Renewing the Source: a New Model for Classical Music

Thursday, Oct. 2, Great Falls Forum lecture featuring Andrew Cyr, conductor, Metropolis Ensemble, “Renewing the Source: a New Model for Classical Music.”

Bates College alumnus, Andrew Cyr (Bates ’96) has been a force in the contemporary music scene since 2006 when he created the Metropolis Ensemble which has become nationally-recognized in the world of classical music. His work with Metropolis earned him a Grammy nomination in 2010 (53rd Annual Grammy Awards), along with with mandolinist Avi Avital (soloist) for Avner Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto. 

Cyr has been involved in a wide range of innovative collaborations, including his 2008 debut with the Wordless Music Series, where he shared the stage with indie-rock sensation Deerhoof and in conducting a remix of The Rite of Spring to a live audience of 10,000 people in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, a musical event which was also broadcast live on National Public Radio.

To date, Cyr has helped commission, premiere, and record over 90 works of music from an eclectic mix of composers who are changing the shape and feel of contemporary music. These composers include many rising stars and recent award winners in the composition world including Avner Dorman, David Bruce, Vivian Fung, and Mohammed Fairouz, among many others.

Cyr has also collaborated with a number of major international performing artists who defy classification, including Oscar and Grammy-winning composer, artist, and conductor Tan Dun, Questlove and The Roots, 3-time Grammy-winning Producer of the Year David Frost, Reggie Watts, the French singer-songwriter Keren Ann, Paris-based David Babin from BabX, mandolinist Avi Avital, soprano Hila Plitmann, jazz saxophonists and composers Marty Ehrlich and David Murray, pianist/improviser D.D. Jackson, accordionist and composer Michael Ward-Bergeman and his U.K.-based roots trio Groanbox, harpist Bridget Kibbey, Brazilian producer Leo Leite, producer/engineer Tim Martyn, pianist Conor Hanick, soprano Kiera Duffy, violinist Kristin Lee, DJ THREE, and electronica artist Jeremy Ellis.

Andrew Cyr’s Great Falls Forum talk was arranged by GFF co-sponsor, Bates College. During the evening this same day (Thurs, Oct. 2nd) Cyr will be leading the Metropolis Ensemble in a performance at Bates College’s Olin Arts Center.  For information on this free concert (however tickets are required), contact Bates at (207) 786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.

Admission is free to all Forum events and no reservations are required. This program is a bring-your-own brown-bag lunch event.  Coffee, tea and bottled water will be available on site at the library.

The Great Falls Forum is co-sponsored by the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, Bates College, Lewiston Public Library and the Sun Journal. The Lewiston Public Library is located downtown at 200 Lisbon Street at the corner of Pine Street. More information on Thursday’s lecture or other upcoming events in the Great Falls Forum series is available by contacting our Reference Desk at 513-3135.