Hailed as “the hottest classical band in New York,” Fireworks redefines the chamber music experience for a new
generation of listeners. Founded with the goal of creating a single, small ensemble capable of representing the full scope
of today’s musical diversity, Fireworks combines the talents of classically-trained but musically omnivorous young
virtuosi who pride themselves on being able to play just about anything, regardless of style, time period, or
instrumentation. Drawing on a vast musical palette, along with the creative vision and arranging skills of its director,
Brian Coughlin, Fireworks develops innovative, eclectic programs which are both carefully unified and yet defy
classification. Fireworks embraces eclecticism not for its own sake but in order to spotlight works it believes deserve
wider recognition as vital, living art, regardless of style. The ensemble's thrilling performances and contagious
enthusiasm for the music of our time continue to attract critical acclaim and large, diverse, and enthusiastic audiences
wherever the ensemble performs.
Fireworks performs at major venues and festivals throughout the United States each year. This season the ensemble will
tour the west coast with its Dance Music project, featuring dance music from around the world, and its rock -infused
interpretation of Stravinsky’s classic, The Rite of Spring. Closer to home, Fireworks will perform its acclaimed composer
portrait of Frank Zappa at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and will present two new programs at its home
series at Symphony Space in New York, featuring major new works written for the ensemble by Pulitzer Prize-winning
composer David del Tredici, Robert Kyr, and Scott Johnson.
Highlights of the ensemble’s 2006-07 season include a presentation of its new program, Cartoon, celebrating music and
video created for and inspired by shorts from the golden age of Warner Bros. animation at the Lied Center of Kansas,
and a sold-out portrait concert of the maverick 20th-century master, Frank Zappa, including both the composer’s
challenging instrumental rock music and rarely-heard works for traditional classical ensembles at the Miller Theater in
New York City.
Other recent engagements include The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Minnesota State University, and The Deer Valley
Music Festival. In 2005, Fireworks was invited to participate in the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Young
Performers' Career Advancement program, which culminated in a showcase performance at Carnegie Hall. Recent
Fireworks programs include Dance Mix, party music from five continents and over 700 years, and Pyrotechnics,
highlighting the vibrancy of contemporary composers from John Adams to John Zorn.
A fearless champion of new music, Fireworks collaborates with dozens of composers each year to push the boundaries
of contemporary musical expression. In the last five years, Fireworks has premiered over 100 compositions and
arrangements, including new works by Glenn Branca, Robert Carl, and Nick Didkovsky.
Passionate about its work with students of all ages, the ensemble devotes a large part of its time each year to residency
and outreach activities. Over the last few years, the group has conducted workshops and residencies at the Oregon Bach
Festival (where the ensemble worked with fifty emerging composers and premiered fifteen new works over the course of
a week-long residency), Minnesota State University, GWSD School system in New Hampshire, the Lawrence, Kansas
school district, Williams College in Massachusetts, and The Hartt School in Connecticut. This season, the ensemble will
conduct workshops and composer readings at almost every stop on its west and east coast tours.
Fireworks' recordings have enjoyed critical praise and radio play worldwide. Their acclaimed, rock -inspired recording of
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring (2003) was recently broadcast on Soundcheck on WNYC in New York, La Otra Musica in
Spain and Radio Rock in Italy. The group’s first recording, First Tracks (2002) was recently featured on John Schaefer's
New Sounds on WNYC. Dance Mix, their highly-anticipated third CD, is now available.
HISTORY
In 1998, composer and bassist Brian Coughlin was in the midst of a musical dilemma. "I was in graduate school, totally in love with music, but I was being stretched too thin. I couldn't find a way to reconcile all of my interests. At one point, I was playing in a gospel choir, a steel drum band, a Javanese gamelan, a rock band, a jazz big band, two orchestras, and two classical chamber music groups, and I was writing and arranging music for them too. I loved to be able do all of these different things; this is what kept music exciting and vital for me. I didn't want to have to restrict myself to just one of them, but I also knew I had to consolidate my resources if I wanted to succeed without burning out."
The solution presented itself when Coughlin went to see a performance of the Philip Glass Ensemble. "I saw a performance of Glass's La Belle et la Bete, a multi-media performance piece. As I was watching Glass play his music with his ensemble, suddenly it dawned on me that if I could find the right musicians, I could put together a single, small group to do all of the music I wanted to do."
Over the course of the next few years, Coughlin assembled a group of like-minded musicians with similar backgrounds. Though classically trained at the finest conservatories, Fireworks' members are quintessential neo-Renaissance musicians, musical omnivores who eagerly devour new challenges and who can play anything: rock, jazz, classical, and everything in between. This virtually limitless palette, combined with Coughlin's arranging talents, allowed the ensemble to perform just about anything they wanted, regardless of style, time period, or original instrumentation.
Fireworks burst onto the music scene in 2002 with Coughlin's striking, rock-inspired reinvention of Stravinsky's iconoclast masterpiece, The Rite of Spring, which quickly drew critical attention and diverse, enthusiastic audiences.
Since then, the group has taken full advantage of its potential, developing a repertoire as naturally eclectic as its individual tastes, assembled into carefully unified programs. "Dance Mix" combines toe-tapping music from around the world and 700 years of history, "Cartoon" features music written for and inspired by animated shorts from the Golden age of Warner Bros classics, and "Pyrotechnics" presents an intense collection of works written especially for Fireworks by today’s' most exciting composers.
"Having virtually unlimited options allows us to be really picky and very creative with our repertoire choices. We only play the pieces that we are crazy about, and which we believe deserve wider recognition and attention. We also believe strongly that in order to get an audience to love what you are doing, you have to love it yourself. We strive to make our passion for the music and for performing contagious. As a result, we hope that audiences will get really excited about something in our programs that they did not know about before. We want people to get turned onto music they did not really have a way in to before or did not know existed. Its so exciting for us is to look out into the audience and see the septuagenarians grooving along to Aphex Twin, or to see a group of teenagers transfixed by Stravinsky and Haydn."
The group's remarkable programming and thrilling performances have made them favorites at major venues throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Deer Valley Music Festival in Salt Lake City. In its 2006-07 season, Fireworks played a sold-out concert of the music of Frank Zappa at New York's Miller Theater, conducted a tour of its "Cartoon" program, with performances in New York, Baltimore, Washington DC, and the Lied Center Kansas, and presented performances of "Dance Mix" at the Wolfeboro Friends of Music series and at Symphony Space in New York. This season the ensemble will conduct east and west coast tours, with performances from San Francisco, CA to Portland, OR and from Binghamton, NY to Jacksonville, FL. Closer to home, the ensemble will continue its acclaimed series of concerts at Symphony Space, and the Tenri Cultural Institute, will collaborate with fellow new music pioneers pulseoptional at the VIM Tribeca Festival, and will perform the music of Frank Zappa and Stravinsky at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.
Fireworks' flexibility and fearless approach to new ideas have made the ensemble a darling of composers worldwide. Master new music composers such as Glenn Branca, Nick Didkovsky, and Robert Carl, as well as a host of younger composers, have written new works for the ensemble. At the 2005 Oregon Bach Festival, Fireworks collaborated with fifty emerging composers and premiered fifteen new works written for the ensemble. The ensemble has also held residencies to work with student composers at Williams College, the Hartt School, and Minnesota State University. In 2006, Fireworks collaborated with Risa Jaroslow and Dancers to present a major new work by veteran New York "downtown" composer Scott Johnson. This season, Fireworks will present premieres by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David del Tredici and west coast symphonist Robert Kyr, and will inaugurate a new series of composer readings in New York.
"One of the things that we really enjoy is working with young people and with student composers. We try to conduct workshops and residencies almost everywhere we go. The best way for composers to learn about writing music is to work with a live ensemble so that they can really hear how the music sounds and that can provide good feedback to them about how to express their ideas most efficiently. Helping composers express themselves is the best way to ensure a bright future for contemporary music. We also really love working with young students. It’s vital that kids are exposed to art and music, so that they can learn how to be creative and express themselves, especially now that our education system and culture makes that so difficult. There is nothing more gratifying for us than to get young students excited about music and to show them all of the amazing sounds that are out there."
|
|
