RED LIGHT NEW MUSIC presents David Hanlon's HOLD THE APPLAUSE

Sunday, May 13, 5:30 pm

Pianist David Hanlon's Hold the Applause concerts submerge the listener in a continuous stream of music where pieces of haunting beauty, violent aggression, and sly wit are linked by composed and improvised transitions, shaping the evening into an organic whole. This program will feature works by established European composers such as Lachenmann, Nono, and Ades and premieres by young American composers Kyle Hillbrand and Alex Mincek. The evening is presented by Red Light New Music

David Hanlon

Pianist DAVID HANLON has brought his passion for music to venues in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. These have included the 92nd Street Y, Merkin Hall, Rose Hall at Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum, The Stone, St. Anne's Warehouse, Tonic, Sprague Hall, and Mass MoCa. A recent highlight was his performance in Cairo's historic Ewart Hall where he gave a recital entirely of 20th and 21st century music, giving the Egyptian premeire of many pieces. A champion of contemporary music, David has played with many new music groups such as Red Light, Yes is a World, Newband, Real Quiet, Tactus, and Music with a Capital M. His many premieres have included the World Premiere of Michael Gordon's Who by Water and American Premiere of Decasia. His performances of Harry Partch's Oedipus (only the second staged performance in the opera's history) was named one of the 10 best live events of 2005 by New Yorker critic Alex Ross. David has worked with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Steve Reich, Michael Gordon, Evan Ziporyn, Jim Thirlwell, Daniel Teruggi, Alvin Lucier, and Anthony Braxton.

David has long explored the possibilities of the concert form beyond its traditional conventions. David often breaks with the formality of the usual concert experience to introduce the music with lucid explanations as well as played and even sung examples. A trained actor and director, David has theatrically staged his performances and his Hold the Applause concerts invite listeners to lose themselves in a concert of continuous music with composed and improvised transitions linking pieces together.

In addition to classical music, David has played in jazz, rock, Javanese Gamelan, and Ghanaian drumming ensembles. He spent a summer in Cairo studying Arabic classical music on the 'oud, the Arabic predecessor of the lute. David also frequently collaborates with actors and directors and serves as a writer, composer, and musical director for the theatrical troupe The Rapid Response Team. A composer in both classical and popular idioms, David recently celebrated the release of his composition The Egg on a CD by singing cellist Jody Redhage. David received his B.A. from Wesleyan University in Music (High Honors) and Greek and his M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included William Braun, Jon Barlow, Constance Keene, Miyoko Lotto, and Anthony de Mare.

RED LIGHT NEW MUSIC is a contemporary music concert series dedicated to performing the works of young composers while fostering a dialogue between composers from around the world. We believe that openness and flexibility of thought should be the priority over specialization, continual exploration and a malleable perspective are needed in order to meet the challenges of creating music today. Because of this we are dedicated to presenting concerts and approaching the entire process of music in a democratic fashion, creating a forum which allows composers, musicians and audience members to engage with the most recent ideas of new music in the context of a community which will allow for the creation of new levels of understanding and thought.

Red Light began its first season in 2004 when co-directors A. Vincent Raikhel, Scott Wollschleger, and Christopher Cerrone sensed the need to create a contemporary music series that filled a large programming gap in New York City: despite the plethora of concerts, many young composers of growing importance in the United States and Europe were rarely if ever performed in New York. The ensemble set forth their second full season in 2005 with three concerts, presenting the first U.S. performances of works by composers such as Beat Furrer, Salvatore Sciarrino, Gerard Grisey, Gyorgy Kurtag, Helmut Lachenmann, Nils Vigeland, Reiko Fueting and Brian Ferneyhough.

For 2006-2007, Red Light inaugurates their first season devoted almost entirely to composers under the age of 35 and has commissioned new works from 8 composers throughout the world. Additionally, Red Light will present the first American performances of works by lesser-known composers from New York, France, Italy, and Germany.