Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble
Encyclopedia
The Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (PNME) is an American
ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music
. Based in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
, the group was established by composer David Stock
in 1976. It has premiered over 200 works and is a major regional cultural attraction http://www.milkenarchive.org/artists/artists.taf?artistid=294. Emphasis is placed on pieces by modern composers and recent past seasons have featured works by György Ligeti
, Frederic Rzewski
, George Crumb
, John Cage
, David Lang
, Robert Black
and others.
In 2001, conductor/director Kevin Noe
took over from the group's founder, becoming the new Artistic Director. The troupe quickly made radical changes and struck out in a new direction using an entirely new team of musicians and artists. Since that time, the group's attendance has grown almost 700%, and the number of concerts has more than doubled. Now regarded as one of the most important contemporary groups in the country, the troupe has been listed three years in a row as having given one of the top 10 performances in the city of Pittsburgh each year. The group places a particular focus on setting musical works in a unique context utilizing film, drama, and other theatrical media.
PNME performances take place over a series of weekend concerts in the midsummer in Pittsburgh at the City Theatre. PNME is highly acclaimed for providing a highly stylized visual context for new musical pieces that include film, choreography, performance art and stage lighting.
The group's Executive Artistic Director is Kevin Noe
. PNME commissions musical pieces including the Harvey Gaul Composition Competition. The 2010 season includes:
Lindsey Goodman (Flute),
Conor Llewellyn Hanick (Piano),
Timothy Jones (Bass-baritone),
Norbert Lewandowski (Cello),
Campbell MacDonald (Clarinet),
Nathalie Shaw (Violin),
David Skidmore (Percussion),
Chris McGlumphy (Sound Design)
Andy Ostrowski (Lighting Design)
Paul Ford (Technical Director)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
. Based in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the group was established by composer David Stock
David Stock
David Frederick Stock is an American composer and conductor.Stock is a longtime resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he serves as a professor of composition and as the conductor of the Contemporary Ensemble at Duquesne University...
in 1976. It has premiered over 200 works and is a major regional cultural attraction http://www.milkenarchive.org/artists/artists.taf?artistid=294. Emphasis is placed on pieces by modern composers and recent past seasons have featured works by György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
, Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski is an American composer and virtuoso pianist.- Biography :Rzewski began playing piano at age 5. He attended Phillips Academy, Harvard and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt...
, George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, David Lang
David Lang (composer)
David Lang is an American composer living in New York City. He was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Little Match Girl Passion.-Biography:...
, Robert Black
Robert Black
Robert Black may refer to:* Robert Black , former head coach for the Sewanee college football team* Robert Black , British author of fiction and nonfiction...
and others.
In 2001, conductor/director Kevin Noe
Kevin Noe
Kevin Patrick Noe is an American conductor, stage director, writer, actor, filmmaker, and trumpeter. He is currently the Executive Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and a regular guest conductor of orchestra, opera, and ballet at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music-...
took over from the group's founder, becoming the new Artistic Director. The troupe quickly made radical changes and struck out in a new direction using an entirely new team of musicians and artists. Since that time, the group's attendance has grown almost 700%, and the number of concerts has more than doubled. Now regarded as one of the most important contemporary groups in the country, the troupe has been listed three years in a row as having given one of the top 10 performances in the city of Pittsburgh each year. The group places a particular focus on setting musical works in a unique context utilizing film, drama, and other theatrical media.
PNME performances take place over a series of weekend concerts in the midsummer in Pittsburgh at the City Theatre. PNME is highly acclaimed for providing a highly stylized visual context for new musical pieces that include film, choreography, performance art and stage lighting.
The group's Executive Artistic Director is Kevin Noe
Kevin Noe
Kevin Patrick Noe is an American conductor, stage director, writer, actor, filmmaker, and trumpeter. He is currently the Executive Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and a regular guest conductor of orchestra, opera, and ballet at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music-...
. PNME commissions musical pieces including the Harvey Gaul Composition Competition. The 2010 season includes:
Lindsey Goodman (Flute),
Conor Llewellyn Hanick (Piano),
Timothy Jones (Bass-baritone),
Norbert Lewandowski (Cello),
Campbell MacDonald (Clarinet),
Nathalie Shaw (Violin),
David Skidmore (Percussion),
Chris McGlumphy (Sound Design)
Andy Ostrowski (Lighting Design)
Paul Ford (Technical Director)