New Composers

The New York City Guitar Orchestra, conducted by Jason Sagebiel and Nicoletta Todesco in collaboration with artistic direction by John Olson, releases Spectra, a collection of newly composed works for multiple guitars by such luminaries of the plucked string world as David Leisner, Frederic Hand, David Loeb, William Anderson, and João Luiz. Music for multiple players on the same instrument has grown in recent years, perhaps inspired by the success of percussion ensembles. Works by prominent composers for several bassoons, or flutes, or pianos have made their mark on concert programs. The guitar is a natural fit for similar ventures, inhabiting its own space in the concert music world, increasingly integrated with other instruments but retaining its unique profile. The music and spirited collaboration on this recording reflect the sense of community that is only further enhanced by projects of this sort.

This New York-based unit have developed a near telepathic relationship playing together since 2006 and has developed an individual language and a unique approach to playing jazz standards. Having recorded dozens of albums of original music (each of the members are notable composers & bandleaders) the NYSQ embraces the freedom of performing music based on a simpler, standard jazz repertoire, focusing in particular on the songs that they grew up with.

Some songs are so deeply rooted in the attitude to life of a region that one can rightly call them 'Hits.' Broadway and its motion picture shows and theaters were synonyms of national cultural identity for New York and the American way of life. The names and melodies of composers such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Benny Goodman were omnipresent in New York. They are part of national history, just as the film in Babelsberg in Berlin developed a unique cultural flowering after the First World War.

The New York City Guitar Orchestra, conducted by Jason Sagebiel and Nicoletta Todesco in collaboration with artistic direction by John Olson, releases Spectra, a collection of newly composed works for multiple guitars by such luminaries of the plucked string world as David Leisner, Frederic Hand, David Loeb, William Anderson, and João Luiz. Music for multiple players on the same instrument has grown in recent years, perhaps inspired by the success of percussion ensembles. Works by prominent composers for several bassoons, or flutes, or pianos have made their mark on concert programs. The guitar is a natural fit for similar ventures, inhabiting its own space in the concert music world, increasingly integrated with other instruments but retaining its unique profile. The music and spirited collaboration on this recording reflect the sense of community that is only further enhanced by projects of this sort.

Though most new age music has rightfully been associated with the cynical postmodern business of sonic backdrop music of the 1980s, '90s, and early 21st century – it was originally an outgrowth of the spiritual adventurousness of the 20th, particularly during the late '60s and '70s. Light in the Attic presents the first overview of the genre from the private-press side; in other words, its most authentic expression, since the vast majority of the records surveyed here were released by artists who had no regard for economic remuneration.

Andrew Nethsingha’s tenure as Director of Music of St John’s College, Cambridge, has been transformative.