Performers include: Michael Attias (baritone saxophone), Jen Baker (trombone), Michael Bates (contrabass), David Bindman (saxophones), Andrew Drury (percussion), Sean Sonderegger (clarinets), Lester St. Louis (cello), and guest artists Fung Chern-hwei (violin) and Joe Moffett (trumpet).
The Brooklyn Infinity Orchestra, New York City’s newest collective of composer/performers, are well-known in jazz, new music, classical, and free improvisation circles in New York and internationally. The performances feature works that explore a broad array of approaches, drawing from the diverse musical backgrounds and experiences of BIO members. David Bindman’s Awakening of Consciousness is a multi-part suite that combines rhythmic concepts from West Africa, India, jazz, funk, and minimalism with harmonies akin to those of Mingus, Machito, and Stravinsky. Stefan Bauer’s Priere sifts and re-sifts a simple, prayer-like melody through a kaleidoscope of orchestral permutations interspersed with contrasting group improvisations. Jen Baker’s Mini-Mikros is a space- sound piece that explores improvised harmonies and ensemble connection. Additional pieces by Michael Bates and Sean Sonderegger will be performed. Origins of The Brooklyn Infinity Orchestra Rekindling a musical friendship that began at Wesleyan University in the 1980s, David Bindman and Andrew Drury founded BIO to provide a forum for the composition, rehearsal, performance, and recording of original large ensemble music. The ensemble would need to embrace 21st century aesthetic possibilities while addressing the dire 21st century economic realities that confront musicians and people from all walks of life. Their search for a solution to this dilemma involves an egalitarian work model and the creation of a tight-knit collective of like-minded colleagues from far-flung areas of the USA, Canada, and Germany who have gravitated into the present-day uniquely and extraordinarily vibrant orbit of Brooklyn.
