The Prism Chamber Orchestra , a non-profit corporation long associated with new American music, premiered, recorded and featured dozens of new pieces since its foundation in 1983 by Robert Black, the pianist, composer and conductor. After Mr. Black's untimely death, Prism's Board of Directors moved to broaden its activities to include the production of concerts and recordings (Prism Projects), and to re-activate its performing ensemble, under the name of Prism Players.

The current Board of Directors:
Ted Mook, President
Roger Zahab, VIce President
Sandra Elm, Secretary Treasurer

Prism
c/o Elm
411 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10011-2950
(212) 741-0011
email:
Sandra Elm
Ted Mook


Prism Players

The PRISM Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1983 by Robert Black, a conductor, composer, pianist and fierce advocate of new music. Chartered to perform, record and foster new music, from the date of its founding until Mr. Black's death, the group performed concerts featuring world premieres alongside established standards from the modern and classical repertoire.The group premiered works of Tod Machover, William Thomas McKinley, Jean Barraque, and Stephen Dembski, released recordings on the Bridge (BCD 9002, BCS 7002) and CRI (CRI SD 527) labels, and sponsored 80th Birthday Tributes to Louise Talma and Miriam Gideon.

Formed in 1995, the PRISM PLAYERS is a flexibly-sized ensemble that carries forward the ideals envisioned by founder Robert Black: programming works of living composers, providing a forum for innovative works and artists, offering professional opportunities for developing young conductors and instrumentalists.

Recent Performance History

PHOENIX RISING...,
Produced on November 18, 1995 at the historic St. Peter's Church in Chelsea. The program commemorated PRISM's inaugural concert with a performance of the Brahm's Serenade in A, which Mr. Black conducted on March 13, 1984, celebrated the Hindemith centenary with Der Schwanendreher, featuring Karen Dreyfus (an original member of the PRISM roster!), featured the emerging young conductor Jeff Domoto, and a new work, Conga Line in Hell, by Miguel del Aguila.

Music of Weimar Germany:
Hindemith, Krenek and Weill April 15, 1996 at St. Peter's Church.

WHEN NIGHT CAME
MONDAY JANUARY 27, 1997 8:00 PM
music of war, loss, and remembrance
DAVID BUECHNER, piano
JEAN KOPPERUD, clarinet
JEFF DOMOTO, conductor
The music selected for this concert was written about war, in response to war, or was somehow shaped by war:
Janácek composed Capriccio for pianist Otakar Hollmann who lost the use of his right hand during WWI; Karen P. Thomas wrote When Night Came for the women of Bosnia; the Heinrich Schütz work, Fili mi, Absolon, commemorates the loss of King David's son in battle. Hans Werner Henze's In Memoriam Die weisse Rose is about the anti-Nazi student underground resistance movement and Benjamin Britten's Canticle III "Still Falls the Rain - the Raids, Night and Dawn" is a setting of an Edith Sitwell poem about the Blitz of London.

Jean Kopperud was an original member of the PRISM Chamber Orchestra and was the featured soloist in the U.S. Premiere of Jean Barraqué's Clarinet Concerto performed with PRISM in 1984. The innovative young pianist, David Buechner, collaborated with Robert Black on numerous occasions, but this concert marked his first appearance with PRISM. Mr. Buechner's interest in Janácek stems from his years of study with the late Rudolf Firkusny at Juilliard

NORTHERN LIGHTS
MONDAY APRIL 14, 1997 8:00 P.M.
music by North European iconoclasts
TONY BOUTTÉ, tenor
JEFF DOMOTO, conductor

Works by the British serialist Elisabeth Lutyens, Aarre Merikanto, the most important Finnish composer of the post-Sibelius generation, and Peter Warlock's song cycle, The Curlew, based on poems of William Butler Yeats.

Upcoming Projects:

Hispanic Connection

Two Evenings of Pittsburgh Premieres

The Music on the Edge series will present the Prism Players in a two evening back-to-back event entitled "Two Evenings of Pittsburgh Premieres" which will be held in early April 1998 in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. Both evenings will be dedicated exclusively to featuring innovative new musical works created by composers presently living and working in the Pittsburgh area, from culturally diverse backgrounds, and who compose in diverse idioms. The two concerts will be designed in order to present to the general public, as well as the artistic and academic communities, some of the most interesting and diverse new music being written by the most important prominent and emerging composers the Pittsburgh region.
The first concert (Evening #1) will feature premieres by some of the most prominent and innovative composers in the Pittsburgh area, among them, Tamar Diesendruck (Israel), Mathew Rosenblum (see detail on recording project), David Stock, Reza Vali (Iran), and Terese Kaptur. The second concert (Evening #2) wiil feature new works by younger "emerging" Pittsburgh composers from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.

PRISM PROJECTS:

With the creation of PRISM PROJECTS, Prism has expanded its activities beyond performance to include fund-raising, record production, concert presentation, promotion/public relations, marketing, and even to developing a presence on the Internet RECORDINGS

CONCERT PRODUCTION (96-97 season)

ROGER ZAHAB & ERIC MOE
FAVOURITE MELODIES
MONDAY DECEMBER 2, 1996 8:00 PM
Historic St. Peter's Church in Chelsea
violin and piano duo performed new music by composers Judith Weir, Robert Black, Eric Moe, Roger Zahab, others.

PUBLICATIONS:

NEWSLETTER:

Prism publishes a newsletter: 95, 96& 97 seasons are available for viewing at this website.

MUSIC:

* Scores of Robert Black (contact the office for details: (212) 741-0011)
Foramen Habet! for piano
Three Pieces for Violin and Piano
Capriccio (Blown Apart) for orchestra:3222-4231-pno/cel-3 perc-strings
Underground Judges for orchestra 3342-4331-timp+4-strings

* The Art of Robert Black, (Bridge Records, BCD 9061) $14 plus $2 for shipping and handling, checks/money order only.

* The 17 Lyrics of Li Po (Tzadik) $14 plus $2 for shipping and handling, checks/money order only.

SANDRA ELM

TED MOOK