56x54: E4TT's First Call for Scores
(56x54 album)
Read the press release and more.
"A small, brave organization for the creation and performance of new music will have its season-opener on Oct. 30 in the Berkeley Piano Club, when E4TT begins the series “56x54” — Stop! What and what?... "
(Janos Gereben, SFCV.org, Oct.23, 2016) E4TT held its first Call for Scores in early 2016, receiving 275 works from over 200 talented composers and choosing 56 pieces by 54 composers. The 56x54 series runs from October 2016 through September 2019.
56x54 #1: October 27 & 30, 2016
"OK, so what’s up for number one?" ((Janos Gereben, SFCV.org, October23, 2016)
International/Modern: January 17, 2017
...The selected composers hail from 11 countries — Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, Russia, Spain, and the U.S. — and 18 states, and range from emerging composers beginning their undergraduate degrees to veterans in the field."
(Janos Gereben, SFCV.org, October 23, 2016)
The "Guernica" Project: April 2 & 8, 2017
"An Ensemble Asks What Picasso’s Guernica Means in These Times:...It became clear to us that this had to be our next project... This matched our interest in bringing a lens on human injustice and suffering...[and] seemed especially appropriate since the anniversary of Guernica is coming up in April.” (Mark MacNamara, SFCV.org, March 21, 2017)
Spain: October, 2017
"One entry [in the Call for Scores] was from Jeffrey Hoover, a musician and director of the Integrated Arts Program at the University of Baltimore. His music suggested both “compositional sensibility” and “a creative proclivity for combining musical
composition with painting.” E4TT commissioned Hoover to write Guernica, a musical interpretation of the Picasso masterpiece." (Jeffrey Freymann, KDFC.com, April 6, 2017)
56x54 Redux: The Second Call for Scores Concert: June 4, 2017
"An international dragnet last year pulled in a whopping 275 new works from composers young and old, from which the group selected 56 to start with....including music by Molly Joyce, Grace Xu Schott, Alexander Skripko and
the Bay Area’s own Alden Jenks. Prepare for plenty of surprises." (Joshua Kosman, SFGate.com,, May 26, 2017)
56x54+Armer+Garner ...the beat goes on: November 19, 2017
Some performers merely have a preference for contemporary music, and some have an omnivorous hunger for it. Ensemble for These Times...lives up to its name by scouring the globe for music by living composers." (Joshua Kosman, SFGate.com, May 26, 2017)
56x54+Gorecki: strings & things: February 4, 2018
...where we add some strings and play some interesting things, including some a mind-blowing, rarely played early string trio by Henryk Gorecki
A Special Solo Recital with E4TT Pianist Dale Tsang: February 24, 2018
The high point of the program was definitely the Mendelssohn. Both Macadam-Somer and Tsang-Hall went at it with all the spirited energy it demands." (Stephen Smoliar, Examiner.com, Sept. 10, 2013)
Once/Memory/Night: Paul Celan: April 15, 2018
...Ensemble for these Times focuses on 20th and 21st century music... [that] harnesses the power of artistic beauty, intelligence, wit, lyricism, and irony to create a deep understanding of our times and the human condition. (Nancy Zubiri, Euskal Gazeta, March 23, 2017)
56x54: Focus on the Cello: June 29, 2018
They put out a call to composers for works, and were inundated...[receiving] 275 scores..." (Jeffrey Freymann, KDFC.com, April 6, 2017)
56x54: But Wait! There's More! January 26, 2019
...In early 2016, a call went out for submissions. One entry was from Jeffrey Hoover, a musician and director of the Integrated Arts Program at the University of Baltimore. His music suggested both “compositional sensibility” and “a creative proclivity for combining musical composition with painting.” (Mark MacNamara, SFCV.org, March 21, 2017)
56x54: Solo Cello: September 13, 2019
"Last night in the Old First Presbyterian Church, Ensemble for These Times (E4TT) returned to the Old First Concerts series with a program entitled 56 x 54: Focus on the Cello...This kept Lerner-Wright busy for the entire evening and included one selection (her first solo) for which she had to retune her lowest string." (Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio, June 30, 2018)
