Vicky Chow, Piano
David Cossin, Percussion
Arlen Hlusko, Cello
Tristan Kasten-Krause, Bass
Taylor Levine, Guitar
Ken Thomson, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet
Andrew Cotton, Sound Engineer
Friday, January 30, 2026
Seven-thirty in the Evening
Opperman Music Hall
Lick (1994)
Believing (1997)
Big Beautiful Dark and Scary (2002)
Julia Wolfe (b. 1985)
The Games: A Science Fiction Opera (1983)
Meredith Monk I. Spaceship (b. 1942) arr. Michael Gordon
Gene takes a drink (2012)
sunray (2006)
Michael Gordon (b. 1956)
David Lang (b. 1957)
Commissioning credits:
Lick was commissioned with funds from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust.
Big, Beautiful, Dark and Scary was commissioned with the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation and as part of the national series of works sponsored by Meet the Composer Commissioning Music/USA, which is made possible by the generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Helen F. Whitaker Fund, The Catherine Filene Shouse Foundation, and the Target Foundation.
Believing was commissioned by NPS Dutch Radio for the Bang on a Can All-Stars.
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting while performers are playing. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Please turn off cell phones and all other electronic devices. Please refrain from putting feet on seats and seat backs. Children who become disruptive should be taken out of the performance hall so they do not disturb the musicians and other audience members.
Wolfe: Lick
Lick is the first work that I wrote for the Bang on a Can All-Stars. There’s an insistence, a feeling of pushing things to the edge, and there is a groove. The body energy of pop music definitely came into my music in Lick. Motown, funk, rock. This is the music I grew up on—listening, dancing to it. The word “lick” has a lot of meanings. I took a fragment, a lick, and magnified it. The beat is split up among the players. Lick is about attacks, but there is a more sensual side. It’s saucy and aggressive. It’s impatient; although it stays with things for a long time, it hammers at them. I wanted to see the All-Stars lock into this intense energy, to go over the top.
Wolfe: Believing
The title for Believing came to me after the music had been written. During the time I was working on the piece I had been listening to a song by John Lennon called “Tomorrow Never Knows.” It’s a fantastic song - very psychedelic - written at a time when the Beatles were exploring spiritual questions. You can hear it in the music, and in the words. There’s a line, “It is believing” that comes back again and again. Believing is such a powerful wordfull of optimism and struggle. It’s hard to believe and it’s liberating to believe.
Wolfe: Big, Beautiful, Dark, and Scary
This is how life feels right now.
Monk: Spaceship
Much of Meredith’s work is vocal, and for her own ensemble. In order to perform her work, we have had to arrange her works for the All-Stars, adapting the specificity and focus of her originals to the explosiveness of the band. It has been an exciting challenge for us – finding the places where we can support Meredith’s delicacy and wit with our own edgy energies. In tonight’s concert we will feature Spaceship from “The Games: A Science Fiction Opera,” which she made in collaboration with Ping Chong in 1984.
– David Lang
Gordon: Gene Takes a Drink
Gene takes a walk around the community gardens on the corner of Avenue C and East 9th St.
Lang: sunray
I started thinking about writing a piece called sunray in 2006, while in residence at MASS MoCA. That summer, my family was staying in the MASS MoCA artist’s housing in North Adams, which is next door to the SUN cleaners. Every morning I would wake up, make a cup of coffee, and stare out the window at the rays of the sun on the cleaner’s big sign. Even on rainy mornings I woke up to the rays of the sun. It is dedicated to my father, Daniel Lang, for his 80th birthday.
Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, this sixmember amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and internationally, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today.
Together, the All-Stars have worked in unprecedented close collaboration with some of the most important and inspiring musicians of our time, including Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, Meredith Monk, George Lewis, Louis Andriessen, Terry Riley and dozens more. Current and recent project highlights include their own new arrangements of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s landmark album 1996; Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power for Bang on a Can All-Stars and orchestra, premiered with the L.A. Philharmonic; a new live arrangement of Terry Riley’s iconic and inspirational A Rainbow in Curved Air, celebrating the legendary composer’s 90th birthday year (2025); Can Dance, a brand new multimedia concert of collaborations between composers, filmmakers and choreographers; performances of the band’s much beloved arrangement of Brian Eno’s classic Music for Airports; Road Trip, an immersive and visually stunning concert collaboratively-composed by Bang’s founders
Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe; In C, a new dance collaboration with Sasha Waltz & Guests based on Terry Riley’s minimalist classic; plus the touring performances and recordings of Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Anthracite Fields and groundbreaking Steel Hammer.
With a massive repertoire of works written specifically for the group’s distinctive instrumentation and style of performance, the All-Stars have become a genre in their own right. The All-Stars record on Cantaloupe Music and have released past recordings on Sony, Universal and Nonesuch.
Hong Kong/Canadian/American pianist Vicky Chow has been described as “brilliant” (New York Times) and “one of our era’s most brilliant pianists” (Pitchfork). Since joining the Bang on a Can All-Stars in 2009, she has collaborated and worked with artists such as Tania León, Meredith Monk, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, John Zorn, George Lewis, as well as organizations such as Bill T. Jones and the Arnie Zane Dance Company, BBC Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, to name a few. She has toured to over 40 countries and performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam), Hong Kong Arts Centre, Barbican Centre (London), Royal Albert Hall (London), L’auditori (Barcelona), City Recital Hall (Sydney), POLIN Museum (Warsaw), and the Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires). She has released over 25 solo and chamber music albums on Nonesuch Records, Cantaloupe, New Amsterdam Records, Tzadik, and Innova Recordings, among others. In October 2022, she released Philip Glass: Piano Etudes Book 1 which Mr. Glass remarked to be “a highly dynamic and expressive performance. There’s a certain energy that is uniquely hers.” Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she is based in Brooklyn. She serves as faculty at the Bang on a Can Summer Institute, Nief Norf Summer Festival, and has been on faculty at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She is on the Board of Advisors for Composers Now, and is also a mentor at The Juilliard School. A graduate of The Juilliard School and The Manhattan School of Music Ms. Chow is a Yamaha Artist. www.vickychow.com
David Cossin is a versatile New York-based percussionist and producer whose work spans classical percussion, drum set, nonWestern hand drumming, composition, and improvisation. His diverse musical interests have led him to perform across a wide range of artistic forms around the world. David has collaborated with renowned ensembles and artists, including Bang on a Can, Steve Reich and Musicians, Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, Meredith Monk, Tan Dun, Cecil Taylor, Talujon Percussion Group, Terry Riley, Sting, David Byrne, and Ghost Train Orchestra. As a producer and engineer, he has released multiple albums. His theater work includes notable projects with Blue Man Group,
Mabou Mines, and director Peter Sellars. David was also the featured solo percussionist for Tan Dun’s Oscar-winning score in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. David’s sonic installations have been exhibited in the US, Italy, and Germany. He is an active composer and instrument inventor, constantly pushing the boundaries of traditional percussion. He also serves as a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches percussion in the Contemporary Performance Program. David proudly endorses Pro-Mark sticks and Evans drumheads.
Hailed for her “sublime cello prowess” (Take Effect), “absorbing originality” (Gramophone), and “mesmerizing beauty” (NY Music Daily), internationally acclaimed Canadian cellist Arlen Hlusko is a dynamic, versatile young artist who has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician across North America, Asia, and Europe. Newly appointed cellist of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Arlen is also a laureate of numerous competitions, Grammy-award winner for her collaboration with The Crossing, and recent alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. In addition to the AllStars, Arlen regularly performs with several ensembles based on the East Coast, including Dolce Suono Ensemble, Intersection, and Frisson, and was recently featured on CBC’s “30 under 30.” She has been a featured performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, among others. Arlen has also performed at several preeminent summer festivals, including Spoleto USA Bank of America Chamber Music, Music from Angel Fire, Tippet Rise, and Bay Chamber Concerts. As a teacher, she has served on faculty of Curtis Summerfest, New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra Teaching Artists, and given masterclasses in USA, Canada, France, and Germany. Committed to using her music to connect with and serve her community, Arlen founded her own interactive chamber music concert series, Philadelphia Performances for Autism, and is involved with several communities in Philadelphia & NYC, including Carnegie Hall’s “Musical Connections” at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. www.arlenhlusko.com
Tristan Kasten-Krause is a bassist and composer living in Brooklyn, NY whose work enlarges the minutia of close tones and subtle gestures. As a bassist he has been credited with lending his “low end authority to vital New York institutions” (the New Yorker) where his performances run the gamut from Broadway, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, to innumerable DIY, experimental and underground venues. Tristan has worked closely with forward-thinking artists like Alvin Lucier, Sigur Ros, Sarah Hennies, and Steve Reich, is a member of the microtonal black metal band Scarcity, and holds a master’s degree from the Hartt School where he studied with founding All-Stars bassist Robert Black. As a composer Tristan has been praised for his “heavenly” (the Guardian)
original music. His work exploring duration and expanded time has been showcased at Issue Project Room, The Stone, the Hudson Basilica and Gray Sound series at University of Chicago. He has recently been awarded a 2024 Copland Fund, a 2025 NYSCA grant, and is a 2025 EMPAC artist in residence. His upcoming LP The Quiet Sun with Sarah Hennies is out this May on Dinzu Artifacts.
Taylor Levine is a New York based guitarist and circuit designer working across the experimental, improvised and composed music communities. He’s made music and recorded with a diverse range of artists such as John Zorn, Lee Ranaldo, Yuka Honda, Steve Reich, Yo La Tengo, Marc Ribot, Nels Cline, Meredith Monk, Erykah Badu, Ted Hearne, Steve Miller, and ensembles including Komische Oper Berlin, Kronos Quartet, London Sinfonietta, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ensemble Signal, and Alarm Will Sound. Taylor has been invited to perform at festivals and venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Vértice Festival in Mexico City, Royal Albert Hall and Sound Unbound Festival at Barbican Centre in London, Casa da Musica in Porto, Jazz em Agosto in Lisbon, Musica Festival at Le Maillon in Strasbourg, Sacrum Profanum in Kraków, Borealis Festival in Bergen, Norway, The Fringe Club in Hong Kong, City Recital Hall in Sydney, and Melbourne Recital Hall in Melbourne. Taylor founded and co-directs the electric guitar quartet, Dither, whose music making has been described by the New York Times as “sophisticated, hard-driving, and stylistically omnivorous.” In addition to touring, composing, producing and commissioning original work, Dither has held visiting artist residencies at Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, and New York Universities. www.ditherquartet.com
Ken Thomson is a clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer active in multiple disciplines who splits his time between Brooklyn and Berlin. He has been a member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars since 2013. He also co-leads Anzû Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to performing and commissioning for Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” instrumentation, with two recent releases on Cantaloupe Music. He records and tours in the US and Europe at jazz festivals, clubs, and concert halls with his own groups Lingua Franca, Sextet and Slow/Fast, who blur the line between contemporary composed music and jazz. He has released multiple recordings of his chamber music compositions including full-length albums with JACK Quartet and cellist Ashley Bathgate with pianist Karl Larson; he has been commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, Lorelei Ensemble, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and many others. He has received awards from New Music USA, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, ASCAP and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. He is also a prolific arranger, with arrangements recorded by Meredith Monk and David Byrne/St Vincent. He is on faculty at the Bang on a Can Music Festival and active as a freelance performer, arranger, teacher, conductor and music director. He is
a F. Arthur Uebel Artist, D’Addario Woodwinds Artist, and Conn-Selmer endorser. www. ktonline.net
In his role as sound engineer, Andrew Cotton works closely with both composers and musicians in creating new works. Cotton works with several major producers, specializing in contemporary music projects with artists and concert series as diverse as Elvis Costello and John Harle, the BBC Promenade Series, Meltdown, George Russell, Carla Bley, Talvin Singh, Cold Cut, KT Tunstall, Elvis Costello, John Harle, Andy Sheppard, Carla Bley, Angelique Kidjo, Manu Dibango, District Six, Iva Bittova, Philip Glass, Steve Reich among others. He regularly collaborates with composers Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and David Lang on their pieces for the All-Stars as well as large ensemble, dance and theatre pieces. He also acts as technical manager and sound collaborator with percussionist Evelyn Glennie DBE. As a sound designer he has designed The Carbon Copy Building – Turin, New York, Hamburg and Liverpool, Chaos – New York, The New Yorkers – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Ballet Tech – Joyce Theatre NY 1997-1999, Bang on a Can Marathons 1997 – 2016, Hearing Voices – Jocelyn Pook 2016 & 2017, Piano Circus 2015-present, Steel Hammer 2015-17, BBC Scotland Hogmanay 2015-present, riSE and fLY 2015, Road Trip 2017, Big Space 2017-18 among others.
Founded in 1987 by composers Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, Bang on a Can has been creating an international community dedicated to innovative music, wherever it is found, and has grown from a one-day New York-based Marathon concert to a multi-faceted performing arts organization with a broad range of year-round international activities. Projects include the annual LONG PLAY (Brooklyn) and LOUD Weekend (MASS MoCA) festivals; the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who tour to major festivals and concert venues around the world every year; recording projects; the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, a professional development program for young composers and performers led by today’s pioneers of experimental music; Asphalt Orchestra, Bang on a Can’s extreme street band that offers mobile performances re-contextualizing unusual music; and more. Bang on a Can has also launched an extensive public digital archive, CANLAND (www.canland.org), including recordings, videos, posters, program books, and more. Each new program has evolved to answer specific challenges faced by today’s musicians, composers and audiences, in order to make innovative music widely accessible and wildly received. Bang on a Can’s inventive and aggressive approach to programming and presentation has created a large and vibrant international audience made up of people of all ages who are rediscovering the value of contemporary music. www.bangonacan.org
Daniel Baldini, Jeffrey Bishop, Michael Gordon, Lynette Jaffe, Mary Margaret Jones, Alan Kifferstein, Michael Kushner, David Lang, Leslie Lassiter, George Lewis, Raulee Marcus, Elizabeth Murrell, Robert A. Skirnick, Jane Stewart, Julia Wolfe, and Adam Wolfensohn.
Bang
Michael Gordon – Artistic Director
David Lang – Artistic Director
Julia Wolfe – Artistic Director
Kenny Savelson – Executive Director
Philippa Thompson – Program Manager and Summer Festival Manager
Sruly Lazaros – Producer
Becky Fradkin - Development and Community Partnerships
Emily Motherwell - Communications and Marketing
Brian Petuch – Accounts Manager
Theodora Bocanegra Lang - Development Associate
Linda Bogdanovica - BAFF/CIEE intern
Bang on a Can’s programs are made possible with generous lead support from: Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Alan Baker and Serena Lourie, Amphion Foundation, Art Music Denmark, ASCAP and ASCAP Foundation, Atlantic Records, Daniel Baldini, Nathaniel Beck, Jeffrey Bishop, Stephen Block, William Bragin, Janel Callon, Chicago Community Foundation, Columbus Foundation, Paula Cooper, City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, Anthony Creamer, Liz Diller, Peter Faber, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Carol Golden, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Stanley Greenberg, Jaffe Family Foundation, Jane Lombard, Japan Foundation, Joe Holt Charitable Trust, Mary Margaret Jones, The Kettering Family Foundation, Alan Kifferstein & Joan Finkelstein, Mia Leo and Dick Kuczkowski, Michael Kushner, Dave Lake, Leslie Lassiter, Herb Leventer, George Lewis, Felix Lockman, Liz and Greg Lutz, Bruce Malmer, Raulee Marcus, MASS MoCA, Susan McClary, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Jeremy Mindich & Amy Smith, Music Information Centre Lithuania, Elizabeth Murrell & Gary Haney, The National Endowment for the Arts, New Music USA, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Tourism Foundation, Charles Read, Susan Reardon, Robert Black Foundation, Joe Sterling, Justus & Elizabeth Schlichting, Henry Schwartz, Abby Sher, Matthew Sirovich & Meredith Elson, Maria & Robert A. Skirnick, Joseph Sterling, Jane Stewart, David Suisman, Sandra Tait and Hal Foster, in Honor of Richard E. Thurston, David Tochen & Mary Beth Schiffman, Williamson Foundation for Music, and Wolfensohn Family Foundation.
Dean’s Circle
Les and Ruth Ruggles Akers
Dr. Pamela T. Brannon
Richard Dusenbury and Kathi Jaschke
CarolAline Flaumenhaft
Joyce Andrews
Louie and Avon Doll
Patrick and Kathy Dunnigan
Kevin and Suzanne Fenton
Andrew and Karen Hoyt
Alexander and Dawn Jiménez
Jim Lee
Paula and Bill Smith
Margaret Van Every
Gold Circle
Albert and Darlene Oosterhof
Bob Parker
Todd and Kelin Queen
Karen and Francis C. Skilling
David and Jane Watson
Bret Whissel
Stan and Tenley Barnes
Stan and Tenley Barnes
Kathryn M. Beggs
Karen Bradley
Steve and Pat Brock
Suzi and Scott Brock
Brian Causseaux and David Young
James Clendinen
Mary and Glenn Cole
Carol J. Cooper
Sandy and Jim Dafoe
F. Marshall Deterding and Dr. Kelley Lang
Diane and Jack Dowling
Aaron and Caroline Ellis
John S. and Linda H. Fleming
Joy and James Frank
William Fredrickson and Suzanne Rita
Byrnes
Ruth Godfrey-Sigler
Michael and Marsha Hartline
Ken Hays
Melanie Hines and Dudley Witney
Dottie and Jon Hinkle
Todd S. Hinkle
The Jelks Family Foundation, Inc.
Emory and Dorothy Johnson
Gregory and Margo Jones
Anne van Meter and Howard Kessler
Dennis G. King, Esq.
William and Susan Leseman
Annelise Leysieffer
Linda and Bob Lovins
William and Gayle Manley
Robert and Patty McDonald
Marian and Walter Moore
Ann W. Parramore
Almena and Brooks Pettit
David and Joanne Rasmussen
Edward Reid
Mark and Carrie Renwick
Stephen and Elizabeth Richardson
Lawrence and Lisa Rubin
Patrick J. Sheehan
Dr. James and Ruth Anne Stevens
Mary S. Bert
Joe and Susan Berube
Marcia and Carl Bjerregaard
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Larry and Sara Bourdeau
David and Carol Brittain
Dean and Lyndsey Caulkins
Bonnie and Pete Chamlis
Malcolm A. Craig
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Bonnie Fowler, Armor Realty
L. Kathryn Funchess
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Jerry and Bobbi Hill
Sally and Dr. Link Jarrett
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Arline Kern
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Elna Kuhlmann
John and Silky Labie
Keith Ledford
Richard Stevens and Ron Smith
Marshall and Nell Stranburg
William and Ma’Su Sweeney
Martin Kavka and Tip Tomberlin
Steve Moore Watkins and Karen Sue Brown
Stan Whaley and Brenda McCarthy
Kathy D. Wright
Donna Legare
Joan Macmillan
Patrick Malone
Victoria Martinez
Stephen Mattingly
Ann and Don Morrow
Joel and Diana Padgett
Karalee Poschman
Mary Anne J. Price
Carol Ryor
Ken and J.R. Saginario
Magda Sanchez
Jill Sandler
Paula S. Saunders
Jeanette Sickel
Susan Sokoll
George Sweat
Ed Valla
Scott and LaDonna Wagers
Sylvia B. Walford
Diana Wang
Geoffrey and Simone Watts
Natalie Zierden
Patricia C. Applegate
Sarah and John Bender
The Boyett Family
Judy and Brian Buckner
Kasia Bugaj and J. Renato Pinto
Robby Bukovic
Darren and Peyton Cassels
Marian Christ
Katie and Daniel Elliott
Sarah Eyerly
Cynthia Foster
Gene and Deborah Glotzbach
Sue Graham
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Miriam Gurniak
Donna H. Heald
Carla Connors and Timothy Hoekman
Jane A. Hudson
Jayme and Tom Ice
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Jane Kazmer
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Dr. Lynne Y. Lummel
Cindy Malaway
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Michelle Peaceman
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Sanford A. Safron
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Sudarat Songsiridej and Mary Schaad
Susan Stephens
Allison Taylor
C. Richard and Phrieda L. Tuten
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Janie W. Weis
Karen Wensing
Willa Almlof
Florence Helen Ashby
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Julio Jiménez
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Patsy Kickliter
Anthony M. Komlyn
Fred Kreimer
Beverly Locke-Ewald
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Meredith and Elsa L. McKinney
Ermine M. Owenby
Mike and Judy Pate
Laura and Sam Rogers
Dr. Louis St. Petery
Sharon Stone
Donna C. Tharpe
Brig. Gen. and Mrs. William B. Webb
Rick and Joan West
John L. and Linda M. Williams
Sallie and Duby Ausley Beethoven & Company
Ron Erichson/Beth Frederick
The University Musical Associates is the community support organization for the FSU College of Music. The primary purposes of the group are to develop audiences for College of Music performances, to assist outstanding students in enriching their musical education and careers, and to support quality education and cultural activities for the Tallahassee community. If you would like information about joining the University Musical Associates, please contact Kim Shively, Director of Special Programs, at kshively@fsu.edu or 850-645-5453.
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