Darmstadt Institute 2011: Classics of the Avant-Garde 6/1 – 7/1

A short history of Darmstadt: Classics of the Avant-Garde

Darmstadt: Classics of the Avant-Garde began as a listening party at Galapagos Art Space, and has since grown to include a successful month-long festival at ISSUE Project Room curated by Zach Layton & Nick Hallett. Called “a provocative tweak for fans and foes alike,” (New York Times) and “extraordinary, leaving powerful, lasting impressions that mock the concept of taste,” (George Grella, The Big City), the Institute takes its name from the legendary Darmstadt Summer Institute in Darmstadt, Germany, home to European legends such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Oliver Messiaen, Luigi Nono, and Iannis Xenakis, and occasionally Americans John Cage, Earle Brown, and Christian Wolff.

Composers presented range from veritable giants of the avant-garde (6.2: Alvin Lucier’s “Queen of the South”) to young, adventurous artists (6.9: Zeelab + Iktus Percussion Quartet, 6.16: Mario Diaz De Leon + Red Light New Music, 7.1: Jennifer Walshe + Nick Hallett). A key component of the Institute is the juxtaposition of these experimental music legends with their younger colleagues, drawing comparisons between different generations of artists. Performance art, minimalism, modernism, opera, and conceptualism all make appearances at the Institute, reflecting the diversity of our city’s avant-garde history in a casual, non-institutional format.

The Darmstadt Institute is made possible, in part, through generous support from the Dedalus Foundation and with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council

Photo by Peter Gannushkin, DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET

Wet Ink Ensemble (via the WFMU Free Music Archive)


If Wet Ink Ensemble existed when “uptown” and “downtown” still had meaning, much of their programming would seem to land them decidedly north of 34th St. But like the capital-D Downtown groups, the bread and butter of their programming comes from the ensemble members themselves, with composers such as Alex Mincek, Kate Soper, Eric Wubbels, Sam Pluta, playing vital roles in the group.

Darmstadt Institute needs your support!


June 2011: John Moran, Terre Thaemlitz, Larry Austin, Jennifer Walshe, Wet Ink, David Borden, and more!

We need the support of our amazing community of artists and audiences to make this year’s Darmstadt Institute a true success. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today!

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Tons of free music from Darmstadt Institute 2011 artists (via the WFMU Free Music Archive)


ISSUE Project Room’s annual Darmstadt Institute — which borrows the name (if not polemic) of the famous incubator of post-WWII difficult music — runs throughout the month of June, with imports like John Moran & Saori, Terre Thaemlitz (aka DJ Sprinkles), and Jennifer Walshe; Darmstadt stalwarts like TILT Brass, Claire Chase & Rebekeh Heller, and the Wet Ink Ensemble; and some revivals of underrepresented American artists such as David Borden’s Mother Mallard Portable Masterpiece Co. and Larry Austin.

Darmstadt Institute 2011: John Moran, Larry Austin, Terre Thaemlitz, David Borden, TILT Brass, Jennifer Walshe, and many more


Check out the full schedule of our Darmstadt Institute 2011. The festival welcomes the first U.S. performance by groundbreaking performance duo John Moran . . . and his neighbor, Saori since 2007, including the premiere of their new work “John Moran & Saori (…in Thailand).” Other highlights include: a celebration of composer Larry Austin‘s 80th birthday, [...]