Face The Music returns to the Queens Museum with the Samurai Mama Big Band performing Lock The Door, Swallow The Key, an avant-garde big band composition by Canadian composer Nicole Lizée. Quartet: This SideUP also performs works by Face The Music composers: Paris Lavidis leads his own String Quartet No. 2, and Emily DeLia joins the string quartet on harp in her Aria for a New Age.

ABOUT FACE THE MUSIC

The only youth ensemble in the U.S. dedicated to the creation and performance of music by living composers, the 200+ member Face the Music has taken its place as a full-fledged player in New York City’s vibrant contemporary classical scene, rapidly becoming what Allan Kozinn of the New York Times has called “€œa force in the New York new-music world.”€   In the space of ten years Face the Music has grown from an after-school club of eight kids to a massive group of over 135 students from all over the tri-state area who convene every week to write, rehearse, and perform music together. The ensemble advances Kaufman Music Center’s commitment to contemporary music and provides unparalleled performance and education experiences for the next generation of musical leaders.

Under the direction of Dr. Jenny Undercofler, Face the Music performs nearly 35 concerts each season in venues around the city ranging from schools to museums to concert halls. Highlights from recent seasons include performances at Lincoln Center Out of Doors, the Bang On A Can Marathon, the Ecstatic Music Festival, and the River to River Festival, where Face the Music opened for the Philip Glass Ensemble. Face the Music has collaborated with many professional artists, including the JACK Quartet, with whom they performed Steve Reich’s Triple Quartet at the Baryshnikov Arts Center last spring. Recently, Face the Music launched “€œKronos at Kaufman,”€ a major collaboration with the Kronos Quartet for the 2013-14 season.

Concerts will take place at 2pm and again at 4pm, and are free & open to the public, no RSVP needed.