogue it generates across cultures. Muller's work has been exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, with solo exhibitions at Blum & Poe, Los Angeles; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Spain; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Gladstone Gallery, New York; White Columns, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco and St. Louis Art Museum. He is represented by Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, Gladstone Gallery, New York, Anthony Meier, San Francisco and The Approach, London.