NOW Ensemble

NOW ENSEMBLE

photo by Sarah Holm

NOW ENSEMBLE is a dynamic group of performers and composers dedicated to making new chamber music for the 21st century. With a unique instrumentation of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass, and piano, the ensemble brings a fresh sound and a new perspective to the classical tradition, infused with the musical influences that reflect the diverse backgrounds of its members. NOW Ensemble has brought some of the most exciting composers of their generation to national and international recognition. 

In recent seasons, NOW has performed at major venues around the world and been in residence at a variety of educational institutions. Recently, they were the inaugural ensemble-in-residence at San Diego’s Art of Élan, were the featured artists at the Red Note New Music Festival in Illinois, and appeared at National Sawdust and Lincoln Center in NYC.

NOW Ensemble's performances have been featured on NPR's “All Things Considered” and live on WNYC. NOW's “Plan of the City,” a collaboration with filmmaker Joshua Frankel, was praised in the Washington Post as “one of the best matches of visuals to music I’ve seen.” The ensemble won an Independent Music Award for Best Eclectic EP after its release of “Rounder Songs” in 2018. Since its inception in 2004, NOW has worked closely with over 100 of today’s leading composers.

NOW Ensemble has released six albums on the New Amsterdam Records label, with a seventh due out in 2021. They are currently collaborating with Judd Greenstein on an opera about New York City urban activist Jane Jacobs and urban planner Robert Moses.

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PRESS & NEWs

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WATCH AND LISTEN

"One of the best matches of visuals to music I’ve seen." -- Anne Midgette, Washington Post "Gorgeous." -- Alex Ross, New Yorker critic, in his blog The Rest Is Noise This project is growing into an opera: http://mosesjacobsopera.com More info on the director: http://www.joshuafrankel.net/Plan_Of_The_City.html https://twitter.com/#!/frankelfrankel More info on the music: http://www.nowensemble.com Making-of photos on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plan-Of-The-City/170279963031275 A new film combing animation with live action conceived and directed by Joshua Frankel, about the architecture of New York City blasting off into outer space and resettling on Mars. The film’s visuals are an animated collage combining live action footage, animated elements, illustrations and treated photographs, including photos taken by the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity made available to the public domain by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Plan of the City was created in collaboration with composer Judd Greenstein and NOW Ensemble, an acclaimed "indie classical" chamber ensemble; the ensemble, including Greenstein, feature prominently in the film as live actors set inside the animated framework. The audio of the film consists solely of Greenstein's Change, performed by NOW Ensemble; Change and Plan of the City were created in parallel, each expressing its own artistic intention while simultaneously serving its "sibling". The film was presented with the music performed live, timed to the film, at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City in May, 2011. It also exists as its own stand-alone entity, utilizing NOW Ensemble's recent studio recording of Change(out on New Amsterdam Records). Director: Joshua Frankel Music: “Change”, composed by Judd Greenstein and performed by NOW Ensemble Cast: Sara Budde, Patrick Burke, Logan Coale, Mark Dancigers, Judd Greenstein, Michael Mizrahi, Alexandra Sopp, Susie Simpson, Celia Au, Jonthan Chang, Dan Chen, William Lex Ham, Ting Hu, Tammi Lee, Doua Moua, Rachel Shapira Producer: Elissa Federoff DP: Clayton Combe Choreographer: Will Rawls AD: Rachel Horlick Key Grip: Christopher Fisher Gaffer: Justyn Davis Props: Eve Biddle Script Supervisor: George Westberg Stylist: Jenni Shaw Asst Stylist: Julianne Laney Casting Lauren Charkow PAs: Clark Frankel, Daisuke Kasagawa, John Kitsis Edited by: Joshua Frankel and George Westberg Greenscreen Keying and Rotoscoping: Spline VFX VFX Supervisor: Leslie Chung Tools Development: Clay Budin, Dan Fast Digital Artists: Dave C Frankel, Carolyn Frisch, Rio Harrington, Minwoo Lee, Suzanne Porush, Hyun Jung Ra, David Sarma, Adam Yost Studio and Invaluable Support provided by My Active Driveway Images of Mars Courtesy of NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Caltech Made possible with a generous grant from New York State Council On The Arts

Join Q2 Music and indie-classical standard-bearers NOW Ensemble for a live performance in celebration of the group's newest album, "Dreamfall" - out May 26 via New Amsterdam Records. The ensemble's fourth album, "Dreamfall" features seven composers - Scott Smallwood, Mark Dancigers, John Supko, Nathan Williamson, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Andrea Mazzariello and Judd Greestein - and is by far the biggest and most ambitious record for the group to date.

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DISCOGRAPHY