Hailed by The New York Times for its “fiery ensemble virtuosity” and for its “first-rate performances” by The Washington Post,

counter)induction is a critically acclaimed new music collective, whose members include Miranda Cuckson, violin;  Benjamin Fingland, clarinet; Daniel Lippel, guitar; Jessica Meyer, viola & composer; Caleb van der Swaagh, cello; Ning Yu, piano; Kyle Bartlett, composer; Douglas Boyce, composer; Ryan Streber, composer. Formed in 1998 after a series of collaborations between composers from the University of Pennsylvania and musicians from Julliard School of Music , the New York-based ensemble has performed at Miller Theatre, Merkin Concert Hall, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, among other presitgious venues; and headlined numerous festivals, including the Music at the Anthology Festival, Boston Conservatory New Music Week, the Columbia Music Scholarship Conference, and the conference of the International Consortium for Auditory Display. c)i has premiered numerous pieces by both established and younger emerging American composers; including Eric Moe, Suzanne Sorkin, Ursula Mamlok, and Lee Hyla.

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Rotations is a concert that explores a diverse range of compositional styles through the unique perspective of an unconventional ensemble of instruments. It traces the currents and connections across existing and unexplored musical territories, guided by technical and historical viewpoints, with a specific focus on the integration of the classical guitar in chamber music settings.

 

The program features two works composed for c)i, with premieres planned in Spring 2025: Mark Rimple's Phantasmagoria, which considers creators from the last hundred years: Varo, DuChamp, Zappa, Picasso, and Eliot; and Yoon-Ji Lee's yet-to-be-titled work, featuring the Boston-based composer's unconventional, non-linear music, interweaving rapidly transforming gestures, textures,, and tone colors, all weaved intricately into both acoustic and electroacoustic mediums.  Other works include Kyle Bartlett's Before, that imagines an origin of music, and postulates a rapid elevation of complexity,  as the proto-language quickly develops grammar and signification that is resonant with but different from chamber music's primary tongue; and Douglas Boyce's Dit de l'alerion that connects the Modern with the Ancient, drawing from Machaut's poem/essay on falconry and the character of human relations.  Typically for a counter)induction concert, all these pieces investigate counterpoint and virtuosity, modernity and historicity, art and ontology.

 

The performance on April 4, 2025 by Dan Lippel, Benjamin Fingland, Caleb van der Swaagh, and Jessica Meyer was made possible through funding by the Augustine Foundation.