MATA Festival

The MATA Festival is a New York-based annual contemporary classical music festival devoted to championing the works of young composers.^[1] It was founded in 1996 by Philip Glass, Lisa Bielawa and Eleonor Sandresky^[2] and is currently under the direction of executive director Todd Tarantino, artistic director Du Yun and director of operations and development Alex Weiser.^[3]

History

Bielawa and Sandresky were part of Glass's touring ensemble in the early 1990s; during road tours, the three conceived of concerts that would serve as an outlet for some of the many scores Glass was receiving from young composers. These concerts would later form the basis of the MATA festival.^[1] MATA's concerts were originally presented at the Anthology Film Archives, leading to its name: the acronym stands for "Music at the Anthology".^[4] Since then, the festival has been presented at various venues, such as Le Poisson Rouge,^[5] Roulette,^[6] and The Kitchen.^[7]

Past directors of MATA include Yotam Haber. David T. Little,^[8] Missy Mazzoli, James Matheson, Christopher McIntyre, and founders Glass, Bielawa and Sandresky.^[3]

Commissioned composers

• 2015 festival: Ann Cleare, Adam de la Cour, Wang Lu
• 2014 festival: Hikari Kiyama, Edward Hamel, Carolyn Chen
• 2013 festival: Evan Antonellis,^[9] Bryan Jacobs,^[10] Jobina Tinnemans^[11]
• 2012 festival: Francesco Filidei,^[8] Qin Yi, Huck Hodge^[12]
• 2011 festival: Ryan Carter, Christopher Mayo, Angélica Negrón^[13]
• Interval 4.1 (2010): Timo Andres, Brett Banducci, Yotam Haber, Joseph Hallman, Ted Hearne, Andrew Norman, Paola Prestini, Chris Thile, Shara Worden^[14]
• 2010 festival: Julian Day, Matthew Wright^[15]
• 2009 festival: Andrew Hamilton, Nicole Lizee, Mike Vernusky^[5]
• 2008 festival: Sean Griffin,^[16] Zibuokle Martinaityte,^[17] Micah Silver^[18]
• 2007 festival: Yotam Haber, K-Kalna, Ned McGowan, Christopher Tignor^[19]
• Monster Composer Rally II (2005): Brian Heller, K-Kalna, Doug Opel, Charles Waters^[20]
• Monster Composer Rally I (2005): Randall Bauer, Alex Mincek, Vache Sharafyan^[21]

Critical acclaim

MATA is consistently praised as one of the leading contemporary classical music festivals, and has been called "the city's leading showcase for vital new music by emerging composers” by the New Yorker,^[22] "the contemporary classical equivalent of the U.N. General Assembly” by the Village Voice^[23] and "inventive, stylistically nondogmatic" by the New York Times.^[24]

External links

• MATA Website

References

1. Midgette, Anne (11 April 2002). "Stocking the Stream With New Composers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
2. "MATA – About Us". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
3. "MATA – Staff & Board". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
4. Kozinn, Allan (14 May 2004). "A Transplanted Music Festival Keeps Its Spirit of Adventure". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
5. Kozinn, Allan (2 April 2009). "Minimalism and a Stylistic Kaleidoscope". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
6. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/arts/music/meitar-ensemble-at-roulette.html?_r=0
7. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/arts/music/mata-festival-returns-with-spotlight-on-helsinki.html
8. Smith, Steve (23 April 2012). "Slashes and Shrieks in a Clamorous Return to the Barricades". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
9. "Magellan Modern". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
10. "Meitar: The Lions of Tel Aviv". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
11. "Mechanical Turks". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
12. Kozinn, Allan (20 April 2012). "Whistling Eclecticism: Motors and Fishing Line". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
13. Kozinn, Allan (12 May 2011). "Seven Composers, Seven Countries". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
14. "Gabriel Kahane". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
15. Smith, Steve (22 April 2010). "Music With and Without Musicians". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
16. "Either/Or & Newspeak". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
17. "The Knights Chamber Orchestra". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
18. "Sound Installations". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
19. "Panel Discussion with Alex Ross". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
20. "Monster Composer Rally II". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
21. "Monster Composer Rally I". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
22. Platt, Russell (April 2012). "April 2012 Classical Concert Listings". The New Yorker.
23. Levy, Aidan (23 April 2012). "Live: The MATA Festival Brings Brooklyn's Drones And Whirs To Roulette". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
24. "The Listings". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.