PRISM Quartet Benefit Concert: Music by Michigan Composers (Ypsilanti, MI)

Hailed by The New York Times as “A bold ensemble that set the standard for contemporary-classical saxophone quartets,” the PRISM Quartet returns to its musical birthplace 31 years after it was founded for a concert benefiting the ensemble’s newly launched Southeast Michigan Residency. The concert features music by composers with Michigan roots, including Pulitzer Prize-winners Julia Wolfe and William Bolcom; Grammy Award-winner Michael Daugherty; Charles Ives Fellow Kristen Kuster, ASCAP/Charles Ives Scholars Roshanne Etezady and Jeff Myers; Tim Ries from the Rolling Stones band; and PRISM’s own Matthew Levy.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit a residency program this year in which PRISM visits six schools in Greater Detroit for 28 programs serving over 3,400 students. School programs include assembly performances, composition classes, learning labs, and coaching sessions. Participating schools include:
• Ellington Conservatory of Music & Arts at Beckham Academy in Detroit
• John R. King Academic & Performing Arts Academy in Detroit
• Cass Technical High School in Detroit
• Crescendo Detroit and Progression, Inc. in Detroit
• Grand River Academy in Livonia
• McBride Middle School in Belleville

According to Damien Crutcher, the founding executive director of Crescendo Detroit, “Our motto is ‘Building character through music.’ One of our major goals is to regularly expose our kids to the best artists possible. We believe if they can see it, they can be it, which is why we are beyond excited to have the PRISM Quartet in residence with us here, in the heart of Detroit.”

CONCERT PROGRAM
Cha (2015) by Julia Wolfe (b. 1958)
Keen by Roshanne Etezady (b. 1973)
Inkling (2004) by Roshanne Etezady
Lu (2004) by Tim Ries (b. 1959)
Scherzino (2004) by William Bolcom (b. 1938)
Above (2014) by Matthew Levy (b. 1963)
Red Pine (2014) by Kristin Kuster (b. 1973)
Steamboat (2014) by Michael Daugherty (b. 1954)
Tidku (2004-05) by Jeff Myers (b. 1977)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This program is presented with generous support from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. The Residency by the PRISM Quartet, organized in partnership with Progression, Inc./Crescendo Detroit, the John R. King Academic and Performing Arts Academy, Cass Technical High School, Grand River Academy, McBride Middle School, and Ellington Conservatory of Music and Arts at Beckham Academy, has been made possible with additional support from Chamber Music America through its Residency Endowment Fund, and the Quaker Chemical Foundation.