Emily Manzo & Daisy Press perform Erik Satie’s SOCRATE + Tom Chiu of Flux Quartet

$10
ISSUE Project Room is pleased to host a special performance of Erik Satie’s masterpiece, “Socrate” based on the life and death of Socrates, featuring a libretto by Jean Cocteau, performed by soprano Daisy Press and pianist Emily Manzo.

A specialist in the field of contemporary music, Daisy Press, vocalist, was born into a performing family as the daughter of two musicians. In addition to her solo and ensemble vocal work, she also plays the violin and guitar and has appeared as an actor in an upcoming Adam Goldberg independent film. Most recently, she was praised by the New York Times for her “winning subtlety and understatement” in her rendition of George Crumb’s new folk-based song cycle “Unto the Hills” at Miller Theater with the acclaimed group So Percussion. Previously, she has sung with them the works of Steve Reich, including “Music for 18 Musicians” and “Drumming,” which she has also performed as a guest artist at Juilliard.

Additional credits include being the featured soloist for the New York premiere of Phillipe Leroux’s “Voi(rex)” at Miller Theater alongside IRCAM; “Apparition” by George Crumb at the Bang on a Can Marathon, where Ms. Press was for two years singer-in-residence; “Attila-Joszef Fragments” by Kurtag at Symphony Space; and excerpts, with the composer in attendance, for Elliot Carter’s “Of Challenge and of Love.” She has also appeared in Ireland with the Argento Ensemble in Earl Kim’s “Exercises en Route” and was hailed for her “calm naturalness” by The New York Times for her performance of early and late Webern song cycles.

Ms. Press has performed Morton Feldman’s “Three Voices” (the studio recording of which is soon to be released) and has appeared with the renowned VOX vocal ensemble. She is currently on faculty at Manhattan School of Music, where she received her Masters degree. She also holds academic degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and Oxford University, and she has studied voice in the studios of Trish McCaffrey and Hilda Harris, and North Indian ragas with Michael Harrison.

Tom Chiu of the Flux Quartet

A noted champion of new music, experimental violinist Tom Chiu has performed over 100 premieres worldwide and has worked closely with many distinguished composers including Virko Baley, Dean Drummond, Oliver Lake and Chen Yi, among others. He avidly pursues collaborations with unconventional artists whose work he admires, including balloon virtuoso Judy Dunaway, avant choreographer Eun-Me Ahn, puppeteer Basil Twist, and guitarist-electronicist David First. He has also worked closely with Ornette Coleman, with whom he appeared at the 2000 Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival. Tom’s discography includes recordings for the Asphodel, Cambria, Koch, Mode, Sombient, and Tzadik labels. His original works as composer/improvisor have been performed in numerous countries, including Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Having also composed for motion pictures, his first soundtrack for the short film Boris (written and directed by Francesca Galesi) won the top prize at the NY Expo Festival of Shorts. Holding degrees in music and chemistry from Juilliard and Yale, Tom occasionally reminisces about his childhood appearance with Tom Hanks in The Man With One Red Shoe.