Credited with more than 300 commissions since its founding, the intrepid PRISM Quartet (Matthew Levy, Timothy McAllister, Zachary Shemon, Taimur Sullivan) presents a program of new and recent works by composers with deep ties to the City of Brotherly Love. The program features world premieres by four extraordinarily talented composition students, each representing one of four eminent music institutions in Philadelphia: Atomic Tangerine and Indigo; Green by Elise Arancio (Curtis Institute of Music), Spliced Tapesby Brendan McMullen (University of Pennsylvania), Four Short Songs by Gloria Quinn (University of the Arts), and Transgression (Act of Sin) by Sepehr Pirasteh(Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance). All four works were commissioned and are presented in Philadelphia as the inaugural concert of the Philadelphia Student Composers Project under the direction of Erin Busch on December 6th. The program makes its way  to the Quartet’s NYC concert series the following evening.

The program also features past Quartet commissions from master composers with longstanding ties to Philadelphia, including Cha by Philadelphia native and Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Wolfe from the Quartet’s 2019 album, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. Cha is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s father. Wolfe writes: “My favorite memory is dancing the cha-cha-cha with my father. He would hit the dance floor and take me along with him. The piece takes the cha cha as a starting point and creates a joyful deconstruction/exaggeration of the style for the sax quartet.”

Pew Fellow David Serkin Ludwig — who recently left his long-time position on the composition faculty of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music to assume the role of Dean and Director of the Music Division of the Juilliard School — contributes Josquin Microludes from the Quartet’s 2016 album, The Curtis Project. Ludwig describes Microludes as “a set of miniatures that incorporates Josquin’s Mille Regretz into its musical language, as if channel surfing between ancient music and contemporary sounds.”

The program also includes the jazz-inflected I Never Knew and Straight Up by PRISM’s frequent collaborator James Primosch (1956-2021) from the group’s 2011 album, Dedication, to honor his memory and rich musical legacy. Primosch, a Guggenheim and Pew Fellow,  served on the composition faculty of the University of Pennsylvania for more than 30 years.

The Philadelphia program, which is followed by a composer talkback moderated by Ludwig, is presented on December 6 at 7:30 PM at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fisher-Bennett Hall, Rose Concert Hall located at 3340 Walnut Street. The concert is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Both concerts are open only to fully vaccinated and masked individuals. Anyone wishing to enter the venues must show a proof of vaccination at the door. Individuals attending the Philadelphia concert must also complete a University of Pennsylvania Green Open Pass for entry, available to complete on-site or in advance at pennopen.med.upenn.edu/campus.

The PRISM Quartet seeks to place the saxophone in unexpected contexts, chart fresh musical territory, and to challenge, inspire, and move audiences. “A bold ensemble that set the standard for contemporary-classical saxophone quartets” (The New York Times), PRISM has been presented by Carnegie Hall and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; appeared as soloists with the Detroit Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, and conducted residencies at the nation’s leading conservatories, including the Curtis Institute and the Oberlin Conservatory. PRISM has commissioned hundreds of works, from talented students to recipients of the Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Fellowship. PRISM’s discography is extensive, with releases on Albany, BMOP/Sound, ECM, innova, Koch International, Naxos, and its own label, XAS Records.

“An eminent classical saxophone quartet with
an unquenchable thirst for intrigue and adventure.”
— Time Out New York

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