Michael Riesman

Philip Glass Ensemble

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Philip Glass Ensemble is a musical group founded by composer Philip Glass in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music. The Ensemble's instrumentation became a hallmark of Glass' early minimalist style. After Glass wrote his first opera, Einstein on the Beach, for the Ensemble in 1976, he began to compose for other instrumentation more frequently, but he still retains the core ensemble instrumentation.

While the Ensemble's exact instrumentation has varied over the years, it has generally consisted of amplified woodwinds, keyboard synthesizers, and solo soprano voice (singing solfege). The Philip Glass Ensemble continues to perform and record, under the musical direction of keyboardist Michael Riesman.

In 2011, individuals from the ensemble performed a series of concerts in an installation at the Museum of Modern Art. The group continues to perform around the world and will continue so. In 2012 the ensemble is presenting, along with many other talented performers, a revival of Einstein on the Beach in Montpellier, London, Reggio Emilia, Toronto, Brooklyn, Berkeley, and Mexico City.

Members

  • Michael Riesman, keyboards
  • Philip Glass, keyboards
  • Jon Gibson, woodwinds
  • Dan Dryden, audio engineer
  • Lisa Bielawa, voice
  • Andrew Sterman, woodwinds
  • Mick Rossi, percussion, keyboards
  • Frank Cassara, percussion
  • Stephen Erb, audio engineer
  • David Crowell, woodwinds
  • Martin Goldray, keyboards (retired)
  • Eleanor Sandresky, keyboards (retired)
  • Richard Peck, woodwinds (retired)
  • Jack Kripl, woodwinds (retired)
  • Richard Landry, woodwinds (retired)
  • Joan La Barbara, voice (retired)
  • Iris Hiskey, voice (retired)
  • Dora Ohrenstein, voice (retired)
  • Kurt Munkacsi, audio engineer (now producer)

Films

  • 2009 - Pruit Igoe and prophecies. From Watchmen
  • 2002 - Naqoyqatsi. Directed by Godfrey Reggio.
  • 2008 - Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts. Directed by Scott Hicks.
  • 1988 - Powaqqatsi. Directed by Godfrey Reggio.
  • 1983 - Philip Glass. From Four American Composers. Directed by Peter Greenaway.
  • 1982 - Koyaanisqatsi. Directed by Godfrey Reggio.

Games

  • 2008 - Pruit Igoe and prophecies. Grand Theft Auto 4
This page was last modified 13.03.2013 10:13:51

This article uses material from the article Philip Glass Ensemble from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.