Experience International Contemporary Ensemble, live streamed in your home!
Thursday, May 28, 7PM on Youtube
Dear Friends,
When we embarked on our work with International Contemporary Ensemble (I.C.E.) we knew it would be wholly unique and unforgettable for Ovations audiences.
At that time we imagined a modified version of their ambitious chamber opera, The Force of Things–a project so bold leading arts institutions in NYC could not figure out how to mount it. Through much conversation we arrived at an event tailored specifically for Maine–excerpts of this “opera for objects,” with its themes of climate change, interwoven with work by Maine-born composer Suzanne Farrin. We kept with the theme and together envisioned an immersive live concert experience at HALO on the Point at Thompson’s Point.
And then COVID-19 hit and we were forced to cancel 16 performances: among them, I.C.E. And the conversations and questions began anew–do we try and reschedule? Cancel outright? Or was there yet another way? This concert is a testament to artists’ creativity and innate ability to lead, and to these artists’ inventiveness in re-imagining this concert as a virtual event. In times of crisis, artists respond with innovation and resilience, and, of course beauty.
The initial intentions of the project remain the same, though the program has shifted. We are humbled to now be presenting two world premieres, along with our partners at the Library of Congress. The first by Suzanne using the little known ondes Martenot, regarded as the first electric instrument for which Olivier Messiaen also composed; and the second by Ashley Fure, composer of The Force of Things, who takes advantage of the interactive technology of live streaming to create something utterly of its time.
We invite you to join us on this new journey. We are grateful you’ve gathered with us.
Enjoy,
Aimée M. Petrin
Executive & Artistic Director
Portland Ovations has served the greater Portland community seamlessly for these 89 years, weathering with its communities the up’s and down’s of weather, the economy, and more. We’re still here with you! Check out our digital programming and services here.
And: we need you now more than ever. The necessary shut down on gatherings created by COVID-19 is a very real crisis for Ovations. 75% of our budget is sustained, in an ordinary year, by ticket sales. Without your Membership gifts, we can’t continue.
