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Current Press Releases

• Midwest debut of JacobTV's Video Opera The News
• Cheers for Ears!

Past Press Releases

• Fulcrum Point presents "I Was Like WOW!" Benefit concert
• Fulcrum Point presents 9/11: Ten Years & Beyond, A Concert for Peace
• Fulcrum Point New Music Project's 9/11: Ten Years & Beyond Commemorative Concert to be broadcast on 98.7WFMT, Sunday afternoon, September 11
• Fulcrum Point presents World Premiere of God Has Gone Up by Mischa Zupko
• Book Sounds
• An Eclipse Master Class: Man, Woman, and the Beast Within
• "SPEAKING IN TONGUES" Concert at Harris Theater, Mar 22
• 2011 Spring Concert Highlights
• Fulcrum Point is a MAP Fund recipient
• Fulcrum Point is awarded ASCAP Award
• Fulcrum Point prsents "MOTOWN METAL" Concert at Harris Theater, Oct 27
• Fulcrum Point New Music Project presents trio of concert events for 'cultural adventurers' this fall (or download Word document)
• Fulcrum Point presents Season Preview Benefit concert (or download Word document)
• Computers Come Alive!
• Heroes and Demons (or download Word document)
• Art Without Boundaries (or download Word document)

IN 2012, FULCRUM POINT MAKES NEWS WITH MIDWEST DEBUT OF JACOB TV’S VIDEO OPERA, THE NEWS,  AT THE PARK WEST, MAY 4

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHEERS FOR EARS! AN INNOVATIVE CONCERT BENEFITING CHILDREN’S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL TO FEATURE A PERCUSSIVE PROGRAM PROMOTING THE JOY OF MUSIC PERCEPTION TO THE HEARING IMPAIRED.

CHICAGO – November 23, 2011 – The upcoming concert experience Cheers for Ears! A Celebration Proving Hearing Takes “Hart” taking place on January 22, 2012 will feature the celebrated Fulcrum Point New Music Project ensemble with Stephen Burns, Artistic Director. The group will deliver a percussive, rhythmic, and theatrical program to celebrate the power of hearing. Performance pieces by pioneering composers John Cage and Steve Reich, along with West African tribal music including dance and drumming rituals, will move attendees to partake in the uplifting beat.  Audience members may even find themselves a part of the show!

Proceeds will support the commitment made by the Foundation for Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation (FHSR), an affiliated organization of Children’s Memorial Hospital, to Children’s cochlear implant program and the Hart Family Cochlear Implant Education Coordinator position. With more than 1,000 implants in 792 children performed since 1991, Children’s multi-disciplinary cochlear implant team has been instrumental in making hearing a reality for Chicago’s children.

In the spirit of learning and celebration, this innovative Cheers for Ears! concert experience will provide an understanding of and appreciation for hearing and music perception by cochlear implant recipients. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. Users of cochlear implants cannot process the melody and timbre of tonal music as successfully as they can process speech due to octave limitations of current processor technology. However, it is not commonly known that both cochlear implantees and profoundly deaf can enjoy rhythmic percussion music. Cheers for Ears! will expose and celebrate the ability of children with cochlear implants to perceive and enjoy rhythmic music not only to the patients and families served by Children’s Memorial Hospital, but also the greater Chicago community.

The support of FHSR through events like Cheers for Ears! is essential to the quality and breadth of care provided to children with hearing loss and their families at Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Cheers for Ears! will take place at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. A post-show VIP cocktail reception will follow the show, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $25 for adults; $8 for children. For an enhanced experience, a VIP Ticket includes access to the performance and a VIP post-concert reception with Fulcrum Point artists, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and wine! The cost for a VIP ticket is $125 for adults, $50 for a child and $275 for a family pack. For more information about FHSR, Cheers for Ears! Hearing Takes "Hart", and to purchase concert tickets, please visit www.fhsr.org or call 773.340.FHSR (3477).

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About Children’s Memorial Hospital

Nancy Young, MD, founder and medical director of Children's Memorial Hospital’s cochlear implant program, performed her 1000th cochlear implant on a child in 2011. This makes Young one of only a handful of specialists nationwide to perform at this level. Cheers for Ears! will honor Dr. Young’s tremendous achievements and service to Chicago’s children with hearing loss and their families.

Children's Memorial is building a world-class children's hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, opening on June 9, 2012.   The 23-story, state-of-the-art hospital is located in downtown Chicago on the campus of our academic partner, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and will offer the latest benefits and innovations in medical technology, research and family-friendly design.   The hospital seeks the support of the entire community to complete Lurie Children’s and help make Chicago the healthiest place in the nation for kids.

About Fulcrum Point New Music Project

Formed by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998, Fulcrum Point New Music Project champions new classical music and highlights contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music.  Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world.  Burns, himself, has been acclaimed on four continents for his widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture.

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FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT PRESENTS
I WAS LIKE, WOW!
BENEFIT CONCERT AT CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16

FULCRUM POINT PRESENTS 9/11: TEN YEARS & BEYOND,
A CONCERT FOR PEACE, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2011
*Tickets only $5 for Chicago Policemen, Firemen & their families*

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FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT’S
9/11: TEN YEARS & BEYOND COMMEMORATIVE CONCERT
TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON 98.7WFMT,
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, SEPTEMBER 11

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FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT PRESENTS

WORLD PREMIERE OF GOD HAS GONE UP AS PART OF THE GRAND FINALE OF INAUGURAL MAKE MUSIC CHICAGO

AT ST. JAMES CATHEDRAL COMMONS, TUESDAY, JUNE 21

June 8, 2011 – Fulcrum Point New Music Project will debut the World Premiere of Mischa Zupko’s God Has Gone Up, as part of the Grand Finale of the inaugural Make Music Chicago festival, presented by Rush Hour Concerts at St. James Cathedral. This free performance will take place at St. James Cathedral Commons, 65 E. Huron Street, and Tuesday, June 21, beginning at 6:30 pm. Also on the Grand Finale program, being broadcast live on 98.7WFMT, is a massive public performance of Robert Johnson’s popular blues standard, “Sweet Home Chicago,” and music-makers of all skill levels are invited to join in.

God Has Gone Up will be performed by members of the St. James Cathedral Choir, the New Classic Singers, Cellist Sophie Webber, Percussionist Jeff Handley and the composer on piano, under the direction of guest conductor Lee Kesselman.

The new work, written to honor 50 years of service of the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Northfield, IL, is set to the verse from Psalm 47, which speaks of God’s great ascent into the heavens. Historically, this verse recounts a joyous moment as God comes down to save the Jews from their enemies (possibly the Assyrians) and then goes back up to the heavenly realms, followed by the shouts and rejoicing of the people.  As with all profound, ancient texts, the wisdom outlives the historical context. This passage resounds with exclamations of ecstatic joy as “the princes and peoples gather” together and celebrate the magnificence of a power greater than themselves.  Interpreted in a more inclusive light, it is a message filled with hope for peace among all nations and it is in this spirit of universal solidarity that the music takes shape.

Fulcrum Point has appeared frequently as part of the Rush Hour Concerts series and appears again this season on July 5. Since its formation by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998 under the auspices of Performing Arts Chicago, the mission of Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been to champion new classical music and highlight contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music.  Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the 25-member Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world. Burns, himself, has been acclaimed on four continents for his widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture.

The popular Rush Hour Concerts at St. James Cathedral series presents the inaugural Make Music Chicago, a live, one-day music festival on the first day of summer, Tuesday, June 21. Make Music Chicago is completely free for both audiences and participants alike, sponsored by Comcast. Inspired by France’s “Fête de la Musique,” a national musical holiday marking its 30^th anniversary this year, Make Music Chicago joins more than 460 cities around the world in this global music celebration. For more information on Make Music Chicago, visit www.makemusicchicago.com.

Rush Hour Concerts at St. James Cathedral is in its 12^th season of presenting "Great Music for Busy Lives" – free, world-class, live music, Tuesdays at 5:15 pm from June through August at St. James Cathedral. To learn more visit www.rushhour.org.

The St. James Cathedral Choir is a mixed voice, semi-professional choir, numbering 32 musicians, which leads the worship of Cathedral congregation. The Choir has a distinguished history of service to the Cathedral, the Diocese and the community at large. Drawing from a wealth of sacred music ranging from the pure, polyphonic music of the 16^th Century through the most daring of sonic tapestries by modern day composers, the Cathedral Choir continually seeks to offer musical presentations which are characterized by a well-shaped and beautiful tone, rhythmic precision and thoughtful interpretation. In 2010, the Cathedral Choir, under the director of Bruce J. Barber II, Director of Cathedral Music, released a CD of Advent Lessons & Carols titled Arise, Shine! issued by MSR Classics. Committed to the ministry of St. James Cathedral, the Choir welcomes all who are interested in participation, regardless of religious affiliation or faith practice. For more information please visit www.saintjamescathedral.org.

The New Classic Singers has been a resident choral ensemble at College of DuPage since 1982. Members include conductors, educators and soloists from throughout the metropolitan area. The choir has been lauded for its imaginative programs and performing excellence. New Classic Singers has performed three times for conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, and frequently commissions and premieres new works. The New Classic Singers has performed with the Kronos Quartet, the New Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, among others. Additional information can be found at www.newclassicsingers.org.

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FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT, IN ASSOCIATION WITH OPEN BOOKS, PRESENTS INAUGURAL BOOK SOUNDS CONCERT, FEATURING LIVE MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT TO READINGS FROM TWO AWARD-WINNING CHILDREN’S BOOKS, AT HAROLD WASHINGTON LIBRARY AUDITORIUM, SATURDAY, JUNE 4
FREE PERFORMANCE PART OF CHICAGO TRIBUNE PRINTERS ROW LIT FEST

May 20, 2011 – Fulcrum Point New Music Project, in association with Open Books, will present its inaugural Books Sounds concert, a free performance of children’s book-readings set to live music and colorful projected illustrations at the Harold Washington Library’s Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, 400 S. State St., June 4 from 3-4 pm, as part of the Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest.

Book Sounds will feature original compositions accompanying book readings from two award-winning children's books: The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics written by Norton Juster with music by Robert Rodriguez; and Joseph Had A Little Overcoat written by Simms Taback with music by David Stock. The concert will be performed by 12 musicians from Fulcrum Point New Music Project, under the direction of Fulcrum Point Founder Stephen Burns, plus a narrator and vibrant visual illustrations from each book projected on stage.

This Book Sounds concert is the first in Fulcrum Point’s series of family-oriented programming featuring live musical accompaniment to children’s classic literature. Tickets for this one-time-only concert are free, and must be reserved in advance by visiting www.printersrowlitfest.org

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics, written and illustrated by Norton Juster, was first published by Random House in 1963. Two years later, Chuck Jones and MGM adapted the book into a 10-minute animated short and won The Academy Award© for Best Animated Short the same year. The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics details the charming story of a line that falls in love with a dot. Texas-based Robert Xavier Rodríguez composed the score accompanying this work. Rodríguez’s musical pedigree ranges from winning the Prix de Composition Musicale Prince Pierre de Monaco by Prince Ranier and Princess Grace in Monte Carlo when he was only 25 to serving as Composer-in-Residence of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony.

Joseph Had A Little Overcoat ,written by Simms Taback in 1999, is a Caldecott Medal©-winning book about a Jewish farmer who turns his worn, striped overcoat into a smaller jacket, and then a smaller vest and so on until only a button remains…turning his loss into a lesson about always making something out of nothing. Pittsburgh-based David Stock, who composed the accompanying score, is Professor of Music at Duquesne University, where he conducts the Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble. He has been Composer-in-Residence of the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Seattle Symphony, and is Conductor Laureate of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, which he founded in 1976.

COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO & FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT, IN ASSOCIATION WITH FUJITSU TEN, PRESENT
AN ECLIPSE MASTER CLASS:  MAN, WOMAN, AND THE BEAST WITHIN:
A FREE CONCERT AND FILM SCREENING WITH LIVE ACCOMPANIMENT TO SCENES FROM VERTIGO, SHUTTER ISLAND, THERE WILL BE BLOOD AND TWO STUDENT FILMS AT THE MEDIA PRODUCTION CENTER OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE, WEDNESDAY, MAY 18

FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT PRESENTS SPEAKING IN TONGUES CONCERT, FEATURING THREE WORLD PREMIERES SHARING STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, AT HARRIS THEATER, MARCH 22

February 14, 2011 -- Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the city’s leader in new art music and inventive collaborations between classical music and popular culture, will debut three wildly diverse works by New York composers in a one-night-only concert entitled Speaking in Tongues, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Tuesday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. Speaking in Tongues’ trio of World Premieres – showcasing music inspired by stories of love, loss, and transcendence from around the world- offers “Yunnan Folk Songs” by Vivian Fung, including folk songs on subjects such as pig herding, love, and weddings from the minority mountain tribes of Southwest China; “Djawon Dreamscapes” by Kevin James, using recordings of dreamtime stories from the three last remaining members of an Aborginal tribe in Australia; and “Tiger Psalms” by Geoffrey Gordon, a powerful setting of three seminal works of poetry titan Ted Hughes. Also featured on the program will be “Rising,” a recent work by Fulcrum Point composer-in-residence Mischa Zupko.

"Music is the universal language and language is the human gift that we feel places us at a higher level in the animal kingdom. Our stories, our lore, poetry and prayers enable us to reach higher still and express the essence of transcendence. 'Speaking in Tongues' celebrates language through musical settings of the spiritual mysteries of Christian Pentecostal ecstasy in 'Rising,' the dreamscape magic of Aboriginal lore in 'Djawon Dreamscapes,' the passionate poetry of Ted Hughes' 'Tiger Psalms,' and the dramatic exhortations of endangered tribal cultures in 'Yunnan Folk Songs,'" said Stephen Burns, Fulcrum Point Founder & Artistic Director.

The concert begins with composer Kevin James’ “Djawon Dreamscapes,” using recordings of dreamtime stories from the three last remaining members of the Aboriginal Dalabon people of Australia. The recordings were made by James in the summer of 2009 in Arnham Land, one of the largest Aboriginal Reserve areas in Australia (and also one of the sites toured by Oprah Winfrey on her recent televised visit). “Djawon Dreamscapes” is the third and most recent work in James’ endangered languages series; others feature the languages of the Native American Quileute Tribe of the Pacific Northwest and the Hokkaido Ainu of Japan. This composition is sponsored in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Kevin James has become a fixture in the New York new music scene both as a composer and a performer. His broad palette spans from free jazz and improvisational works, audience participation and multi-media to traditional forms and modal harmonies. Kevin is noted for his work with surround-sound, electro acoustic environments involving spoken word and live performers as in his opera-lingua, “The Portraits Project.”

Following will be the debut of Vivian Fung’s “Yunnan Folk Songs,” a seventeen-minute cycle of seven songs derived from obscure recordings of folk songs captured by Professor Zhang Xingrong of the Yunnan Art Institute throughout the Yunnan province of Southwest China. The Yunnan province is home to over twenty-five distinctive “nationalities” and “Yunnan Folk Songs” is based on Fung’s interpretations of seven recordings from the Yi, Hani, Lisu, and Jingpo nationalities. Songs range from “Overture based on Courtship Song” to “Love Song While Planting the Rice Fields” and “Wedding Lament.” Featured guest artists will be vocalists Katherine Calcamuggio (soprano) , Brad Jungwirth (baritione) and Alan Pang Hong-tai, (sheng) from Hong Kong.   “Yunnan Folk Songs” was commissioned by Fulcrum Point through a prestigious grant from the MAP Fund. Vivian Fung has distinguished herself among the foremost composers of her generation. Since earning her doctorate from The Julliard School in 2002, Fung has increasingly embraced non-classical influences, including jazz and non-western sources such as Indonesian gamelan and folk songs from the minority regions of China.

The concert continues with Geoffrey Gordon’s “Tiger Psalms,” his merging of three otherwise unrelated texts by British poet laureate Ted Hughes which explore the human experience through the prism of the wild, natural world; in this work, the Tiger, the Wolf and the mythical Phoenix. “Tiger Psalms” is scored for mezzo soprano (guest artist, Julia Bentley) and seven instruments, divided into two sets of three instruments, blending with a celesta keyboard, to create three distinct sound worlds for the mezzo soprano soloist to inhabit, according to Gordon. The (muted) trumpet, clarinet and bass define the Howling of Wolves, while the flute (piccolo), viola and mallet percussion define the Phoenix. The third sound world--all seven instruments together--defines the Tiger. Gordon’s list of works includes orchestral and chamber music--vocal and instrumental--as well as scores for theater, film, and dance. Since his first performance on drums in 1968, he's recorded and performed with Robbie Robertson, Rita Coolidge and Walela, Coleman Barks, Julie Taymor (Across The Universe, Frida) & Elliot Goldenthal (Final Fantasy, Titus), Carter Burwell (Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski), David Torn (Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Tori Amos), Krishna Das, Jai Uttal & The Pagan Love Orchestra and many others.

Concluding the program will be Mischa Zupko’s “Rising,” alluding to the ascendant and transcendent energies of Pentecostal speaking in tongues. “Rising” was written in 2009 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in suburban Northfield and this performance will feature guest artists Matthias Tacke (violin) and Kuang Hao Huang (piano).

Tickets for Speaking in Tongues at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, are priced at $20 each ($15/students & seniors), and include a post-concert wine & cheese reception with the artists. To order tickets, please call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. Discount tickets are available for groups of 10 or more.

About Fulcrum Point New Music Project

Since its formation by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998 under the auspices of Performing Arts Chicago, the mission of Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been to champion new classical music and highlight contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music.  Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the 20-member Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world.

Burns, himself, has been acclaimed on four continents for his consistently and widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture. As Fulcrum Point’s Artistic Director, he is advised on programming by a distinguished Artistic Advisory Board including Wynton Marsalis, David Baker, John Corigliano, and Tania Leon as well as Fulcrum Point musicians and other colleagues.

A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales fund Sound Tracks, Fulcrum Point’s innovative program that brings global and new music to Chicago Public Schools. The Sound Tracks project, designed to appeal to fourth- and fifth-graders, takes students around the world, mixing an introduction to world instruments with geography, architecture, visual art, cultural history and more.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project programs are supported in part by: the Arts Work Fund of the Chicago Community Trust, a CityArts 2 Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Irving Harris Foundation, Heitman, LLC., the Illinois Arts Council, JNL Graphic Design, The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Neisser Family Fund, the Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation, the Polk Brothers Foundation, The Seneca, the Swiss Benevolent Society, and the Zuckerman Family Foundation. Additional support provided by The MacArthur Foundation’s Technical Subsidy Program at the Harris Theater.

For more information on the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, please call (312) 726-3846 or visit www.fulcrumpoint.org.

FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT ANNOUNCES SPRING 2011 CONCERT HIGHLIGHTS

FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT PRESENTS
‘MOTOWN METAL’ CONCERT AT HARRIS THEATER, OCT. 27

Followed by free live music/short-form video concert
at Claudia Cassidy Theater, Nov. 5

September 27, 2010 -- Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the city’s leader in new art music and inventive collaborations between classical music and popular culture, officially launches its 2010-2011 season with the bold and brassy “Motown Metal” concert, inspired by the sounds of both Motown and Led Zeppelin, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Wednesday, October 27, at 7 p.m. The following week, Fulcrum Point will present “Holding Fast with Jacob TV,” a free concert featuring short-form videos with live music accompaniment, at the Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington Street, Friday, November 5, at 6 p.m.

"Motown Metal is about the fascination that our society has with cars, technology, and the raw energy of industrial, architectural metal,” said Stephen Burns, Fulcrum Point Founder & Artistic Director. “Daugherty's 'Motown Metal' turns the table with the brass and percussion instruments imitating dragsters and American muscle cars. The rest of the program deconstructs the cars into their essential elements and processes; metallics and ore, both refined and raw. Each work has a different style ranging from abstract and minimalist to post-modern and electronic, but at the heart are the funky sonorities of Motown and Heavy Metal.”

“Motown Metal,” a one-time-only concert event like most Fulcrum Point programs, showcases the best of Chicago’s brass and percussion with electronics. Works include the title selection, Michael Daugherty’s Motown Metal, inspired by the sounds and rhythms of industrial Detroit; the Chicago Premiere of Yan Maresz’ Metallics for trumpet & surround-sound electronics, an abstract exploration of the acoustical properties of metal through the sounds of a solo trumpet and electronics; David Lang’s The Anvil Chorus, a solo percussion piece; Stefan Freund’s Metal, named not only for the material of the instruments but also for the pop-rock influence that pervades the work; and Out of Black Dust by Mark Anthony Turnage, a deconstruction of the jagged rhythms and power chords found in the iconic Led Zeppelin song, Black Dog.

The concert begins with Motown Metal (1994), inspired by the sounds and rhythms of industrial Detroit: city of automobile clamor and the sixties Motown sound. Notably, the work highlights instruments made only of metal: horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, triangle, cymbal, gong, anvil, and brake drum. Composer Michael Daugherty has said he drew on his experience playing percussion in ‘60s soul music bands and drums & bugle corps to create brassy industrial-strength poly-rhythms. Daugherty, Professor of Composition at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, is one of the most frequently commissioned, programmed, and recorded composers on the American concert music scene today. Another of his works - Fire and Blood, inspired by the Detroit Industry frescos at the Detroit Institute of Arts - will be performed locally, by the Chicago Sinfonietta, Oct. 3 and 4.

Following is David Lang’s The Anvil Chorus (1991), a solo percussion piece in which the "melody" is played on resonant junk metals of the percussionist's choosing. (For this performance, Fulcrum Point’s Jeff Handley will wield the advil.) Lang has said that he wanted to write a piece that reminded the listener of the glorious history of percussion — that since the beginning of time people have always banged on things as a result of their professions. With this piece, the starting point is the work of the medieval blacksmiths. Lang is the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Music for the little match girl passion, commissioned by Carnegie Hall for the vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices.

The concert continues with the Chicago Premiere of French composer Yan Maresz’ Metallics for trumpet & surround-sound electronics (1995), an abstract exploration of the acoustical properties of metal through the sounds of a solo trumpet and electronics. The work is a product of Maresz’s fascination with the use of mutes on brass instruments and how to leverage their expressive possibilities. Maresz, early on, discovered jazz and devoted himself to the guitar as an autodidact. En 1983, il devient étudiant du guitariste John Mc Laughlin dont il a été le seul élève, et depuis 1989, le principal orchestrateur et arrangeur. In 1983, he became a student of guitarist John McLaughlin, and since 1989, has been McLaughlin’s main orchestrator and arranger.

Stefan Freund has described his work Metal (2000) as referring not only to the material of the brass instruments but also to the pop-rock influence that pervades the work. Active as a performer and producer of new music, Freund is the founding cellist of the popular new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound.

Concluding Motown Metal is Mark Anthony Turnage’s Out of Black Dust (2007), a work for ten brass players (some doubling on percussion). Out of Black Dust is an abstract deconstruction of the jagged rhythms and power chords found in the iconic Led Zeppelin song “Black Dog,” and was inspired, says Turnage, by his friendship with the band’s bassist, John Paul Jones, and his wife. The work received its American Premiere here in a Music Now performance guest conducted by Stephen Burns. Turnage recently concluded his role as the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for whom he has written two new works, From All Sides and Chicago Remains.

“Motown Metal” tickets are priced at $20 each ($15/students & seniors), and all tickets include post-concert “sliders & suds” with the artists. To order tickets, please call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. Discount tickets are available for groups of 10 or more.

Fulcrum Point presents a free multi-media presentation entitled “Holding Fast with Jacob TV: New Art Music with Video,” at the Claudia Cassidy Theater of the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph, 2^nd floor, Friday, November 5, from 6-7pm. This event will feature music from four award-winning composers – Jacob TV, Yan Maresz, Randy Woolf, and Fulcrum Point Composer-in-residence Mischa Zupko – accompanied by outrageous short videos and exquisite images. Zupko will lead a post-concert discussion. Holding Fast with Jacob TV tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT PRESENTS TRIO
OF CONCERT EVENTS FOR ‘CULTURAL ADVENTURERS’ THIS FALL:

• 12TH ANNIVERSARY BENEFIT AT THORNE AUDITORIUM, SEPT. 22
• ‘MOTOWN METAL’ AT HARRIS THEATER, OCT. 27
• FREE LIVE MUSIC VIDEO PROGRAM AT CLAUDIA CASSIDY THEATER, NOV. 5

“Fulcrum Point programs are aesthetic adventures in which the latest sounds, visuals, and cultural content from around the world are performed by Chicago's most brilliant artists. If you are intrigued by the new, the exotic, or the outrageous, then take the journey with us. We'll explore the nexus of innovative art music, dynamic multi-media, and rich expressions of global cultures,”offered Stephen Burns, Fulcrum Point New Music Founder and Artistic Director.

The Fulcrum Point 2010 Fall season begins with a 12th Anniversary Benefit Concert featuring a sampling of signature works, at the Northwestern University of Law Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Avenue, Wednesday, September 22, at 7:30 p.m. The program will preview two works to be performed on Fulcrum Point’s upcoming 2010-2011 season, including Metal (2000), composed by Alarm Will Sound new music ensemble member Stefan Freund, to be performed by the Fulcrum Point brass quintet as part of Fulcrum Point’s “Motown Metal” concert in October. Metal has been described by Freund as referring not only to the material of the instruments but also to the pop-rock influence that pervades the work. Also previewing will be Shunt (1999), a work for solo piano with electronics performed by Fulcrum Point’s 2010-11 composer-in-residence Chicago pianist/composer Mischa Zupko. Shunt portrays the live instrument as a kind of springboard for the entrance of each new taped layer of piano recording, and Zupko makes his Fulcrum Point debut performing Shunt. Other works on the program from the Fulcrum Point repertoire include Franz Schubert (2005) and Try to Believe (2005) by recent Music Alive! composer-in-residence Randall Woolf; Law Wing-fai’s Yi Zhi Shan (1996), a work for Pipa, featuring Sound Tracks teaching artist, Pipa virtuoso Yang Wei, and Thodos Dance Chicago member Mollie Mock; Steve Reich's Nagoya Marimbas (1994); and Elizabeth Brown’s Arcana (2004).

12TH Anniversary Benefit Tickets: VIP tickets, including a pre-concert reception, are priced at $100 ($75/students & seniors); concert-only tickets are priced at $50 ($30/students & seniors). All tickets are available by visiting www.fulcrumpoint.org or calling 312-726-3846. The net proceeds of this concert will benefit Sound Tracks: Exploring the Global Cultures through World & New Music, Fulcrum Point’s innovative program that brings global music to Chicago Public Schools.

As composer-in-residence, Mischa Zupko will be a teaching artist in Fulcrum Point’s Sound Tracks educational program, leading public discussions about the composition process, and participating in open rehearsals, seminars, and coaching. His music will be featured on several programs including the World Premiere of a special commission for trumpet and organ on March 13, 2011.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project’s Fall programming continues with “Motown Metal,” at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Wednesday, October 27, at 7 p.m. Inspired by the sounds of Motown and Led Zeppelin, this one-time event showcases the best of Chicago’s brass, percussion, and electronics. Works include the title selection, Michael Daugherty’s Motown Metal (1994), inspired by the sounds and rhythms of industrial Detroit: city of automobile clamor and the sixties Motown sound. This work highlights instruments made only of metal: horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, triangle, cymbal, gong, anvil, and brake drum, while David Lang’s The Anvil Chorus (1991) is a solo percussion piece in which the "melody" is played on resonant junk metals of the percussionist's choosing. Also on the program is the Chicago Premiere of Yan Maresz’ Metallics for trumpet & surround-sound electronics (1995), an abstract exploration of the acoustical properties of metal through the sounds of a solo trumpet and electronics; Stefan Freund’s Metal; and Out of Black Dust (2007) by Mark Anthony Turnage, a work for ten brass players doubling on percussion, and an abstract deconstruction of the jagged rhythms and power chords found in the iconic Zeppelin song “Black Dog.” The work received its American Premiere here in a Music Now performance guest conducted by Stephen Burns.

“Motown Metal” tickets are priced at $20 each ($15/students & seniors), and all tickets include post-concert “sliders & suds” with the artists. To order tickets, please call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. Discount tickets are available for groups of 10 or more.

Fulcrum Point presents its third Fall concert event – a free multi-media presentation entitled “Holding Fast with Jacob TV: New Art Music with Video” – at the Claudia Cassidy Theater of the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph, 2nd floor, Friday, November 5, from 6-7pm. This event will feature music from four award-winning composers – Jacob TV, Yan Maresz, Randy Woolf, and Mischa Zupko – accompanied by outrageous short videos and exquisite images. Zupko will lead a post-concert discussion.

Holding Fast with Jacob TV tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Since its formation by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998 under the auspices of Performing Arts Chicago, the mission of Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been to champion new classical music and highlight contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music. Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the 20-member Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world.

Burns, himself, has been acclaimed on four continents for his consistently and widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture. As Fulcrum Point’s Artistic Director, he is advised on programming by a distinguished Artistic Advisory Board including Wynton Marsalis, David Baker, John Corigliano, and Tania Leon as well as Fulcrum Point musicians and other colleagues.

A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales fund Sound Tracks, Fulcrum Point’s innovative program that brings global and new music to Chicago Public Schools. The Sound Tracks project, designed to appeal to fourth- and fifth-graders, takes students around the world, mixing an introduction to world instruments with geography, architecture, visual art, cultural history and more.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project programs are supported in part by: the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., Arts Work Fund of the Chicago Community Trust, CityArts 2 Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Irving Harris Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, JNL Graphic Design, Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation, the MAP Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Neisser Family fund, the Polk Brothers Foundation, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Seneca and the Zuckerman Family Foundation.

For more information on the Fulcrum Point New Music Project 2010 Fall programming, please call (312) 726-3846 or visit www.fulcrumpoint.org.

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FULCRUM POINT PRESENTS SEASON PREVIEW BENEFIT CONCERT, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

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Fulcrum Point is a MAP Fund recipient

Fulcrum Point is awarded ASCAP Award

Computers Come Alive!

FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT PRESENTS COMPUTERS COME ALIVE! FEATURING AMERICAN PREMIERE OF ELEVATOR MUSIC ON MARS AT HARRIS THEATER, WEDNESDAY, MAY 19 Jam-packed program showcases works influenced by or incorporating computer-driven technology, and provocative Fluxus performance events

April 22, 2010 - Under Founding Artistic Director Stephen Burns, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the city’s leader in new art music and inventive collaborations between classical music and popular culture, culminates its 2009-10 season of Movies, Myths and Machines with the dynamic one-night-only Computers Come Alive!, featuring a series of works influenced by or incorporating computer-driven technology, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Wednesday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m., with special pre-show programming from 7:10-7:25 p.m.

As is the Fulcrum Point signature, the Computers Come Alive! concert program will debut several works here, including the American Premiere of Finnish composer Tomi Räisänen’s Elevator Music on Mars, which explores themes of elevation via saxophone, electric guitar, synthesizer, percussion and tape; the Midwest Premieres of Italian composer Luciano Chessa’s Cinque Quadri da una città fantasma (Five Pictures from a Ghost Town) for piano, 3 turntables and chalkboard, and Randall Woolf’s dynamic setting of the rap song Blues for Black Hoodies, in a bed of strings, beats and turntables; and the Chicago Premiere of Christopher Burns’ latest computerized musical program, performed by Burns (no relation to Stephen), Sawtooth. Completing the jam-packed program will be a reprise of Hilda Paredes’ Óox p’eel ikil t’aan (Three Poems) for trumpet, percussion, tape and live electronics, plus all eight Fluxversions of George Brecht’s comical For a drummer, in which musicians drum with – and on – unexpected instruments.

“As a continuation of our collaboration from last year’s outrageous ‘Dada Machinations,’ the Chicago Fluxus Ensemble led by Simon Anderson will perform works that are related to machines and computers, as well as selections from the complete ‘For a drummer’ by George Brecht,” added Stephen Burns. “Creating and appreciating the artistic possibilities in everyday life experiences is at the core of the Fluxus philosophy. Computers, CDs, and machines surround us and offer a broad spectrum of sound worlds to explore.”

Pre-show Program Celebrates Fluxus Movement Audiences are urged to arrive early as the evening will begin with pre-show programming throughout the Harris Theater, courtesy of the Chicago Fluxus Ensemble led by Simon Anderson. Performances will include three of eight versions of Brecht’s 1966 For a drummer in which the audience is invited to connect with, and participate in, a “ballet of intention, material, and creativity utilizing physics, funk, and caprices to engage the audience’s curiosity, imagination, and intellect.” (The other versions will be interspersed in the concert program.) Performances of Brecht’s radical “event scores” are considered to have launched the Fluxus Movement in Wiesbaden, Germany. Also presented will be the Chicago Premiere of Christopher Burns’ latest computerized musical program, Sawtooth (2009), integrating performance, sound, and image. Burns, himself, will be present to perform the work, in which a solo musician's physical gestures in space are captured by a video camera, and translated simultaneously into both music and animation. As the action becomes more complex, the software underlying this process also begins to make autonomous contributions, adding new layers of audiovisual density, and creating new challenges for the performer. Burns, an assistant professor in the Department of Music at the UWM Peck School of the Arts, is a laptop improviser and a composer of instrumental chamber music.

Concert Program

The concert begins with the American Premiere of Finnish composer Tomi Räisänen’s Elevator Music on Mars (2003/2009) which fuses prerecorded, computer-generated sounds with electric guitar, sax, synthesizer and percussion to create a futuristic sound world redolent with atmospheric extraterrestrial references. Explains Räisänen,“Elevator Music on Mars tells about an elevator journey from the root to the top of the volcano Olympus Mons on Mars. It takes a while to reach the top of the largest volcano in the Solar System, which measures three times higher than Earth's highest mountain Mount Everest. Hence music like this can be performed to the impatient space tourists of the future as an entertainment during the elevator journey.” Räisänen is expected to be in attendance at the concert.?

Following will be a reprise of the popular mixed-media piece Óox p’eel ikil t’aan (Three Poems) (2007) by Hilda Paredes, one of the leading Mexican composers of her generation. Óox p’eel ikil t’aan, based on three poems in contemporary Mayan language by Briceida Cuevas Cob, evokes an ancient mysticism using live and pre-recorded poetry and electronic sounds filtered through computer and disseminated through an eight-channel surround sound system to transport the listener into a magical spiritual realm. The piece, which features Burns (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Jeff Handley and Brandon Podjasek (percussion), had its American premiere in March, performed by Fulcrum Point (with special guests, Luna Negra Dance Theater).

Next will be the Midwest Premiere of Italian composer Luciano Chessa’s Cinque Quadri da una città fantasma (Five Pictures from a Ghost Town) (2003/05) for piano, 3 turntables, and chalk board, which serves as a bridge between Fluxus techniques and traditional compositional devices. Using static, classic recordings, improvisation, chorales, and the inclusion of a chalk board, Quadri aims to challenge expectations; the meaning of the chorale is obscure, the turntables are not scratched in a ‘traditional’ hip-hop fashion, and what is written on the chalk board is barely legible… if at all. Featured artists are Kuang Hao Huang (piano/chalkboard) and Joe Darnaby (turntables). As a composer, pianist and musical saw/Vietnamese dan bau soloist, Chessa has been active in Europe, the U.S., and Australia, specializing in Futurist Sound Poetry.

Concluding the program will be the Midwest Premiere of Blues for Black Hoodies (2008) by Fulcrum Point composer-in-residence and Brooklyn native Randall (Randy) Woolf. Originally composed for the String Orchestra of New York City, the work is a new setting of the rap song Blues For Black Hoodies by emcee and producer Wordisbon. The lyrics explore the plight of young urban African-Americans, set in a bed of strings, beats, and turntables. This composition is part of Woolf’s on-going exploration of hip hop and spoken word poetry; in March, Harris Theater audiences experienced the World Premiere of Woolf’s Urban Legends, which incorporates New York City rap artists recording their own versions of a classic myth. Woolf will be in attendance at the concert. His Fulcrum Point residency is made possible through “Music Alive,” a program of the League of American Orchestras and Meet The Composer. This national program is designed to provide orchestras with resources and tools to support their presentation of new music to the public and build support for new music within their institutions. Funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the ASCAP Foundation-Joseph and Rosalie Meyer Fund.

Since its formation by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998 under the auspices of Performing Arts Chicago, the mission of Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been to champion new classical music and highlight contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music. Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the 25-member Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world. Burns, himself, has been acclaimed on four continents for his widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture.

Single tickets are priced at $30 each, with student and senior tickets priced at $15, and all tickets include a post-concert wine & cheese reception with the artists.

To order tickets, please call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. Discount tickets at $20 are available for groups of 10 or more.

A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales fund Sound Tracks, Fulcrum Point’s innovative program that brings global and new music to Chicago Public Schools. The Sound Tracks project, designed to appeal to fourth- and fifth-graders, takes students around the world, mixing an introduction to world instruments with geography, architecture, visual art, cultural history and more.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project programs are supported in part by: the Illinois Arts Council, a City Arts Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Music Alive, The Irving Harris Foundation, an Arts Engagement Grant of Chicago Community Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, Arts Work Fund of Chicago Community Trust, Polk Bros Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Neisser Family Fund, The Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., and the National Endowment for the Arts, with The Seneca as the official hotel sponsor.

For more information on Fulcrum Point New Music Project, please call (312) 726-3846 or visit www.fulcrumpoint.org.

Heroes and Demons

February 26, 2010- Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the city’s leader in new art music and inventive collaborations between classical music and popular culture, continues its 2009-10 season with Heroes and Demons: Legends of Urban, Latin and Native America, a spellbinding evening celebrating modern interpretations of ancient myths at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Tuesday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m.

The one-time-only concert event features premieres aplenty including the World Premiere of Urban Legends, by Fulcrum Point composer-in-residence Randall Woolf, showcasing Woolf's recent exploration of hip hop and spoken word poetry. Also on the program will be the American Premiere of Mexican composer Hilda Paredes’ Óox p’eel ikil t'aan (Three Poems), featuring Fulcrum Point Founder and Artistic Director Stephen Burns on trumpet and special guest artists from Luna Negra Dance Theater; the Midwest Premiere of Sulvasutra, based on an ancient Sanskrit treatise, by Evan Ziporyn, composer and founding member of Bang on a Can All-Stars; and two seminal works by David Dzubay: Wintu Dream Song, a Native American funeral song, being performed in a new version with flugelhorn solo, and Kukulkan II, a flight of fantasy evoking the monuments at Chichén Itzá.

"Our lives are bound by symbolism, ritual, and stories. The French adage 'Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose' says it all-- even though we've developed civilizations and technologies, the meaning of life centers around the most archetypal ideas; life, death, love, dignity, justice, creativity, and survival. Whether the myth derives from Mesopotamia or the New World, it essentially strives to define and elaborate upon the mysteries of human nature, spirituality, and the world around us,” said Burns. “The music on this program is inspired by ancient and contemporary legends, myths, stories, and treatises. From Neo-Classical to Electronica, Spectral to Post-Minimalist, the pieces presented are designed to take the audience on a journey investigating our inner and outer world.”

The concert begins with two works by David Dzubay: a new version of his Wintu Dream Song (2008), a Native American funeral song text of the west coast’s Wintu tribe, originally written for the Orion String Quartet, and Kukulkan II (2007), a flight of fantasy evoking the ritualistic character of some of the monuments at the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá, including the main pyramid of Kukulkan (the “Feathered Serpent”). For this performance, Wintu Dream Song will present the World Premiere of a new version with flugelhorn solo, to be performed by Stephen Burns. Dzubay is Professor of Music, Chair of the Composition Department and Director of the New Music Ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, at which Orion is the resident quartet.

The concert continues with the Midwest Premiere of Evan Ziporyn’s Sulvasutra (2006), based on an ancient Sanskrit treatise, dating from approx. 800 BCE, that gives rules for the proper construction of Vedic altars. Performed by a traditional string ensemble augmented with pipa (featured artist Yang Wei) and tabla (featured artist Kalyan Pathak), Sulvasutra is composed in three continuous movements, built around rhythmic cycles of four, five, and three—the sides of a right triangle. A Chicago native, composer/clarinetist Evan Ziporyn’s work is informed by his 25+year involvement with Balinese gamelan, which has ranged from intensive study of traditional music to the creation of a series of groundbreaking works for gamelan and western instruments. Further, he is a founding member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, with whom he has toured the globe since 1992.
Following is the American Premiere of Óox p’eel ikil t’aan (Three Poems) (2007) by Hilda Paredes, one of the leading Mexican composers of her generation. Óox p’eel ikil t’aan, for trumpet, percussion, tape and live electronics, is based on three poems in contemporary Mayan language read by the author, Briceida Cuevas Cob, who has been previously recorded. The piece will feature Burns on trumpet, along with special guest artists from Chicago’s Luna Negra Dance Theater performing the World Premiere of “Misplaced Flowers,” with choreography by Joel Valentin-Martinez, an active performer/choreographer/ dance teacher, currently serving as Senior Lecturer in the Theatre Dept. of Northwestern University. For more than ten years, Luna Negra Dance Theater has created, performed and taught contemporary dance by Latino choreographers, such as Valentin-Martinez, giving expression to their stories and bringing new life to the cultures of their communities. Luna Negra Dance Theater will be represented by Javier Amaya, Melissa Bourkas, Veronica Guadalupe, Justine Humenansky, Marc Macaranas, Tanya Myers, Hamilton Nieh, and Jason Anthony Williams; this is the first collaboration between Luna Negra and Fulcrum Point.

Completing the Heroes and Demons program will be the World Premiere of Urban Legends by Fulcrum Point composer-in-residence and Brooklyn native Randall (Randy) Woolf, in a commission by “Music Alive.” Woolf explores hip hop and spoken word poetry, enlisting four New York City rap artists to record their own versions of a classic myth: Liza Jessie Peterson creates an original myth for herself as poet-activist-seer, "congregating, activating mystics in the hood;" Wordisbon exposes the myth of free self-regulating financial markets; Tongo Eisen-Martin presents a harrowing vision of the hell of prison life, transformed into a source of redemption; and Jeremy Inspo Smith takes on the myth of a certain word and a renunciation of its supposed power. Woolf interlaces these rap segments with a composition for chamber ensemble performed live by Fulcrum Point. Woolf will be in attendance at the concert. His Fulcrum Point residency is made possible through “Music Alive,” a program of the League of American Orchestras and Meet The Composer. This national program is designed to provide orchestras with resources and tools to support their presentation of new music to the public and build support for new music within their institutions. Funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the ASCAP Foundation-Joseph and Rosalie Meyer Fund.

Fulcrum Point’s 2009-10 Season concludes at the Harris Theater with Computers Come Alive!, showcasing a series of works influenced by or incorporating computer-driven technology, Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

Since its formation by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998 under the auspices of Performing Arts Chicago, the mission of Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been to champion new classical music and highlight contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music. Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the 25-member Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world. Burns, himself, has been acclaimed on four continents for his widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture.

Single tickets are priced at $30 each, with student and senior tickets priced at $15, and all tickets include a post-concert wine & cheese reception with the artists.

To order tickets, please call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. Discount tickets at $20 are available for groups of 10 or more.

A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales fund Sound Tracks, Fulcrum Point’s innovative program that brings global and new music to Chicago Public Schools. The Sound Tracks project, designed to appeal to fourth- and fifth-graders, takes students around the world, mixing an introduction to world instruments with geography, architecture, visual art, cultural history and more.
Fulcrum Point New Music Project programs are supported in part by: the Illinois Arts Council, a City Arts Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Music Alive, The Irving Harris Foundation, an Arts Engagement Grant of Chicago Community Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, Arts Work Fund of Chicago Community Trust, Polk Bros Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Neisser Family Fund, The Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., and the National Endowment for the Arts, with The Seneca as the official hotel sponsor.

For more information on the Fulcrum Point New Music Project 2009-10 season, please call (312) 726-3846 or visit www.fulcrumpoint.org

Fulcrum Point presents... Art Without Boundaries