Cave Music: toy pianos in a cave

The Contemporary Keyboard Society will collaborate with Toronto composer Erik Clark on a very special project in the 2009 - 2010 season. We are very pleased to announce that we were awarded the Canadian Music Centre New Music in New Places Series grant (Ontario Regional Office). Stay tuned for more details!

30-second project scores and recordings

For links to the 30-second project scores and recordings (short pieces for piano and toy piano written for Xenia Pestova), please visit the 30-second project page. This site will continue to be updated with podcasts and recordings.

Photos from the Brazilian tour

Here are some photos from our Brazilian journey!

Fernando Rocha and Katelyn Clark in rehearsal in Belo Horizonte:


The tired trio enjoying cerveja after rehearsals:


Capybara grazing by the lake in Belo Horizonte:


Xenia Pestova outside the school of music, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG):


CKS poster on the notice board:


Set-up for the first concert:


Set-up for the second concert:


Pao-de-queijo and coffee in the dressing room!


View of Belo Horizonte from the hill:


Flying in to Sao Paulo:


Fernando Rocha and Katelyn Clark look stressed out during dress rehearsal for the concert at Santa Marcelina:


Chocolate pizza after the show:


Beautiful beach near Sao Sebastiao:


Exotic bananas for sale at a roadside stall:

30 second project: performances

13 June, 2 p.m., Montreal: Xenia Pestova and Katelyn Clark will perform premieres of 30-second compositions for toy piano by Ev Buckley, Johnny Chang, Thor Kell, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, Andrew Lewis, Scott McLaughlin, Clio Montrey, Vicky Shin and Ken Ueno on Xenia Pestova's beautiful white baby grand toy piano (lovingly referred to as "babypork"). To request an invitation to this private concert, please contact Xenia Pestova, or visit the Facebook event information page here.

17 June, 1:15 p.m., Montreal: The Unitarian Church of Montreal (5035 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Vendome Metro) will host premieres of 30-second compositions for piano solo by Félix Frédéric Baril, Stephen Mark Barchan, Peter Bogaert, Philip Brownlee, Christopher Burns, Elliot Cole, Nicholas M. Collins, Robbie Ellis, Karlheinz Essl, Guilherme Ferreira, Alexandra Fol, Ross Harris, Jose Luis Hurtado, Chen-Hui Jen, Juraj Kojs, Jimmie LeBlanc, Andrew Lewis, Aaron Lindh, Iain Matheson, Aleah Morrisson, Rossano Pinelli, Sundar Subramanian, Jeffrey Trevino, Samuel Vriezen, Damian Winiecki, Matthew Wilcock and John Young. Xenia Pestova performs with special guests Julia Den Boer and Sara Laimon on the intricately ornate Alfred Laliberté Steinway (has to be seen to be believed).

If you would like to join us for lunch for $5 before the concert, please reserve up to two days in advance with Elizabeth Anglin (elizang[at]sympatico.ca, 514 937-4095) and arrive at 12:30. Visit the Facebook event information page here.

NEWS: Score exchange - upload yours at http://drop.io/xh4z62v/!

Concert photos on Flickr

We just found some interesting photos of our first Belo Horizonte concert in a Flickr stream by Maria Fantoni.

"Zin Lye" by Erik km Clark

Katelyn Clark performs "Zin Lye" (2006) for processed toy piano and percussion by Eric km Clark (b. 1981) during the dress rehearsal of the Contemporary Keyboard Society concert in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The instrument used here by Katelyn is lovingly known as "babybeef". The nameplate is removed to improve the action and allow for more resonance, as the lid of this particular model cannot be opened.

CKS tour Brazil

The CKS will do a second mini-tour in 2009, this time in Brazil, where in addition to working very hard we also hope to spend some time at the beach.

29 March, 11 a.m.
Fundação de Educação Artística, Belo Horizonte
Works by Kaija Saariaho, Christopher Burns, Karlheinz Essl, Gyorgy Ligeti, Silvio Ferraz, Geof Holbrook and alcides lanza.

30 March, 9:30 a.m.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte
Workshop: Rehearsing New Music

1 April, 7:30 p.m.
Projeto Quarta Erudita - Sala Juvenal Dias (Palácio das Artes), Belo Horizonte
Works by Olivier Messiaen, Louis Andriessen, Christopher Burns, Tristan Murail, Gyorgy Ligeti, Michel Frigon and alcides lanza.

3 April, 10 a.m.
Faculdade Santa Marcelina, São Paulo
Performing with live electronics: workshop with Fernando Rocha and Xenia Pestova

3 April, 8:30 p.m.
Faculdade Santa Marcelina, São Paulo
Works by Kaija Saariaho, Eric Clark, Sergio Freire, Silvio Ferraz, Hans Tutschku and alcides lanza.

In addition to various solos and duos for piano, harpsichord, keyboard percussion and toy piano with and without electronics, the repertoire will include Interferences III for chamber ensemble and tape by alcides lanza (version for trio) in tribute to the composer's 80th birthday.

Katelyn Clark with alcides lanza: