Commissions to Catherine Lamb & Charles Uzor

In 2024/25, Ensemble Ekmeles will premiere new works by Catherine Lamb and Charles Uzor exploring ideas of clarity and ambiguity in microtonality and the tonal quality of vowels.

The two composers in this programme bring different musical and philosophical backgrounds to their work with the form and structure of microtonality. American-born composer Catherine Lamb lives in Berlin. Her music is microtonal and is based on the simple relationships of pure intonation. It is music that is ideal for voices that have no other limitations in terms of specific tuning than the ability to hear the intervals. Straight Curve is the title of her new composition for six voices.

The Nigerian-born Swiss composer Charles Uzor explores concepts such as identity and deception in his latest works. The inspirations and sound sources for his music are wide-ranging and include acoustics, birdsong, linguistics and police cameras. In his new work for Ekmeles, he explores extremely dense microtonal chords, which he juxtaposes with simpler “pure” intervals.

The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation supports the commissions to Catherine Lamb and Charles Uzor for Ekmeles.

Further information:
ekmeles.com

Dates

November 2, 2024
DiMenna Center, New York City

May 24, 2025
St Peter’s Church Chelsea, New York City