LIVE: The Bang On a Can All-Stars @ the Tang Museum, 2/18/16

Photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk

The ever-eclectic Bang On a Can All-Stars took over Skidmore College’s Tang Museum recently, proving that art in a museum/gallery setting can sometimes be heard, not merely seen. Several hundred people were in attendance for the concert by Ashley Bathgate (cello, voice), David Cossin (percussion), Ken Thomson (clarinet, saxophone), Vicky Chow (keyboards), Mark Stewart (electric guitar) and Robert Black (bass).

The evening featured performances of works by all three of the NYC-based Bang On a Can founders – Michael Gordon’s “Gene Takes a Drink,” Julia Wolfe’s “Believing” and David Lang’s “Heroin” (with lyrics by Lou Reed).

But the centerpiece of the concert was the world premiere of Brendon Randall-Myers’ “changes stops and swells (for b),” which was commissioned by Jack Shear and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery.

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS SET LIST
“Gene Takes a Drink” (Michael Gordon)
“Believing” (Julia Wolfe)
“Heroin” (David Lang/Lou Reed)
“changes stops and swells (for b)” (Brendon Randall-Myers)
“Horses of Instruction” (Steve Martland)
“Closing” (Philip Glass)