It’s been a very inspiring past couple of months working with brilliant young composers from New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers Program as well as Little Orchestra Society’s Musical Connections amazing students at Astoria’s PS 122.  Things are finally winding own after a busy semester which means I have more time to write music (yay!).

It seems that most of my new songs (which will end up in various different projects) often start as solo songs in which I secretly suffer through the desolation of missing my amazing musicians (Matt, Shayna, Jonny, Evelyn, Insia, Andie, Phyllis, & José!) .  This now seems to be a rite of passage for every new song.  I write it, play it by myself and then my reward is arranging it for my favorite people to play along with me.  You can hear some of these new songs being born this Saturday May 25th at 92YTribeca.  I’m honored to share the program with three other sensational solo composers/performers Jennifer Stock, Florent Ghys & Lesley Flanigan.

The day after, my friends from TRANSIT will perform my piece “What I’m Trying To Say Is…” as part of their DoubleBill Festival at DiMenna Center.  This piece holds a special place in my heart as it was the very first piece I wrote for a new music ensemble. Plus the musicians get to literally play with toy megaphones and a Speak & Spell!

Summer seems very promising so far: recording a Balún album, an Acopladitos album for the little cuties, putting together Peptalk’s live show, a collaboration with the amazing So Percussion, a performance of my music at the Bang on a Can Marathon and an unexpected trip to Caracas to work with students from El Sistema. More images, words and sounds coming soon!

I’m honored to be performing this Thursday March 14th a very special show at Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. I’m performing three of my new songs joined by an exceptional group of musicians which includes Shayna Dunkelman (xylosynth), Jonny Rodgers (wine glasses), Jacqui Kerrod (harp) and José Olivares (live electronics).

The songs I’ll be playing explore the interaction between preceding, present and imminent instances in time by combining various pre-recorded layers of field recordings and found sounds with voices, toys, wine glasses, reeds, electronics and harp.

If you can’t join us for this but still want to see us perform the show will be webcast live and archived for future viewing here

From WQXR:

For my playlist, I opted for soft but powerful voices from the Americas whose music I find transcending, refreshing, imaginative and captivating in various ways. I’ve been charmed and entranced in different moments in time by all of these pieces and to this day they still resonate in my memory, with a timeless essence that makes me revisit them over and over again. – Angélica Negrón

NewMusicBox Mix: Spring Fling Edition

From NewMusicBox:

At NewMusicBox we make it a point to feature as much great new music as possible, so we thought it would be fun to start our own mix series, built from some of the new and recent recordings that travel across our desks, land in our inboxes, and hook our ears out in the world.

With music by Angélica Negrón, Cenk Ergün, Drew Baker, David Crowell, and more.

WXQXR – Hammered! Hosted by Kathleen Supové

From WQXR:

When one thinks of American Mavericks, several names immediately come to mind: John Cage, Lou Harrison, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, John Adams, and a few others. In my series, I tried to focus on artists other than these, some of whom are underplayed, some young and not yet well known and some I believe to be Mavericks in ways that perhaps you don’t expect.

With works by Angélica Negrón, Terry Riley, Phyllis Chen, Tristan Perich, Joan La Barbara, Morton Subotnick, and more.

http://www.condenados.org/

Angélica Negrón’s music is a whisper. A young composer, she has crafted a small oeuvre of concert works, each suffused with a kind of compassion, as if regarding something very small and delicate, but without condescension. She samples tiny noises, seemingly trivial sounds, and turns them into music. - Daniel Stephen Johnson

Q2Music – Angélica Negrón: Infusing Magic into the Delicate and Remote

Ecstatic Fest was a great experience. Had so much fun and been so busy that I forgot to update my site these past couple of months. Our show got a group of great reviews including one from the New York Times. Also Brooklyn Vegan went to the concert and took a couple of pictures. Plus Q2 Music recorded it in its entirety and you can listen to it online! Full list of reviews and sources below.

• New York Times - Chemistry With a Toybox of Instruments (Paper Clips Included)
• I Care If You Listen - Sxip Shirey and Angélica Negrón at Ecstatic Music Festival
• The Indie Handbook - Sxip Shirey with Angélica Negrón: Ecstatic Music Festival, Day 2
• Q2 Music – Sxip Shirey & Angélica Negrón: Live from Merkin Concert Hall
• Brooklyn Vegan - Ecstatic Music Fest 2012 – show 2 in pics (Sxip Shirey, Angelica Negron, Noveller, more)

From The Greene Space:

At the nexus of the active, New York-centric indie-classical scene, Merkin Concert Hall’s Ecstatic Music Festival is a ground-breaking series emphasizing vibrant, adventurous ensembles and unlikely collaborations between composers from the pop and classical realms. In this its second year, the festival returns with a star-studded line-up of artists from diverse musical backgrounds. Hosted by WQXR’s Terrance McKnight, Q2 Music’s preview concert features music and conversation with Ecstatic Music Festival composer-performersJason Treuting, Angélica Negrón, and Jherek Bischoff as well as a conversation with composer and festival founder and curator, Judd Greenstein.

More information here: http://www.thegreenespace.org/events/thegreenespace/2012/feb/01/q2-music-previews-ecstatic-music-festival/

From Kaufman Center:

The “mesmerizing” (New Yorker) multi-instrumentalist and composer Sxip Shirey (pictured) teams up with Angélica Negrón, composer of “wistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative” (WQXR) music for an evening of fabulously eclectic and sonically wide-ranging collaboration. In addition to working together, they will be joined by a slate of special guests, including violinist/composer/Ableton master Todd Reynolds, guitar sound-architect Noveller (“simultaneously soothing and mind-wrecking,” NY Press), the wine-glass/guitar marvel Jonny Rodgers (“beautiful, fragile and consistently challenging,” New Haven Register). The teen alt-classical sensations Face the Music (“stunning,” “polished, exuberant,” New York Times) will give the world premiere of Angélica Negrón’s El Gran Caleidoscopio.

So excited to be part of this festival and to be working with such wonderful musicians. Please get your tickets here: http://kaufman-center.org/mch/event/ecstatic-music-festival-sxip-shirey-and-angelica-negron-with-special-guests

The  UnCaged Festival is coming up! We will be hopping around New York City in a three-day extravaganza celebrating all things toy. I will be singing three songs for voice and toys on Tuesday November 29th during the Playhouse at Dixon.  Also performing that night are my friends Matt Evans, Phyllis Chen and toy piano legend Margaret Leng Tan.  On Saturday December 3rd come to the wonderful Toy Bonanza at Dimenna Center where Phyllis Chen, the festival founder,  will be performing my piece “The Little Things” among other great performers including Miguel Frasconi & Takuji Kawai.

I’m also very excited to announce that I’ll be part of Ecstatic Music Fest 2012.  I’ll be collaborating with multi-instrumentalist and composer Sxip Shirey and also with guitar sound-architect Noveller.  I’ll write more about these collaborations in the next couple of weeks so stay tuned!