The California EAR Unit
Encyclopedia
The California EAR Unit is an American
chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music
. The group was founded in March 1981 and is based in Los Angeles
, California
.
The original members of the EAR Unit were Dorothy Stone (flute); James Rohrig (clarinet); Amy Knoles and Daniel Kennedy (percussion); Gaylord Mowrey and Michael McCandless (piano); Robin Lorentz and Mary Terranova (violin); Erika Duke (cello); and Rand Steiger
(conductor). By 1983 Terranova, Kennedy and McCandless had departed, and Arthur Jarvinen (percussion) and Lorna Eder (piano) joined. After many years with the same personnel, changes began to occur and one by one original members departed and new performers joined the group. Amy Knoles is the only remaining original member, along with long time pianist Vicki Ray, and violinist Eric KM Clark.
The EAR Unit was formed at the California Institute of the Arts in 1981 by a group of students who had all been performing in the CalArts 20th-Century Players under the direction of Stephen "Lucky" Mosko. Inspired by their experiences with Mosko, and aware that Los Angeles at the time did not have a resident contemporary music ensemble, Steiger and Rohrig gathered a group of colleagues together after a rehearsal and in the meeting that followed in the CalArts Cafeteria the idea for the group was developed. The name EAR Unit was chosen sometime later, after many weeks of debate.
In 1983 the EAR Unit performed a notorious concert at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (one of the first of over 100 they would play there) featuring the West Coast premiere of Elliott Carter
's "Triple Duo", a satirical work written for the occasion by Nicholas Slonimsky, and the premiere of "While you were Art", by Frank Zappa
. Zappa asked the EAR Unit to perform the work silently while playing a synthesized recording, and they complied with his wishes, learning the piece and matching the recording precisely. But after the concert he told the Los Angeles Times that they played it this way because "they couldn't cut it" and that the purpose of the piece was "to expose how phony the new music scene was".
In the 1980's the EAR Unit often juxtaposed strikingly different works on the same program. At one of the first concerts in 1982, in a bank building in downtown Los Angeles, they presented a program that included works by Steve Reich
, Pierre Boulez
, Frederic Rzewski
, and Donald Martino
. Later, in San Francisco they combined Martino's "Noturno" with Stockhausen's "Stimung", and Subotnick's "Key to Songs"
Since 1987 the California EAR Unit had been Ensemble-in-Residence at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
. During that time they have presented over 500 premieres of musical works. They now hold court at REDCAT in the Disney Hall Complex in downtown Los Angeles. See www.earunit.org for more information.
In 2001 The EAR Unit received a Letter of Distinction from the American Music Center
. Among the many other composers the EAR Unit has commissioned and premiered are Louis Andriessen
, Eve Beglarian
, Henry Brant
, Joan LaBarbara, Annea Lockwood
, Scott Lindroth
, Mel Powell
, Terry Riley
, Erki-Sven Tuur, Wadada Leo Smith
and Julia Wolfe
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chamber 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:...
. The group was founded in March 1981 and is based in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The original members of the EAR Unit were Dorothy Stone (flute); James Rohrig (clarinet); Amy Knoles and Daniel Kennedy (percussion); Gaylord Mowrey and Michael McCandless (piano); Robin Lorentz and Mary Terranova (violin); Erika Duke (cello); and Rand Steiger
Rand Steiger
Rand Steiger is an American composer, conductor, and pedagogue.Steiger became a faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts in 1982, remaining there until 1987...
(conductor). By 1983 Terranova, Kennedy and McCandless had departed, and Arthur Jarvinen (percussion) and Lorna Eder (piano) joined. After many years with the same personnel, changes began to occur and one by one original members departed and new performers joined the group. Amy Knoles is the only remaining original member, along with long time pianist Vicki Ray, and violinist Eric KM Clark.
The EAR Unit was formed at the California Institute of the Arts in 1981 by a group of students who had all been performing in the CalArts 20th-Century Players under the direction of Stephen "Lucky" Mosko. Inspired by their experiences with Mosko, and aware that Los Angeles at the time did not have a resident contemporary music ensemble, Steiger and Rohrig gathered a group of colleagues together after a rehearsal and in the meeting that followed in the CalArts Cafeteria the idea for the group was developed. The name EAR Unit was chosen sometime later, after many weeks of debate.
In 1983 the EAR Unit performed a notorious concert at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (one of the first of over 100 they would play there) featuring the West Coast premiere of Elliott Carter
Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music...
's "Triple Duo", a satirical work written for the occasion by Nicholas Slonimsky, and the premiere of "While you were Art", by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
. Zappa asked the EAR Unit to perform the work silently while playing a synthesized recording, and they complied with his wishes, learning the piece and matching the recording precisely. But after the concert he told the Los Angeles Times that they played it this way because "they couldn't cut it" and that the purpose of the piece was "to expose how phony the new music scene was".
In the 1980's the EAR Unit often juxtaposed strikingly different works on the same program. At one of the first concerts in 1982, in a bank building in downtown Los Angeles, they presented a program that included works by Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, 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...
, and Donald Martino
Donald Martino
Donald Martino was a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer.Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Martino studied composition with Ernst Bacon, Roger Sessions, Milton Babbitt, and Luigi Dallapiccola...
. Later, in San Francisco they combined Martino's "Noturno" with Stockhausen's "Stimung", and Subotnick's "Key to Songs"
Since 1987 the California EAR Unit had been Ensemble-in-Residence at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
. During that time they have presented over 500 premieres of musical works. They now hold court at REDCAT in the Disney Hall Complex in downtown Los Angeles. See www.earunit.org for more information.
In 2001 The EAR Unit received a Letter of Distinction from the American Music Center
American Music Center
The American Music Center is a non-profit organization which aims to promote the creating, performing, and enjoying new American music. The organization was founded in 1939 by composers Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter.The organization has a...
. Among the many other composers the EAR Unit has commissioned and premiered are Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
, Eve Beglarian
Eve Beglarian
Eve Beglarian is a contemporary American composer, performer and audio producer of Armenian descent...
, Henry Brant
Henry Brant
Henry Dreyfuss Brant was a Canadian-born American composer. An expert orchestrator with a flair for experimentation, many of Brant's works featured spatialization techniques.- Biography :...
, Joan LaBarbara, Annea Lockwood
Annea Lockwood
Annea Lockwood is a New Zealand born American composer. She taught electronic music at Vassar College. Her work often involves recordings of natural found sounds...
, Scott Lindroth
Scott Lindroth
Scott Lindroth is an American composer and teacher currently based near Durham, North Carolina.Lindroth joined the faculty of Duke University in 1990, where he is currently the Vice-Provost for the Arts and the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor of Music; his colleagues at Duke include composers...
, Mel Powell
Mel Powell
Mel Powell was a jazz pianist and composer of classical music.Mel Epstein was born to Russian Jewish parents, Milton Epstein and Mildred Mark Epstein, and began playing piano as a child. He performed jazz professionally in New York City as a teenager...
, Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
, Erki-Sven Tuur, Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith
Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpeter and composer working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation.-Biography:...
and Julia Wolfe
Julia Wolfe
Julia Wolfe is an American composer. She was born in Philadelphia, holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Princeton and Yale, and currently works in New York. Wolfe's music is rhythmically vigorous and often clangorously dissonant...
.