WQXR kicks off new residency program with The Knights
Classical 105.9 FM WQXR, New York City’s sole dedicated classical music station, is putting a fresh spin on the historical radio symphony model when it launches its first Ensemble-in-Residence program this September with The Knights, one of New York’s most talked-about young music groups. The Knights will take up residence at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR, the station’s intimate and acoustically superior live event venue and broadcast studio, from September 15 to 18, and the ensemble will appear across all platforms: on air, online and on stage before live audiences.
For the first several days, WQXR hosts will pop down to The Greene Space studios to report from the rehearsals and open the process to on-air and online audiences at www.thegreenespace.org. Exclusive video will be posted daily to WQXR.org. Eric and Colin Jacobsen, brothers and co-artistic directors of The Knights, will serve as guest DJs when they select their five favorite pieces and present their “Top 5 at 105” on Friday, September 16 at 12 noon. The following day, The Knights will “storm the castle” when its members take to the airwaves to present their favorite pieces every hour. On Thursday, September 15, music students from the Cristo Rey High School in East Harlem will attend a rehearsal and have been invited to join members of the orchestra for an afternoon jam session.
In addition, WQXR.org will have a page dedicated to the residency, featuring articles, videos, and audio about The Knights available at www.wqxr.org/theknights.
The residency concludes at noon on Sunday, September 18, with a live performance and brunch hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon. In this concert, to be broadcast on 105.9 FM, The Knights will present a varied and riveting program that includes Schubert’s beloved Octet, Ginastera’s Impressiones de la Puña, and works by contemporary composers Osvaldo Golijov and Russell Platt. Tickets for the event are available at http://www.wnyc.org/thegreenespace/events/2011/sep/18/brunch-the-knights/
“The Knights, with their innovative approach to presenting and their eclectic inspirations, have exactly the right spirit for our inaugural Ensemble-in-Residence,” said Graham Parker, Vice President, WQXR. “What WQXR and The Knights share is a deep desire to broaden people’s ideas about classical music and to make it accessible and available in a variety of ways. We are thrilled to present their process, their personality and their work through a textured live, on-air and on-line experience.
New York Public Radio is New York’s premier public radio franchise, comprising WQXR, WNYC and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, as well as www.wqxr.org, www.wnyc.org and www.thegreenespace.org. Classical 105.9 FM WQXR is New York City’s sole 24-hour classical music station, presenting new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the city’s top venues, immersing listeners in a rich musical life. As America’s most listened-to AM/FM news and talk public radio station, reaching 1.1 million listeners every week, WNYC extends New York City’s cultural riches to the entire country on-air and online, and it presents the best national offerings from networks National Public Radio, Public Radio International, American Public Media, and the British Broadcasting Company. In addition to its audio content, WQXR and WNYC produce content for live, radio, and web audiences from The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the station’s street-level multipurpose, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space. For more information about New York Public Radio, visit www.nypublicradio.org.
About The Knights
The Knights are a New York-based orchestra founded by two brothers: cellist-conductor Eric and violinist-composer Colin Jacobsen. While music students in the late 1990s, Eric and Colin began regular informal chamber music readings at their home, inviting friends with a shared enthusiasm for the discovery and performance of new and historical music. These gatherings turned into public recitals and the ensemble “The Knights of the Many-Sided Table” was formed. As the number of performances increased and the group grew, the original collaborative spirit of chamber music remained. The name – now simply “The Knights” – has symbolized the orchestra’s quest: always searching out something bold and true to the music.
Members of The Knights are composers, arrangers, singer-songwriters and improvisers who bring a range of cultural influences to the group, from new music and early-music performance practice to jazz and Klezmer to pop and indie-rock. The orchestra has collaborated with such artists as sopranos Dawn Upshaw and Susan Narucki, violinist Gil Shaham, singer-songwriter (and Knights violinist) Christina Courtin, Iranian ney virtuoso Siamak Jahangiri, fiddler Mark O’Connor and Syrian clarinetist/composer Kinan Azmeh. The Knights have served as the resident chamber orchestra of the MATA Festival for young composers, premiering music by Christopher Tignor and Yotam Haber; the group has also worked closely with composers Lisa Bielawa, Ljova and Osvaldo Golijov. The Knights have recorded two albums for Sony Classical: New Worlds (Ives, Copland, Dvorak, Golijov and Gabriela Lena Frank) and Experience: Live from New York with cellist Jan Vogler (Shostakovich, Hendrix, Ljova); the group also partnered with violinist Lara St. John for an album of the Mozart violin concertos for Ancalagon Records.
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For further information, please contact:
Jennifer Houlihan, WNYC/WQXR: [email protected], (646) 829-4497
Glenn Petry, 21C Media Group: [email protected], (212) 625-2038