Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble

(Le) Poisson Rouge; Sun 8

Photograph: Amanda Pitts, News & Information Services, Grand Valley State University

In the 45 years since Terry Riley’s In C premiered, the minimalist work has been reinvented continually. Versions come in all shapes and sizes, lasting from 15 minutes to several hours, with anywhere from 11 to more than 100 musicians playing Riley’s 53-motif succession. As if the work itself didn’t offer enough room for freedom of interpretation, enter the Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble, presenting its own riff on Riley’s seminal work with a concert celebrating the release of its new CD, In C Remixed.

Following up on its acclaimed 2006 recording of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, the Allendale, Michigan, group tackled a second minimalist monument when it recorded In C last year. Rather than stopping there, director Bill Ryan sent the recording to composers, DJs and sound designers, including Phil Kline, David Lang and Glenn Kotche, and asked them to create four-to-eight-minute remixes. The results are on a companion CD of 16 remixes exploring new rhythms and sounds—and even new keys.

On Sunday, one of the commissioned contributors, Dennis DeSantis, will join the 17-musician ensemble for a live remix, while another, R. Luke DuBois, provides video projections to accompany the music. Two more remixers, Michael Lowenstern and Todd Reynolds, open the show with their bluesy violin–bass clarinet duo, the Slow Boys.—Amanda Angel

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