the cell: A Twenty-First Century Salon in NYC Kicks-Off 2011 Season with Music Salon Series Celebrating 12 Diverse Artists

NEW YORK, NY, January 07, 2011 (Press-News.org) Ð the cell: A Twenty-First Century Salon (www.thecelltheatre.org) announced today its 2011 Season begins with a Music Salon series celebrating the diverse music of 12 local artists. Running from January 12 Ð February 12, 2011, the month-long event will feature performers including SYBARITE5, Flutronix, Bruce Wolosoff and Center for Contemporary Opera (CCO). Located at 338 West 23rd Street in the heart of Chelsea, all performances at the salon begin at 8:00 PM with ticket prices: $20 General Admission, $10 Students/Seniors and $50 Unlimited Pass Ð available for purchase at Brown Paper Tickets (www.brownpapertickets.com).

the cell has revived the salon, an Italian invention of the 16th century and commonly associated with the French literary movement. Continuing in the tradition as a space where like-minded people gather under one roof to exchange ideas, the cell opens its doors to the community ensuring the arts (music, theater, literature, etc.) remain accessible and affordable to everyone.

Throughout the year, audiences will be able to attend various salon series at the cell including Surviving Arts (February 13 Ð March 12) Ð a month of events featuring the survival of arts and artists and See Saw Solo (March 16 Ð April 16) Ð three solo shows exploring lifeÕs big questions. In addition, the 2011 season will also include the Dramatic Lecture Series, Tandem Reading Series and Blackboard Reading Series (devoted to Black Playwrights).


Music Salon series schedule of performers:

January 12 Jake MarmerÕs ÒJazz TalmudÓ (featuring Saxophonist Greg Wall, Trumpeter Rob Henke & Keyboardist Uri Sharlin)
A poetry and music project with Talmudic modes of dialog, spontaneous interpretations, interruptions, arguing and the ecstatic attempts at wisdom. The poems mimic Talmudic rhetoric, style and turns of phrase as they reflect on the contemporary Jewish experience, jazz, dreams, loneliness and more. The horn players, acting as TalmudÕs interpreters Rashi and Tosefot, spontaneously riff on the spoken material and each otherÕs reaction to it.

January 14 SYBARITE5 (Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass)
THE SHUFFLE EFFECT - A new standard in audience experience where the traditional set program list is replaced with an iPod containing the groupÕs repertoire. The program for the concert is determined LIVE from the stage Ð the players press ÒshuffleÓ on the iPod and perform a randomly selected piece shown on the screen. Audiences must be prepared for anything Ð from Radiohead to Mozart, Dvorak to Led Zeppelin Ð THE SHUFFLE EFFECT allows the musicians to showcase their skill, innovation and vibrancy. (Opening acts include DJ Laco and The Batteries Duo)

January 15 Flutronix (Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull) and Friends
Produced by Brooklyn based electro-acoustic flute duo, Flutronix, this concert is a celebration of the ÒfriendsÓ who help them do what they love most Ð make music! IKTUS Percussion Quartet, an ambitious, dynamic young New York City ensemble committed to expanding the boundaries of the percussion genre, joins Flutronix highlighting music for flute and percussion including electronic music, contemporary-classical music, African-American composers, female composers and much more.

January 20-21 Enemies, a Love Story by Ben Moore and Nahmas Sandrow (part of the Center for Contemporary Opera (CCO) Atelier Series @ the cell)
Set in New York City in 1949, the opera follows Holocaust survivor Herman Broder. Throughout the war, he survived in a hayloft taken care of by his non-Jewish, Polish servant, Yadwiga, whom he later takes as his wife in America. Meanwhile, Herman has an affair with another Holocaust survivor, Masha. To Yadwiga, he poses as a traveling
book-salesman Ð despite the fact he is simply a ghost writer for a corrupt rabbi. Herman wanders about New York with a constant paranoia and perpetual desperation, made more complicated when his first wife from Poland, Tamara, who was thought to be killed in the Holocaust, comes to New York. Featuring an all-star cast with stage direction by Kira Simring and music direction by Michael Pilafian.

January 26 Likeness to Lily's Portrait Songs Series, featuring original artwork by Justin Waldstein
Likeness to LilyÕs Portrait Songs is a series of vignettes inspired by the true stories of real life women. Each of these story-songs are brought to life by the elegant candor of Susan OetgenÕs classically trained voice and unfold in the light-drenched colors and sensual figures of collaborator Justin WaldsteinÕs original artwork-in-projection. Mythic but intimate, Portrait Songs captures and reveals the shifting inner narratives of characters whose beauty exists in the eyes of their beholder.

January 28 Ben Bierman
Composer and trumpet player Ben Bierman presents ÒBeyond Romance,Ó a song cycle for male and female voice, and piano. Joined by his collaborator, lyricist Earl Shuman (ÒHey There Lonely GirlÓ), the piece explores the emotional lives of a couple in the middle stage of their married life. ÒBeyond Romance,Ó an eclectic work merging an art song sensibility with jazz, Latin jazz, and musical theater, features vocalists Margaret Dorn & Matthew Scott and pianist Jeb Patton. As an added bonus, trumpeter Ben Bierman will also present excerpts from a work in progress Ð an instrumental song cycle featuring Jeb Patton on piano, Ben Lapidus on guitar/tres, and Emanuel Bierman on percussion.

January 29 Jo‹o Luiz & Trio Virado (Music for guitar, viola and flute)
Critically acclaimed Brazilian guitarist Jo‹o Luiz performs works from renowned composers including John Dowland ÒLarchrimae Paven,Ó Joaquin Malats ÒSerenata Espanola,Ó Jaoquin Rodrigo ÒFandangoÓ and Leo Brouwer ÒLa ciudad de las Columnas.Ó After intermission, Jo‹o is joined by Jen-Hsuan Liao (viola) and Min Hee Kim (flute) for a concert featuring works from Hispanic composers including Leo Brouwer ÒPaisagens, Retratos y Mujeres,Ó Sergio Assad ÒMenino,Ó and Astor Piazzolla ÒThree TangosÓ (arranged by Jo‹o Luiz).

February 4 Dadap Family
The Dadap-Ma Guitar & Violin Duo, husband and wife team Michael Dadap and Yeou-Cheng Ma (Yo-Yo Ma's elder sister), is joined by daughter, and cellist, Laura Dedap for a night filled with music ranging from classical (Paganini, Giuliani, Villalobos, Tarrega) to contemporary, with a strong influence from Filipino folklore.

February 5 Peter Flint Trio and Joao MacDowell Trio

Peter Flint Trio
Peter Flint, assisted by Avian Orchestra musicians Arash Amini (cello) and Andrew Sterman (woodwinds), offers up a mŽlange of accordion chamber music, written both by him and by others. The program includes a series of short "etudes" and wordless songs that are contemplative, tender, mysterious, occasionally raucous, transporting, perhaps even funny and unique. As Peter puts his accordion skills on display and delves into new creative territory, listeners can expect a quirky and engaging musical evening that gleefully bounds across the stylistic borders between classical, jazz, folk, Latin, and more.

Joao MacDowell Trio
Joao MacDowell, recording artist and composer of the Brazilian opera "Tamandu‡," is joined by Jeremy Lamb (cello) and Uka Gameiro (percussion) for a concert of beloved Brazilian songs and chosen originals. The acoustic trio performs works from composers including Villa Lobos, Tom Jobim, Hermetto Pascoal, Luiz Gonzaga and Joao MacDowell.

February 11 Simply Complicated: The Elegant Escapades of a Danish-Israeli Opera-Singing Tank Commander
By nineteen, Charlotte Cohn was already a commander in the Israeli Army. But the opera-singing music lover knew she was destined for something different. In an eclectic evening of songs ranging from the Beatles to Puccini, Charlotte Cohn shares the experiences that brought her from the kibbutz to New York City.

February 12 Bruce Wolosoff
American composer-pianist Bruce Wolosoff performs a recital of original works including "Four Blues," "Shenandoah Variations," "The Celestial Ruby," and "many worlds," composed in memory of his mentor and friend Jaki Byard.

About the cell: A Twenty-First Century Salon
Since its inception in 2006, the cell: A Twenty-First Century Salon (Nancy Manocherian, Founding Director; Kira Simring, Artistic Director) has been, and continues to be, an incubator for creative projects. Through its strong commitment to cultivate undiscovered artists, the cell: A Twenty-First Century Salon (has created residencies for diverse groups including the Tandem Reading Series, Center for Contemporary Opera and The Blackboard Reading Series. the cell: A Twenty-First Century Salon (is located in the heart of Chelsea, New York City. For more information, please visit http://www.thecelltheatre.org.