Wet Ink Ensemble: Works by Sam Pluta and Eric Wubbels

This is an Archive of a Past Event

The Wet Ink Ensemble will present two extended works by composer-performers Sam Pluta and Eric Wubbels, with violinist Josh Modney. Sam Pluta’s hydra and Eric Wubbels’s the children of fire come looking for fire are shining examples of Wet Ink’s philosophy – two works written in close collaboration with the performers, rooted in years of shared experience with a tight-knit group of musicians, and played in concert with ferocity, commitment, and expressivity seldom found in performances of contemporary music.

The Wet Ink Ensemble has been at the forefront of chamber music and composition in New York City for over 15 years and has earned an international reputation as one of America's most committed and virtuosic contemporary music ensembles, lauded for performances which “combine striking stylistic and aesthetic assurance with technical perfection” (Torsten Möller, Dissonanz). This trio formation of Wet Ink debuted in January 2015 for a tour of the U.K., including performances in Clapham, Manchester, Birmingham, and at the renowned experimental venue Café OTO in London.

Eric Wubbels's the children of fire come looking for fire for violin and prepared piano is a work of extremes, juxtaposing intense ensemble virtuosity, grinding noise, and extended repetition with moments of bare, direct simplicity, and just intonation. A work of exceeding musical and technical demands, the children of fire… is performed from memory.

Best known for his improvisation work with Peter Evans and Rocket Science (with Evan Parker, Craig Taborn, and Peter Evans), Sam Pluta's hydra combines his interests in live processing, acousmatic "tape music", acoustic composition, and improvisation. Pluta's incredibly virtuosic live electronics performance practice will be showcased, joined by Eric Wubbels (piano) and Josh Modney (violin).