PostClassical Ensemble

21st-century classical music ensemble

PostClassical Ensemble

Orchestra
Short name| PCE
Founded| 2003 (2003)
Location| Washington, D.C., United States
Concert hall| Harman Center for the Arts
Music director| Angel Gil-Ordoñez
Website| www.postclassical.com

The PostClassical Ensemble (PCE) is a classical music ensemble from Washington, D.C. The organization was founded by conductor Angel Gil-Ordoñez and music historian Joseph Horowitz in 2003.[1]

## History

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For the first period of its history, the PCE performed in a variety of locations in the Washington, D.C. area. The ensemble debuted in 2005 with a performance of “Celebrating Don Quixote,” featuring a commissioned production of Manuel de Falla’s puppet opera Master Peter's Puppet Show, along with rarely heard works by Óscar Esplá and Roberto Gerhard. In the 2000s, the ensemble received a $200,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

In 2016, PCE's presentation of three American documentaries, The Plow that Broke the Plains, The River, and The City, with original scores by Virgil Thomson generated two Naxos DVDs. Its release of a newly recorded score for the Mexican docu-film Redes received a strongly positive view from the Los Angeles Times,[2] and its festival honoring the works of Bernard Herrmann was praised by several U.S. music critics for highlighting Herrmann's works.[3][4][5]

## Activities

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PostClassical Ensemble's repertoire emphasizes music composed after 1900, producing the work of artists such as Lou Harrison,[6] Bernard Herrmann,[4] and Silvestre Revueltas.[7]

PCE has collaborated with such artists as pianists Jeremy Denk, Benjamin Pasternak, Alexander Toradze, William Wolfram, clarinetist David Krakauer, baritones Christòpheren Nomura and William Sharp, bass-baritone Kevin Deas, pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen, and other international artists.

The group is an artistic partner of Georgetown University as well as an educational partner of the National Gallery of Art.[1]

## Music directors

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* Angel Gil-Ordoñez 2003–present

## References

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1. ^ a b Tim Smith (January 4, 2011). "Innovation rewarded: Post-Classical Ensemble receives $200,000 Mellon grant". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
2. ^ Kenneth Turan (May 5, 2016). "Newly recorded score is highlight of Mexican neo-doc Redes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
3. ^ Armando Trull (April 15, 2016). "'Psycho' And So Much More: Composer Bernard Herrmann Gets A D.C. Festival". WAMU. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
4. ^ a b Charles Downey (April 18, 2016). "Ensemble shines spotlight on Herrmann's film scores, and for good reason". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
5. ^ David Mermelstein (April 26, 2016). "More Than Hitchcock's Handmaiden". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
6. ^ Anne Midgette (March 13, 2016). "PostClassical Ensemble shows a new side of Lou Harrison". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
7. ^ Joan Reinthaler (May 14, 2014). "PostClassical Ensemble shines in its performance of Silvestre Revueltas's music". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2016.

## External links

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* Official website

Portal:

* Classical music

Authority control databases

National|

* United States
* Israel

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX