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Gods & Monsters, Fables & Film
Discover the Fulcrum Point Experience !

With Fulcrum Point, the excitement starts the moment you step off the street. From the pre-show playlist to live performances that strike like a hit of adrenaline, from dramatic lighting and video projections to the joyous lobby-party finish -- each element is packed with pleasant surprise. 

Experience music that’s individual -- startling, zen-calm, wise-cracking or passionate. It’s being composed -- sometimes mid-performance -- around the globe right now, and Fulcrum Point brings the best of it to Chicago.

This season we’ve found inspiration in our favorite movies, the myths we can’t shake and the machines that hum in what used to be the background. In three bold programs, including eight works that have never been performed in Chicago, you’ll see why Fulcrum Point has earned a decade-long reputation as the city’s leader in really new music.  

Each concert lasts around 75 minutes -- a “small plates” menu of musical tastes. Afterward, hang out in the Harris lobby for wine (compliments of Vin DiVino), hors d’oeuvres and conversation with the artists.  

So chart a new course, and stimulate your senses. Delight in the discoveries of Fulcrum Point.  

2008 - 2009 Season

Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"Soundtracks in New-Art Music"
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 East Randolph Drive, Chicago, IL
7:30 p.m.

This is the music that haunts you long after the lights come up. Herrmann’s slashing score to Psycho invented the sound of horror. Radiohead guitarist Greenwood unleashed the coiled tension of There Will Be Blood. Takemitsu tapped a fascination with aquatic life as deep as the ocean itself. And Nyman’s rushing melodies brought The Piano its rapture and sweep. These cinematic works --each accompanied by highlights from the films -- will set your spirit free and move you to lose yourself in ecstatic melody. 

Psycho Narrative from Psycho (1960) -- Bernard Herrmann
Popcorn Superhet Receiver from There Will Be Blood (2007) -- Jonny Greenwood (Midwest Premiere)
Toward the Sea II from the Greenpeace “Save the Whales” campaign (1983) -- Toru Takemitsu
The Piano For Strings from The Piano (1992) -- Michael Nyman

Featured Artists:

Mary Stolper, flute
Kara Bershad, harp
Lori Kaufman, piano

The net proceeds from this concert will fund Sound Tracks, Fulcrum Point’s innovative program that brings world and new music to Chicago Public Schools.

Ticket prices include a post-concert reception with the artists, featuring hors d’oeuvres with wines generously donated by Chicago-based Vin DiVino Ltd. Importers.


Tuesday, January 20, 2009
"Modern Myths"
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 East Randolph Drive, Chicago, IL
7:30 p.m.

Tap into the power of myth as Fulcrum Point harnesses music, literature and dance to explore the world’s most ancient archetypes. Melissa Thodos will unveil Aries, set to Stockhausen’s haunting, zodiac-inspired music. Danielpour’s sensuous song cycle illuminates Ranier Marie Rilke’s Orpheus poems, recasting the Greek story in tones so rich they could raise the dead. Vajracharya will dance an invocation to Vajrapani, Buddhism’s fearsome warrior-protector, and Vir’s Hayagriva darts into the concert hall like its namesake: the horse-headed man of wisdom in sacred literature from India and Tibet.

Aries (World Premiere) -- dance by Thodos Dance Chicago, music by Karlheinz Stockhausen
Sonnet to Orpheus (Chicago Premiere) -- Richard Danielpour
Vajrapani (World Premiere) -- dance by Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya set to traditional Tantric Buddhist music
Hayagriva (American Premiere) -- Param Vir

Featured Artists

Thodos Dance Chicago
Stephen Burns, trumpet/electronics
Mary Mackenzie, soprano
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, Nepalese dance

 Ticket prices include a post-concert reception with the artists, featuring hors d’oeuvres with wines generously donated by Chicago-based Vin DiVino Ltd. Importers.


Tuesday, March 3, 2009
"Dada Machinations"
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 East Randolph Drive, Chicago, IL
7:30 p.m.

The Dada movement blazed the trail for rock’s anarchy, pop culture’s self-consuming humor, and the outrageous investigations of Fluxus. Antheil’s Ballet mécanique fills the stage with airplane propellers, sirens, alarms, two grand pianos and eight synchronized player pianos—it vivifies the Dada manifesto. Carrying that spirit forward, Zuidam’s Three Mechanisms pulsates with the rebellious spirit of punk. Ter Veldhuis shares his pop media obsession using a boom box full of sound bites in Lipstick. And Miller’s Remote Music questions the very idea of performance.

Hanna Higgins and the UIC Fluxus Ensemble will stage performance pieces throughout the building before the concert; arrive early for the artistic mayhem!
Three Mechanisms (Chicago Premiere) -- Robert Zuidam           
Lipstick (Chicago Premiere) -- Jacob ter Veldhuis
Remote Music -- Larry Miller
Ballet mécanique (Midwest Premiere of original version) -- George Antheil

Hanna Higgins and the UIC Fluxus Ensemble will stage performance pieces throughout the Harris Theater before the concert.

Featured Artists
Mary Stolper -- flute/alto flute and boom box
Kuang-Hao Huang -- pianist
Lori Kaufman -- pianist
Hannah Higgins and the UIC Fluxus Ensemble

Story & Clark Player Pianos courtesy of QRS Music

Ticket prices include a post-concert reception with the artists, featuring hors d’oeuvres with wines generously donated by Chicago-based Vin DiVino Ltd. Importers.