Philip Glass Ensemble
Encyclopedia
The Philip Glass Ensemble is a musical group founded by composer Philip Glass
in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music
. The Ensemble's instrumentation became a hallmark of Glass' early minimalist style. After Glass wrote his first opera, Einstein on the Beach
, for the Ensemble in 1976, he began to compose for other instrumentation more frequently.
While the Ensemble's exact instrumentation has varied over the years, it has generally consisted of amplified woodwinds, keyboard synthesizers, and solo soprano voice (singing solfege
). The Philip Glass Ensemble continues to perform and record, under the musical direction of keyboardist Michael Riesman.
In 2011, the group performed a series of concerts in an installation at the Museum of Modern Art
.
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
. The Ensemble's instrumentation became a hallmark of Glass' early minimalist style. After Glass wrote his first opera, Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach is an opera that premiered on July 25, 1976 at the Avignon Festival in France, scored and written by Philip Glass and designed and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson. It also contains writings by Christopher Knowles, Samuel M. Johnson and Lucinda Childs...
, for the Ensemble in 1976, he began to compose for other instrumentation more frequently.
While the Ensemble's exact instrumentation has varied over the years, it has generally consisted of amplified woodwinds, keyboard synthesizers, and solo soprano voice (singing solfege
Solfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
). The Philip Glass Ensemble continues to perform and record, under the musical direction of keyboardist Michael Riesman.
In 2011, the group performed a series of concerts in an installation at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
.
Members
- Michael Riesman, keyboards
- Philip GlassPhilip GlassPhilip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, keyboards - Jon GibsonJon Gibson (minimalist musician)Jon Gibson is a flautist, saxophonist, and composer.-Education:Gibson studied at Sacramento State University and with Henry Onderdonk and Wayne Peterson at San Francisco State University, where he earned a BA in 1964...
, woodwinds - Dan Dryden, audio engineer
- Lisa BielawaLisa BielawaLisa Bielawa is a composer and vocalist based in New York City. She is a 2009 Rome Prize winner in Musical Composition and spent a year composing as a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome.-Biography:...
, voice - Andrew Sterman, woodwinds
- Mick Rossi, percussion, keyboards
- Frank Cassara, percussion
- Stephen Erb, audio engineer
- David Crowell, woodwinds
- Martin Goldray, keyboards (retired)
- Eleanor Sandresky, keyboards (retired)
- Richard Peck, woodwinds (retired)
- Jack Kripl, woodwinds (retired)
- Richard Landry, woodwinds (retired)
- Joan La BarbaraJoan La BarbaraJoan La Barbara is an American vocalist and composer associated with contemporary music. She is a former student of Helen Boatwright...
, voice (retired) - Dora Ohrenstein, voice (retired)
- Kurt Munkacsi, audio engineer (now producer)
Films
- 2009 - Pruit Igoe and prophecies. From Watchmen
- 2008 - Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts. Directed by Scott HicksScott HicksRobert Scott Hicks is a film director from Australia. He is best known as the screenwriter and director of Shine, the Oscar-winning biopic of pianist David Helfgott. Hicks's work has been nominated for an Academy Award as well as winning an Emmy Award.-Personal life:Hicks was born in Uganda, the...
. - 1988 - PowaqqatsiPowaqqatsiPowaqqatsi , or Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation, is the 1988 sequel to the experimental 1982 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi, by Godfrey Reggio. It is the second film in the Qatsi trilogy....
. Directed by Godfrey ReggioGodfrey ReggioGodfrey Reggio is an American director of experimental documentary films.-Life:Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Reggio co-founded La Clinica de la Gente, a facility that provided medical care to 12,000 community members in Santa Fe, and La Gente, a community-organizing project in...
. - 1983 - Philip Glass. From Four American Composers. Directed by Peter GreenawayPeter GreenawayPeter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
. - 1982 - KoyaanisqatsiKoyaanisqatsiKoyaanisqatsi also known as Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, is a 1982 film directed by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by Ron Fricke....
. Directed by Godfrey ReggioGodfrey ReggioGodfrey Reggio is an American director of experimental documentary films.-Life:Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Reggio co-founded La Clinica de la Gente, a facility that provided medical care to 12,000 community members in Santa Fe, and La Gente, a community-organizing project in...
.