Tuesday, December 15th 2015—7:30 pm

The Strange Library is a musical setting by Whitney George of the recent novella by Haruki Murakami. Designed and illustrated by famed book jacket designer (and frequent Murakami collaborator) Chip Kidd, the novella is packaged like a graphic novel, whose moody and mysterious depictions of a child’s darkest dream match Murakami’s surreal imagination.

The plot is equally eerie: a little boy enters a quiet library -- “even more hushed than usual,” we’re told in the opening line -- and is sent to Room 107, where he meets a creepy old librarian who leads him deep into a maze of dark catacombs beneath the library. There, we learn of the librarian’s ghoulish designs and the boy encounters a small man wearing the skin of a sheep and a pretty young girl pushing a teacart, their worlds now “all jumbled together.” Not even fresh-made doughnuts can sweeten the boy’s nightmarish predicament as the librarian’s prisoner.

This evening's concert will consist of a complete reading of The Strange Library with projections of Kidd's colorful and disorienting illustrations, accomanied by live music composed by Whitney George and performed by The Curiosity Cabinet.

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Adam von Housen, Violin; Hugh Ash, Trumpet; 

Joe Tucker, Percussion; Whitney George, conductor; Jonas Barranca, Narrator ]

The Center for Fiction

17 E. 47th Street

New York, New York

$15 General | $12 Members & Students

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Wednesday, December 9th 2015—8:00 pm

Howl —Allen Ginsberg, accompaniment by Whitney E. George, read by Jerome Kitzke

Clarinet Trio Op. 114, Allegro—Johannes Brahms

I am Right. You are Wrong—Marc Thorman, on a text by William S. Burroughs, read by Allen Ginsberg

Clarinet Trio Op. 114, Adagio—Johannes Brahms

Kerouac Poems —Marc Thorman 

1. from “Old Angel Midnight”

2. Poem

3. Long Dead’s Longevity

4. Sitting under Tree Number 2

5. Poem

6. Poem

7. Poem

8. Poem

9. More from “Old Angel Midnight”

The Green Automobile — Jerome Kitzke 

Footnote to Howl —Allen Ginsberg, accompaniment by Whitney E. George, read by Jerome Kitzke

Jerome Kitzke, Narrator & Piano

with The Curiosity Cabinet: Carl Bolleia, Piano; Aleksandr Karjaka, Clarinets; 

David Whitwell, Trombone; Joe Tucker, Percussion

Spectrum 

121 Ludlow St #2

New York, NY 10002

[ private event | by invitation only ]

Monday, December 7th 2015—7:30 pm

An evening of silent films from the 1960s-1970s by experimental artist Frans Zwartjes rescored by composer Whitney George, and performed by The Curiosity Cabinet. The progam includes:

Spare Bedroom

for Horn in F & Fixed Media

Spectator

for Flute/Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Horn, Trombone, Violin, and Double Bass

Visual Training

for Flute/Piccolo, Clarinet, Horn in F, Trombone, Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Percussion 

Birds

for Flute, Percussion, & Fixed Media

Anamnesis

for Violin, Bass Clarinet, & Fixed Media

Seats Two

for Piano & Electronics

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Aleks Karjaka, clarinet; Melissa Danas, horn in F; Malec Heermans, trombone; Maya Bennardo, violin; Jillian Bloom, 'cello; Evan Runyon, double bass; Kristin Samadi, piano; Markus Kaitila, piano;  Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

Elebash Recital Hall

The Graduate Center, CUNY

365 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10016

[ admission is free ]

Sunday, November 22nd—7:00 pm

Sun Propeller — Nina C. Young

for solo violin & electronics

For the Love of a Wolf— Nicholas R. Nelson

for solo flute and electronics

Birds — Whitney George

for solo flute, solo percussion and electronics + video

Anamnesis — Whitney George

for solo bass clarinet, solo violin, and electronics + video

excision no. 1 — Tina Tallon

for solo percussion and electronics

Cherry Blossom and a Wrapped Thing After Hokusai — Judith Shatin

for solo clarinet and electronics 

[ The Curiostiy Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Aleks Karjaka, clarinet;

Maya Bennardo, violin; Joe Tucker, percussion ]

Stony Brook Recital Hall

Stony Brook University

New York

Admission is FREE

Thursday, November 19th—7:30 pm

Sun Propeller — Nina C. Young

for solo violin & electronics

For the Love of a Wolf— Nicholas R. Nelson

for solo flute and electronics

Birds — Whitney George

for solo flute, solo percussion and electronics + video

Anamnesis — Whitney George

for solo bass clarinet, solo violin, and electronics + video

excision no. 1 — Tina Tallon

for solo percussion and electronics

Cherry Blossom and a Wrapped Thing After Hokusai — Judith Shatin

for solo clarinet and electronics 

Concordance — Anton Rovner

for stereo playback

[ The Curiostiy Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Aleks Karjaka, clarinet;

Maya Bennardo, violin; Joe Tucker, percussion ]

Gallery MC

529 West 52nd Street

New York, New York

Tickets: $15 general admission | $7 for students

::doors open at 7:15, show stars at 7:30::

Friday, October 30th 2015—7:30 pm

Join The Curiosity Cabinet for an evening of macabre works for chamber ensemble, incorporating theater and choreography 

Seven Sins for String Trio — Whitney George

violin, viola, 'cello with original choreography by Kimani Fowlin 

Quoth the Raven — Whitney George

clarinet, violin, viola, 'cello, percussion, and narrator

The Masochist's Tango— Whitney George

solo violin

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Aleks Karjaka, clarinet; Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin;

Dan McCarthy, viola; Pat Muchmore, 'cello; Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

Grace Church

39 Erie Street

Jersey City NJ

[Tickets Available at the Door] 

Tuesday, October 27th—7:30 pm

The GC Composers' Alliance presents a concert of new music by Graduate Center composers:

Nathan Pell
Hyun-Kyung Lee
Vicente Alexim
Gregory Joseph Menillo
Jacob Sachs-Mishalanie

& Whitney George's Chasing Light

Performers: Maria Hadge, Thea Mesirow, Vicente Alexim, Alex Yu, Thomas Weaver, Carl Patrick Bolleia, and The Curiosity Cabinet.

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Aleks Karjaka, clarinet; Maya Bennardo, violin; Eric Cooper, 'cello; Paul Kerekes, piano; Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

Elebash Recital Hall

CUNY Graduate Center

New York, New York

[ admission is free ]

Sunday, October 25th 2015—8:00 pm

Join The Curiosity Cabinet for an evening of macabre works for chamber ensemble, incorporating theater, art, puppetry, and silent film. 

The Tell Tale Heart — Whitney George

flute, oboe/eng. hn., clarinet, two violins, viola, 'cello, double bass, mallet & aux. percussion & piano

Funeral Symphony — Nick Omiccioli

string quartet & projection

2ⁿ-ion 3 or 2^n-ion 3— Pat Muchmore

english horn, violin I, violin II, viola, 'cello, double bass

Madrigals (Book 1) — George Crumb

soprano, double bass, and mallet percussion

The Night Mare — Christopher Cerrone

flute/alto flute, bass clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, percussion & fixed electronics

Quoth the Raven — Whitney George

clarinet, violin, 'cello, double bass, percussion, narrator, and puppeteer

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Lindsey Eckenroth, flute; Kristin Leitterman, oboe/english horn; Daniel Padmos, clarinet; Adam von Housen & Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin; Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos, viola; Pat Muchmore, 'cello; Emilio Guarino, double bass; Joe Tucker, mallet percussion; Michael Lupo, auxiliary percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

South Oxford Space

138 S. Oxford Street

Brooklyn, New York

Tickets: $15 general admission

Wednesday, October 21st 2015—7:30 pm

Poems of a Bright Moon — Maria Grenfell

for flute, clarinet, & piano

Between the Dark and Daylight — Adrienne Albert

for flute, violin, viola, 'cello, piano

​Walls of Light — Eric Nathan

for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, & percussion

Watching the Dark Slowly Unfold from Night, like Velvet: in Twelve Letters — Whitney George

for clarinet, violin, viola, 'cello, piano, & percussion

Chasing Light — Whitney George

for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, 'cello, piano, & percussion 

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Aleks Karjaka, clarinet;

Maya Bennardo, violin; Dan McCarthy, viola; Eric Cooper, 'cello;

Paul Kerekes, piano; Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

Elebash Recital Hall

The Graduate Center, CUNY

365 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10016

[ admission is free ]

Thursday, September 17th & Friday, September 18th 2015—8:00 pm

Meet Ed Leedskalnin: a small unassuming Latvian immigrant who is responsible for singlehandedly constructing the monument Coral Castle in Florida. This was an impossible feat for one man to create, but he claimed that he had discovered the secret of the Egyptians and constructed this monolithic coral city using nothing but a small mysterious box set on a tripod that he claimed could reverse the magnetic forces on Earth and levitate these huge structures. To this day no one can explain how these coral formations could have been moved from the sea miles away to the location where he built this and he did it for a woman he loved who never came to see his creation. Ed's story is retold through live music by Whitney George, performed by The Curiosity Cabinet and staged drama with puppets created by Daniel Fay. 

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Mara Mayer, bass clarinet;

Adam von Housen, violin; Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

The Standard Toykraft

722 Metropolitan Avenue

Brooklyn, New York

THURSDAY Tickets: $12.50 in advance/students | $15 at the door

FRIDAY Tickets: $12.50 in advance/students | $15 at the door

Saturday, May 23rd 2015—8:00 pm

Meet Ed Leedskalnin: a small unassuming Latvian immigrant who is responsible for singlehandedly constructing the monument Coral Castle in Florida. This was an impossible feat for one man to create, but he claimed that he had discovered the secret of the Egyptians and constructed this monolithic coral city using nothing but a small mysterious box set on a tripod that he claimed could reverse the magnetic forces on Earth and levitate these huge structures. To this day no one can explain how these coral formations could have been moved from the sea miles away to the location where he built this and he did it for a woman he loved who never came to see his creation. Ed's story is retold through live music by Whitney George, performed by The Curiosity Cabinet and staged drama with puppets created by Daniel Fay. 

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Mara Mayer, bass clarinet;

Adam von Housen, violin; Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

The Standard Toykraft

722 Metropolitan Avenue

Brooklyn, New York

Tickets: $10 in advance/students | $15 at the door

Friday, May 22nd 2015—7:30 pm

In Green Water from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, & percussion

As the Crow Flies from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, percussion, & soprano

Still & Brimming—Mirror  from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello & percussion

Thursday — Robert Paterson

for soprano & piano

4midable4 — Girolamo Deraco

for flexible ensemble

The End of Greatness — Greg Pfeiffer

for solo bass clarinet

Love Letter Written in a Burning Building — Steve Landis

for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, percussion, & soprano

五十 — Pat Muchmore

for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, & percussion

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Lindsey Eckenroth, flute; Mara Mayer, clarinets;

Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin; Pat Muchmore, cello; Izzy O'Connell, piano;

Justine Aronson, soprano; Joe Tucker, percussion; Whitney George, conductor ]

South Oxford Space

138 S. Oxford Street

Brooklyn, New York

Tickets: $10 general admission

Thursday, March 26th 2015—7:30 pm

Seats Two—Whitney George

film by Frans Zwartjes (1970)

for solo piano and fixed media

In the ​film Seats Two (1970​) two women, Zwartjes'​ regular actresses Moniek Toebosch and Trix Zwartjes, are sitting side by side on a couch, looking at a photo of a mountain landscape. The physical attraction between the two is clearly perceptible, but the two conceal their mutual craving. Sexuality is suggested through the odd cuts and splices of the film's editing and the tactile quality of the images. All is suggested, but nothing happens. Fascinated by the highly rhythmic nature of the films, and the obscured narratives, ​Seats Two is George's 5th re-scoring of a silent film by Frans Zwartjes. Her other compositions include scores to Spare Bedroom, Spectator, Sorbet III, and A Fan which have been performed both by Ensemble Mise-en and The Curiosity Cabinet. 

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Melinda Faylor, piano ]

Gallery MC

529 West 52nd Street

New York, New York

Tickets: $10

Saturday, March 21st 2015—8:00 pm

There’s an Awful Lot of Beeps on Your Machine — Chris Danforth

for solo percussion & tape

Radio Music — John Cage

The Curiosity Cabinet on radios

A Compass as My Planchette from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for flute, trombone, violin,  viola,  ‘cello, piano, percussion, conductor

The Viola in My Life (I) — Morton Feldman

for flute, violin, viola, ‘cello, piano, percussion, conductor

4midable4 — Girolamo Deraco

for flute, trombone,  violin, viola, ‘cello, piano, & two percussion

Burning a Name with Black Edges from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for violin, ‘cello,  piano, & conductor

Rope at the Throat from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for flute, violin, ‘cello, percussion, & conductor

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; David Whitwell, trombone; Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin; 

Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos, viola; Pat Muchmore, 'cello; Melinda Faylor, piano; Joe Tucker, percussion;

Whitney George, conductor ]

Scholes Street Studio

46 Scholes Street

Brooklyn, New York

Tickets: $10

Thursday, March 11st 2015—7:30 pm

Threnody I & II (for Igor Stravinsky and Beatrice Cunningham)—Aaron Copland

for flute, violin, viola, & 'cello

For Frank O’Hara—Morton Feldman

for flute, clarinet, two peruccussionists, piano, piano, violin & 'cello

Music for Marcel Duchamp—John Cage

for solo piano

Her Secret Drawer from Night, like velvet: in Twelve Letters—Whitney George

for clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, 'cello, double bass, piano & peruccussion

The Flickering of a Four Cornered Eye from Night, like velvet: in Twelve Letters —Whitney George

for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, 'cello, double bass, percussion, piano, & soprano 

A Compass as My Planchette from Night, like velvet: in Twelve Letters —Whitney George

for flute, clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, 'cello, double bass, percussion, piano, & soprano

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Alice Jones, flute; Daniel Padmos, clarinet; 

Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin; Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos, viola; Meaghan Burke, 'cello; 

Tristian Kasten-Krausse, double bass; Melinda Faylor, piano; 

Joe Tucker, percussion; Ellery Trafford, percussion; Justine Aronson, soprano;

Whitney George, conductor ]

Elebash Recital Hall

The Graduate Center, CUNY

365 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10016

[ admission is free ]

Friday, February 7th 2015—8:00 pm

Burning a Name with Black Edges from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for violin, 'cello, & piano

Rope at the Throat from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for flute, violin, 'cello, & percussion

A Compass as My Planchette from Night, like velvet: in twelve letters — Whitney George

for violin & vibraphone

[ The Curiosity Cabinet: Martha Cargo, flute; Charlotte Munn-Wood, violin;

Pat Muchmore, 'cello, Melinda Faylor, piano; Joe Tucker, percussion ]

The Firehouse Space

246 Frost Street

Brooklny, NY

Tickets: $10 at the door