THE SOUNDS OF A NEW CENTURY (SONiC) FESTIVAL | Here comes the SON — as in, those whose scholarly knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of the past can be felt in the grooves and curves of the stamp they put on our present soundscape. SONiC celebrates over 80 up-and-coming composers representing “every conceivable style,” by presenting 15 ensembles at 10 venues throughout NYC. Opening night’s 7 p.m. concert at WQXR (44 Charlton St.) features the resident ensemble at Westchester County’s Aaron Copland House. Oct. 16’s “New York Stories” (Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey St.) is a free 8 p.m. concert of world premiere works curated by WNYC’s John Shaefer (“New Sounds Live”). The chamber music collective Nieuw Amsterdams Peil plays (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St.) at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19, and Oct. 20’s 10 p.m. “Hybridity” after-hours event at DROM (85 Ave. A) features, among others, the 15-piece, multi-generational Eco-Music Big Band.
The festival happens Oct. 15–23 at 10 Manhattan & Brooklyn venues. Tickets range from free to $50. Festival passes (which provide codes to purchase tickets discounted by at least 20%) are $25. Visit SONiCfestival.org. Follow on facebook.com/SONiC.SoundsOfANewCentury. On Twitter and Instagram: @SONiC_Fest. Participate using the hastag #SONiCfest.
H.T. CHEN & DANCERS: SOUTH OF GOLD MOUNTAIN | Chinatown-based Chen Dance Center finds itself in Chelsea, with this new work by husband and wife team H.T. Chen and Dian Dong. They spent three years mulling over documents from official and private sources, and conducting interviews with immigrants and their descendants — then created this multi-generational dance/theater work, to memorialize the struggles of those who built America’s infrastructure and laid the groundwork for family-run grocery stores, laundromats, and restaurants that thrived for decades (many of which survive to this day).
Oct. 15–18. Thurs., Fri. & Sat. at 7:30 p.m. Sun at 3 p.m. At New York Live Arts (219 W.19th St. btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). For tickets ($35, $18 for students/seniors), call 212-924-0077 or visit newyorklivearts.org. Artist info at chendancecenter.org.
–By Scott Stiffler
