CLASSICAL & OPERA: Cello again

Photo: Christina Jensen

A little more than a year ago, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble—ACME for short—was causing a stir in the crowded New York new-music scene. Founded in 2004 by sisters Clarice and Christina Jensen, the loose confederation of gifted young performers presented a series of notable events at the Tenri Cultural Institute and the Cornelia Street Café during its inaugural season. The group’s concerts were polished and playful, its programs a broad-minded mix of rigor and eclecticism. But suddenly, they seemed to vanish without a trace.

Turns out that ACME’s leaders might have been a bit too successful with outside ventures: Conductor Donato Cabrera was hired by the San Francisco Opera in August 2005, while cellist Clarice Jensen’s time was consumed by her duties as Björk’s assistant. Jensen gave up that position in December, in order to restring her cello and refocus the group. “The original intention was to play smaller chamber works and even solo pieces with my friends,” Jensen says. “One of the places we went wrong was getting too ambitious, with two big conducted pieces on each program. This season, we’re going to move back toward the original idea. The priority is just good, interesting programming.”—Steve Smith

ACME performs at the Tenri Cultural Institute November 19.

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