CFIIIS and S4 Featured at BAM's Next Wave Festival
NEW YORK CITY The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) held its first performance in 1861, and today is internationally renowned as a progressive cultural center. BAM's facilities include the 2,109-seat Howard Gilman Opera House and the 874-seat Harvey Lichtenstein Theater, and the new BAM Café, which offers weekend performances from January through June. Yamaha is the official piano of BAM and has placed a Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano, a Yamaha S4 grand piano and three Yamaha upright pianos at the arts center.
BAM's Next Wave Festival, curated by executive director Joseph Melillo, celebrated its 25th year this past November. One of the presentations for the season included the world premiere of "The BQE," singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens' 30-minute symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. With Stevens at the CFIIIS, the commissioned work merged a virtual road trip with an orchestral ensemble. The performances also featured new songs and selections from Stevens' previous recordings.
Pianist Robert Glasper accompanied Mos Def at BAM's 2007 Brooklyn Next Festival, and The National, a Brooklyn quintet, performed during the 2008 spring season. And, during an unprecedented one-month residency at BAM in April 2008, Paul Simon collaborated with a remarkable constellation of artists. Simon's pianist selected the CFIIIS for performances of Simon's "American Tunes." The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of music director Michael Christie, also produces an annual season of concerts at BAM.
BAM Café Live is an exciting performance series on Friday and Saturday nights. During the "Eat, Drink and Be Literary" series of programs, an appearance and reading by noted author and journalist, Fran Liebowitz, followed a prelude by pianist Scott Pearson on the Yamaha S4 piano. Several pianists will perform there this season.
"The Yamaha grand pianos are both very special," says Melillo. "The sound of these unique instruments is amazing and absolutely desired by the artists who play here."
More information about BAM is available at www.bam.org.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
 Sufjan Stevens at the Yamaha CFIIIS for "The BQE" at the Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM |
Pianist Robert Glasper accompanied Mos Def at BAM's 2007 Brooklyn Next Festival, and The National, a Brooklyn quintet, performed during the 2008 spring season. And, during an unprecedented one-month residency at BAM in April 2008, Paul Simon collaborated with a remarkable constellation of artists. Simon's pianist selected the CFIIIS for performances of Simon's "American Tunes." The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of music director Michael Christie, also produces an annual season of concerts at BAM.
BAM Café Live is an exciting performance series on Friday and Saturday nights. During the "Eat, Drink and Be Literary" series of programs, an appearance and reading by noted author and journalist, Fran Liebowitz, followed a prelude by pianist Scott Pearson on the Yamaha S4 piano. Several pianists will perform there this season.
"The Yamaha grand pianos are both very special," says Melillo. "The sound of these unique instruments is amazing and absolutely desired by the artists who play here."
More information about BAM is available at www.bam.org.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.