"Hush" by Tonia Ko Performed by New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello, Michael Compitello, percussion), featured on the new album from New Focus Recordings, “Simplicity Itself.” http://www.newmorsecode.com/ http://toniako.com/ Buy the album here: http://www.newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/new-morse-code-simplicity-itself/ Buy the score here: http://toniako.com/contact ---------------------------------- ABOUT THE PIECE: Tonia Ko’s “Hush” operates gesturally, and her style is at times reminiscent of the type of sound painting and economy of materials one hears in the work of George Crumb. In the opening movement, “The tongue is but a clapper,” Ko integrates fragments of text from Virginia Wolff’s short story The String Quartet into the musical fabric. The ritualistic middle movement includes brief bursts of dramatic wide vibrato and nervous tremolo figures in the cello accompanied by expansive cymbal rolls. The final movement again allows Collins to show her versatility, this time on a lyrical vocal part that weaves in and out of her cello line and Compitello’s vibraphone. “Hush” was written for and premiered by New Morse Code. ---------------------------------- MALLETS USED: #vfM31 - Terry Gibbs Signature Series http://vicfirth.com/products/keyboard-mallets/signature-keyboard/m31/ #vfM123 - Robert van Sice Signature Series http://vicfirth.com/products/keyboard-mallets/robert-van-sice-signature/m123/ #vfWB - Wire Brush http://vicfirth.com/products/alternative-implements/brushes/wire-brush/ ---------------------------------- ABOUT THE COMPOSER: The music of Tonia Ko has been lauded by The New York Times for its “captivating” details and “vivid orchestral palette.”  As a composer, she has been commissioned by leading soloists and ensembles, and performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and the Tanglewood, Aspen, and Santa Fe Chamber Music festivals.  Tonia has received grants and awards from Chamber Music America, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, BMI, Composers Now, International Alliance for Women in Music, as well as residencies at Copland House, Djerassi, Pocantico Center, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, and Atlantic Center for the Arts. She served as the 2015-2017 Composer-in-Residence for Young Concert Artists. Her interests in texture and physical movement play into a larger theme of interdependency between visual art and music. No matter how traditional or experimental the medium, Tonia's creative work reveals a core that is at once whimsical, questioning, and lyrical.  Full bio here: http://toniako.com/about/biography/ ---------------------------------- ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE: New Morse Code is devoted to bold and engaging performances of music worth sharing.  Omnivorous, rigorous and inventive, Hannah Collins and Michael Compitello activate the unexpected range and unique sonic world of cello and percussion to catalyze and champion the compelling works of young composers. To Hannah and Michael, collaboration involves drawing upon mutual influences while generating and refining material together over an extended period of time.  Through close work with colleagues such as pianist-composer Paul Kerekes, steel pan virtuoso and composer Andy Akiho, Hawaiian composer and visual artist Tonia Ko, and Pulitzer Prize-winning violinist/vocalist/composer Caroline Shaw, New Morse Code generates a singular and personal repertoire which reflects both their friends’ creative voices and their own perspectives.  Current projects include collaborations with composers Samuel Carl Adams, Matthew Barnson, Patrick van Deurzen, Stephen Gorbos, and Robert Honstein. Together, Hannah and Michael were finalists in the 2014 Concert Artists Guild Competition and recipients of a Classical Commissioning Grant from Chamber Music America with composer Christopher Stark.  In addition to developing new repertoire for concert programs, New Morse Code also creates music for larger interdisciplinary projects. Hannah and Michael are co-directors of the Avaloch Farm New Music Initiative, a summer residency program in Boscawen, New Hampshire designed to provide resources and support for performers and composers collaborating on new works.  Please see avalochfarmmusic.org for more information. They both teach at the University of Kansas. Full bio here: http://www.newmorsecode.com/about ---------------------------------- FOLLOW US! ➤Website: http://www.vicfirth.com ➤YouTube: http://youtube.com/vicfirthdrumsticks ➤YouTube (Marching): http://youtube.com/vicfirthmarching ➤YouTube (Concert): http://youtube.com/vicfirthconcert ➤Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicfirth ➤Instagram: http://instagram.com/vicfirth

Mariel, by Osvaldo Golijov Performed by: New Morse Code http://www.newmorsecode.com Michael Compitello & Hannah Collins Video: Four/Ten Media http://fourtenmedia.net Michael Compitello Vic Firth Artist Page: http://vicfirth.com/artist/Michael_Compitello/ ___ MALLETS USED: Robert van Sice Signature Series http://vicfirth.com/robert-van-sice/ ___ ABOUT THE PIECE: "I wrote this piece in memory of my friend Mariel Stubrin. I attempted to capture that short instant before grief, in which one learns of the sudden death of a friend who was full of life: a single moment frozen forever in one's memory, and which reverberates through the piece, among the waves and echoes of the Brazilian music that Mariel loved. The work was written for and premiered by Maya Beiser and Steve Schick." --Osvaldo Golijov ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Osvaldo Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in La Plata, Argentina. Born to a piano teacher mother and physician father, Golijov was raised surrounded by classical chamber music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of Astor Piazzolla. After studying piano at the local conservatory and composition with Gerardo Gandini he moved to Israel in 1983, where he studied with Mark Kopytman at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy and immersed himself in the colliding musical traditions of that city. Upon moving to the United States in 1986, Golijov earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with George Crumb, and was a fellow at Tanglewood, studying with Oliver Knussen. Golijov is Loyola Professor of Music at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where he has taught since 1991. He also taught for several years at Tanglewood, has led workshops at Carnegie Hall with Dawn Upshaw and teaches in the summers at the Sundance Composers Lab. MORE INFO HERE: http://www.osvaldogolijov.com/ ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: “New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello; Michael Compitello, percussion) is the confluence of two magnetic personalities who have taken up the admirable task of creating a hub for the performance, commissioning, and promotion of new music. NMC is theoretically the alluring and uncommon combination of cello and percussion, but in practice is best described as two musicians of extraordinary depth and skill untethered by their instrumental constraints. This unrestricted approach has allowed them to create a body of work in which Hannah can be found crushing plastic bottles and Michael plucking the strings of the cello––all with the intention of expanding and facilitating the imaginations of their composer-collaborators––while ultimately creating a meaningful and lasting repertoire. The performances that arise from this playful and innovative methodology reveal Hannah and Michael’s passion for sharing the work of their friends and peers, and aside from their effortless ability to perform the most finger-twisting of contemporary repertoire, NMC’s ability to communicate the esoteric details and depth of these complex works is what makes them truly remarkable chamber musicians. As tireless advocates for new music, they constantly seek out diverse venues (wineries, outdoor parks, art museums, elementary school classrooms), and their ability to connect with disparate audiences by way of their disarming charm, accessible intellect, and dynamic musicality is exceptional. Hannah and Michael formed New Morse Code while they were students at Yale after returning to the United States from extended and informative study in Europe. Inspired by their similar yet different experiences abroad, they began performing together and planting the seeds that would blossom into their dedicated community of collaborators and followers. They currently teach at the University of Kansas and co-direct the Avaloch Farm New Music Initiative.” -Christopher Stark June 2017 MORE INFO HERE: http://www.newmorsecode.com

Limestone and Felt, by Caroline Shaw Performed by: New Morse Code http://www.newmorsecode.com Michael Compitello & Hannah Collins Video: Four/Ten Media http://fourtenmedia.net Michael Compitello Vic Firth Artist Page: http://vicfirth.com/artist/Michael_Compitello/ Purchase the score: https://caroline-shaw-editions.myshopify.com/products/limestone-and-felt ___ MALLETS USED: Robert van Sice Signature Series http://vicfirth.com/robert-van-sice/ Rute http://vicfirth.com/products/alternative-implements/rute-talawands/rute/ ___ ABOUT THE PIECE: “limestone & felt” presents two kinds of surfaces – essentially hard and soft. These are materials that can suggest place (a cathedral apse, or the inside of a wool hat), stature, function, and – for me – sound (reverberant or muted). In limestone & felt, the hocketing pizzicato and pealing motivic canons are part of a whimsical, mystical, generous world of sounds echoing and colliding in the imagined eaves of a gothic chapel. These are contrasted with the delicate, meticulous, and almost reverent placing of chords that, to our ears today, sound ancient and precious, like an antique jewel box. Ultimately, felt and limestone may represent two opposing ways we experience history and design our own present.” -Caroline Shaw ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Caroline Adelaide Shaw is a New York-based musician—vocalist, violinist, composer, and producer—who performs in solo and collaborative projects. She is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, for Partita for 8 Voices, written for the Grammy-winning Roomful of Teeth, of which she is a member. Recent commissions include new works for the Dover Quartet, the Calidore Quartet, the Aizuri Quartet, FLUX Quartet, Brooklyn Rider, Anne Sofie von Otter, The Crossing, Roomful of Teeth, yMusic, ACME, ICE, A Far Cry, Philharmonia Baroque, the Baltimore Symphony, and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. In the 2017–18 season, Caroline’s new works will be premiered by Renée Fleming with Inon Barnatan, Dawn Upshaw with Sō Percussion and Gil Kalish, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s with John Lithgow, the Britten Sinfonietta, TENET with the Metropolis Ensemble, the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, and Luciana Souza with A Far Cry. Future seasons will include a new piano concerto for Jonathan Biss with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and a new work for the LA Phil. Caroline’s scoring of visual work includes the soundtrack for the feature film To Keep the Light as well as collaborations with Kanye West. She studied at Yale, Rice, and Princeton, and she has held residencies at Dumbarton Oaks, the Banff Centre, Music on Main, and the Vail Dance Festival. Caroline loves the color yellow, otters, Beethoven opus 74, Mozart opera, Kinhaven, the smell of rosemary, and the sound of a janky mandolin. MORE INFO HERE: http://carolineshaw.com/ ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: “New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello; Michael Compitello, percussion) is the confluence of two magnetic personalities who have taken up the admirable task of creating a hub for the performance, commissioning, and promotion of new music. NMC is theoretically the alluring and uncommon combination of cello and percussion, but in practice is best described as two musicians of extraordinary depth and skill untethered by their instrumental constraints. This unrestricted approach has allowed them to create a body of work in which Hannah can be found crushing plastic bottles and Michael plucking the strings of the cello––all with the intention of expanding and facilitating the imaginations of their composer-collaborators––while ultimately creating a meaningful and lasting repertoire. The performances that arise from this playful and innovative methodology reveal Hannah and Michael’s passion for sharing the work of their friends and peers, and aside from their effortless ability to perform the most finger-twisting of contemporary repertoire, NMC’s ability to communicate the esoteric details and depth of these complex works is what makes them truly remarkable chamber musicians. As tireless advocates for new music, they constantly seek out diverse venues (wineries, outdoor parks, art museums, elementary school classrooms), and their ability to connect with disparate audiences by way of their disarming charm, accessible intellect, and dynamic musicality is exceptional. Hannah and Michael formed New Morse Code while they were students at Yale after returning to the United States from extended and informative study in Europe. Inspired by their similar yet different experiences abroad, they began performing together and planting the seeds that would blossom into their dedicated community of collaborators and followers. They currently teach at the University of Kansas and co-direct the Avaloch Farm New Music Initiative.” -Christopher Stark June 2017 MORE INFO HERE: http://www.newmorsecode.com

stuttered chant, by David Lang Performed by New Morse Code Michael Compitello, percussion Hannah Collins, cello Video: Four/Ten Media http://fourtenmedia.net Purchase the score: https://davidlangmusic.com/music/stuttered-chant ___ ABOUT THE PIECE: In 2011 it came to my attention that the University of California at Los Angeles had offered two friends of mine the chance to share a concert — the percussionist Evelyn Glennie and the cellist Maya Beiser, both of whom I have worked with quite a lot. What seemed strange to me was that UCLA had proposed that they split the concert, with each of them taking a half, separately. Both these women are fearless advocates of new music and it seemed like an historic event to have them on the same stage at the same time, so I offered to write them a piece they could play together. My idea of togetherness went so far as to ask Evelyn to use the cello as a percussion instrument, sitting next to Maya, imagining them sitting together, like twins, united in their movements and gestures, playing completely in unison. -David Lang ___ ABOUT THE COMPOSER: David Lang is one of the most highly esteemed and performed American composers writing today. His works have been performed around the world in most of the great concert halls. Lang’s "simple song #3," written as part of his score for Paolo Sorrentino’s acclaimed film Youth, received many honors in 2016, including Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice nominations, among others. Lang’s "the little match girl passion" won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Commissioned by Carnegie Hall and based on a fable by Hans Christian Andersen and Lang’s own rewriting of the libretto to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the recording of the piece was awarded a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance. Lang has also been the recipient of the Rome Prize, Le Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, and Musical America’s 2013 Composer of the Year. Lang’s tenure as Carnegie Hall’s 2013–2014 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair saw his critically acclaimed festival collected stories showcase different modes of storytelling in music. In addition to his work as a composer, Lang is Artist in Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and is a Professor of Composition at the Yale School of Music. Lang is co-founder and co-artistic director of New York's legendary music collective Bang on a Can. His music is published by Red Poppy Music (ASCAP) and is distributed worldwide by G. Schirmer, Inc. MORE INFO HERE: https://davidlangmusic.com/ ___ ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: “New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello; Michael Compitello, percussion) is the confluence of two magnetic personalities who have taken up the admirable task of creating a hub for the performance, commissioning, and promotion of new music. NMC is theoretically the alluring and uncommon combination of cello and percussion, but in practice is best described as two musicians of extraordinary depth and skill untethered by their instrumental constraints. This unrestricted approach has allowed them to create a body of work in which Hannah can be found crushing plastic bottles and Michael plucking the strings of the cello––all with the intention of expanding and facilitating the imaginations of their composer-collaborators––while ultimately creating a meaningful and lasting repertoire. The performances that arise from this playful and innovative methodology reveal Hannah and Michael’s passion for sharing the work of their friends and peers, and aside from their effortless ability to perform the most finger-twisting of contemporary repertoire, NMC’s ability to communicate the esoteric details and depth of these complex works is what makes them truly remarkable chamber musicians. As tireless advocates for new music, they constantly seek out diverse venues (wineries, outdoor parks, art museums, elementary school classrooms), and their ability to connect with disparate audiences by way of their disarming charm, accessible intellect, and dynamic musicality is exceptional. Hannah and Michael formed New Morse Code while they were students at Yale after returning to the United States from extended and informative study in Europe. Inspired by their similar yet different experiences abroad, they began performing together and planting the seeds that would blossom into their dedicated community of collaborators and followers. They currently teach at the University of Kansas and co-direct the Avaloch Farm Music Institute.” -Christopher Stark June 2017 MORE INFO HERE: http://www.newmorsecode.com

Boris Kerner, by Caroline Shaw Performed by New Morse Code Michael Compitello, percussion Hannah Collins, cello Video: Four/Ten Media http://fourtenmedia.net Purchase the score: https://caroline-shaw-editions.myshopify.com/products/boris-kerner Available on “Simplicity Itself,” from New Focus Recordings http://www.newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/new-morse-code-simplicity-itself/ ___ ABOUT THE PIECE: “Boris S. Kerner lives in Stuttgart and is the author of ‘Introduction to Modern Traffic Flow Theory’ and ‘Control: The Long Road to Three-Phase Traffic Theory.’ Many thanks to Hannah and Mike of the brilliant duo New Morse Code for working with me along the way with this piece, which is another in a series of expositions on the curious phrase ‘the detail of the pattern is movement.’” -Caroline Shaw ___ ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Caroline Adelaide Shaw is a New York-based musician. She is the youngest ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, for her enigmatic composition “Partita for 8 Voices.” Her career defies categorization—she performs as a violin soloist, chamber musician, and as a vocalist in the Grammy-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth. Recent commissions include works for Carnegie Hall, the Guggenheim Museum, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra with Jonathan Biss, and mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. She also frequently collaborates with Kanye West. Currently a doctoral candidate at Princeton, Caroline also studied at Rice and Yale. Caroline loves the color yellow, otters, Beethoven opus 74, Mozart opera, the smell of rosemary, and the sound of a janky mandolin. MORE INFO HERE: http://carolineshaw.com/ ___ ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: “New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello; Michael Compitello, percussion) is the confluence of two magnetic personalities who have taken up the admirable task of creating a hub for the performance, commissioning, and promotion of new music. NMC is theoretically the alluring and uncommon combination of cello and percussion, but in practice is best described as two musicians of extraordinary depth and skill untethered by their instrumental constraints. This unrestricted approach has allowed them to create a body of work in which Hannah can be found crushing plastic bottles and Michael plucking the strings of the cello––all with the intention of expanding and facilitating the imaginations of their composer-collaborators––while ultimately creating a meaningful and lasting repertoire. The performances that arise from this playful and innovative methodology reveal Hannah and Michael’s passion for sharing the work of their friends and peers, and aside from their effortless ability to perform the most finger-twisting of contemporary repertoire, NMC’s ability to communicate the esoteric details and depth of these complex works is what makes them truly remarkable chamber musicians. As tireless advocates for new music, they constantly seek out diverse venues (wineries, outdoor parks, art museums, elementary school classrooms), and their ability to connect with disparate audiences by way of their disarming charm, accessible intellect, and dynamic musicality is exceptional. Hannah and Michael formed New Morse Code while they were students at Yale after returning to the United States from extended and informative study in Europe. Inspired by their similar yet different experiences abroad, they began performing together and planting the seeds that would blossom into their dedicated community of collaborators and followers. They currently teach at the University of Kansas and co-direct the Avaloch Farm New Music Initiative.” -Christopher Stark June 2017 MORE INFO HERE: http://www.newmorsecode.com

Down Down Baby, by Robert Honstein Performed by New Morse Code Hannah Collins and Michael Compitello http://www.newmorsecode.com Video: Four/Ten Media http://fourtenmedia.net Audio: Ryan Streber, Oktaven Audio http://www.oktavenaudio.com Composition by Robert Honstein http://www.roberthonstein.com Sheet music available at https://www.mkt.com/roberthonstein/item/down-down-baby ___ PRODUCT USED: #vfVKB1 -  VicKick Beaters, Felt http://vicfirth.com/products/alternative-implements/vickick-beaters/vickick-beaters-felt/ ___ ABOUT THE PIECE: Down Down Baby 1. Follow the leader 2. Daydream 1 3. Singing Lesson 4. Strange Dance 5. Daydream 2 6. Down Down Baby Down Down Baby is a childhood clapping game. Kids stand in a circle, clapping hands in choreographed patterns while singing a simple rhyming song. You know - Shimmy, Shimmy cocoa pop / Shimmy, Shimmy pow. When I began the piece my son was four months old. As a new Dad I often found myself trying to remember what being a kid was like. At the same time, perhaps with a bit less frequency, I was also thinking about how to approach cello and percussion in a completely new way. The two thoughts merged and I started to wonder if I were a kid with no prior knowledge of cellos and percussion what would I do? My immediate answer - I would hit and pluck in every possible way other than the normal way. Thinking about childhood, led to games, which led to clapping games, which led to the amazing way two people facing each other performing the same motions become mirrors, which is a mesmerizing thing to watch; so I decided Hannah and Mike would be mirrors, and the cello would be their shared instrument. They would play, sing, whistle and clap (often all at the same time), and it would be hypnotic and joyful, maybe even capture some of the playful spirit and intricate physicality of the game Down Down Baby itself, or at least that was my hope! With all this in mind, each movement became a short childhood scene. In Follow the Leader the players discover their new instrument, exploring a series of sounds and imitating each other as they go. Next is a brief Daydream, a moment of repose before a spirited Singing Lesson and a beguiling Strange Dance. After a second short Daydream the piece concludes with the title track, Down Down Baby, a kind of virtuosic romp through intricately coordinated hand gestures and interlocking rhythms. Down Down Baby was commissioned by New Morse Code and developed with the support of the Avaloch Farm Music Institute. ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Celebrated for his “roiling, insistent orchestral figuration” (New York Times) and “glittery, percussive pieces” (Toronto Globe and Mail), composer Robert Honstein (b. 1980) is a composer of orchestral, chamber, and vocal music. His works have been performed throughout the world by ensembles such as the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, eighth blackbird, Ensemble ACJW, Ensemble Dal Niente, the Mivos quartet, the Del Sol Quartet, Concert Black, TIGUE, and Present Music, among others. He has received an Aaron Copland Award, multiple ASCAP awards and other honors from SCI, Carnegie Hall, and New Music USA. He has also received residencies at the MacDowell Colony, Copland House, the Bang on a Can Summer Institute, and the Tanglewood Music Center. http://www.roberthonstein.com ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: New Morse Code is devoted to bold and engaging performances of music worth sharing.  Omnivorous, rigorous and inventive, Hannah Collins and Michael Compitello activate the unexpected range and unique sonic world of cello and percussion to catalyze and champion the compelling works of young composers. To Hannah and Michael, collaboration involves drawing upon mutual influences while generating and refining material together over an extended period of time.  Through close work with colleagues, New Morse Code generates a singular and personal repertoire which reflects both their friends’ creative voices and their own perspectives. New Morse Code serves as co-directors of the Avaloch Farm New Music Initiative, a summer residency program in Boscawen, New Hampshire designed to provide resources and support for performers and composers collaborating on new works. Hannah and Michael teach at the University of Kansas.  http://www.newmorsecode.com/ ----------- FOLLOW US! ➤Website: http://www.vicfirth.com ➤YouTube: http://youtube.com/vicfirthdrumsticks ➤YouTube (Marching): http://youtube.com/vicfirthmarching ➤YouTube (Concert): http://youtube.com/vicfirthconcert ➤Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicfirth ➤Instagram: http://instagram.com/vicfirth