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The Ensemble Sospeso is an ensemble of soloists producing concerts of contemporary music at the highest standard, giving performances described as “stunning” by the
New York Times, “a wonder to watch” by the Wall Street
Journal, “gorgeously rich” by the Village Voice. Formed in 1995 by composers
Kirk Noreen and Joshua
Cody, Sospeso has been based in New York since 1999 and has given dozens of performances nationwide, including appearances at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center (with
Pierre Boulez, in a critically praised retrospective of his music), Carnegie Hall’s Making Music series (under the baton of
Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Lincoln Center Festival, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Miller Theater at Columbia University.
Awarded the pretigious Förderpreis from the Ernst von Siemens Foundation’s Musikstiftung for two consecutive years,
and a 2002 recipient of one the DNA grant from Arts International, Sospeso performs an unusually diverse repertoire, and it is one of the few ensembles in the United States to regularly perform large chamber and orchestral works of our time.
Comprised of a core group of 21 soloists, Sospeso recruits its members competitively and shares its musicians with such groups as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; the ensemble’s members are free to pursue parallel solo careers as well. Each musician is considered individually as a soloist, enabling them to tackle unusual repertoires in non-standard ensembles, or take part in experimental projects.
A Sospeso performance might consist of two players or a chamber orchestra; of classical or electronic sounds, or both; of a work for six grand pianos or seven cellos; of a concerto for theremin or Japanese koto.
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