RUSHES ENSEMBLE
A BOLDLY DIFFERENT
SONIC LANDSCAPE
—Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
Michael Gordon's Rushes
“a shimmering statis of sound . . . a gently pulsating dream”
—Albany Times Union
Described as a "hallucinogenic work for seven bassoons" by the New York Times, Michael Gordon's Rushes is the second in a series of concert-length works, including Timber (for six simantras) and 8 (for eight cellos), that expand the boundaries of a single instrument’s repertoire into hitherto unknown—and at times, otherworldly—spaces. In Rushes, the composer creates an environment that uses the bassoon’s unique tonal and timbral qualities to induce a quasi-meditative, almost ecstatic state in the listener as well as the performer.
"The name comes from the tall grass that’s reminiscent of the reeds that bassoon players use. It also refers to an ecstatic rush, a euphoria that I'm trying to build.”
—Michael Gordon
Praise for Rushes
The music at Friday's premiere danced in space around the ring of bassoonists, and when their tones hit a certain sweet spot . . . the overtones became as much a part of the music as the pitches on the page, like the chiming of an invisible set of crystal bells."—Daniel Stephen Johnson, Musical America
“The effect was hypnotic and engrossing. . . . I found myself sitting as close to the group as possible, so I could! feel the sound as much as hear it.”—Dan Ruccia, Indy Week (Durham)
"Gordon's intricate Rushes flows like a river with constantly varying ripples and waves, requiring great concentration over its hour-long unbroken span of sound. The composer compares the score to 'a very long weaving pattern for a loom,' but it's also alive and breathing. . ."—David Patrick Stearns, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Ensemble
Rushes Ensemble is an all-star septet comprised of leading performers of contemporary bassoon music in the United States: Dana Jessen, Michael Harley, Maya Stone, Lynn Hileman, Jeffrey Lyman, Rachael Elliott, and Saxton Rose.The group debuted in 2012 with the world premiere performance of Michael Gordon’s Rushes at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center in Troy, New York. Their premiere recording of the work was released by Cantaloupe Records in 2014.Rushes Ensemble has appeared throughout Europe and North America at venues including November Music, Korzo Theater and GLOW Festival in the Netherlands; Surround Festival in Brugge, Belgium; Vancouver New Music; Duke Performances; Oz Arts and Big Ears in TN; Tufts University; Peak Performances in Montclair, NJ; and National Sawdust, Park Avenue Armory, and the Long Play Festival in New York City.
The Album
Recorded at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center under the direction of producer Argeo Ascani and composer Michael Gordon, Rushes Ensembles recording of Rushes is multi-layered and stunningly lush; there’s an analog and human "warmth" that resides in the natural sound of the bassoon, but Rushes also exposes how deceptively electronic a group of them can sound when played with arpeggiated gusto.Michael Gordon's Rushes is available from Cantaloupe Music, iTunes, and Spotify.
Praise for Rushes
"Sure, the bassoon can sound uncannily human and plaintive, but that's not what drew Michael Gordon to the instrument. Rushes his sonic meditation for seven bassoons, is a vast pixelated canvas made up of thousands of short staccato notes that rush by in torrents and yet seem to stand still. And sound, uncannily, like electronic music."—Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times
“I wondered if the spiritual successor to Reich’s early Minimalist experiments might in fact be the composer Michael Gordon. . . . Rushes, written for seven bassoons, manages to achieve a grandiosity of colors from such restricted means.”—Will Robin, The New York Times
Rushes is full of wonderful, illusory textural effects and little bursts of surprise. The combination of brusquely staccato phrasing and tender modal harmonies makes for a bittersweet flavor that shifts constantly beneath the listener's attention. . . . Gordon uses the distinctive qualities of the bassoon—its reediness and weight—to create a boldly different sonic landscape."—Joshua Kosman, The San Francisco Chronicle
"Rarely does one get to see a group that has been steadily performing the same work to the point of absolute mastery."
Performances
Long Play Festival—Brooklyn, NY—5.5.2024
Crosstown Arts—Memphis, TN—9.27.2022
Oz Arts—Nashville, TN—3.22.2018 (with Mantra Percussion)
Big Ears Festival—Knoxville, TN—3.24.2018
National Sawdust—Brooklyn, NY—1.26.2017
Duke Performances–Durham, NC—4.22-23.2015 (with Mantra Percussion)
Park Avenue Armory—New York, NY—10.23.2015
Vancouver New Music Festival—Vancouver, BC—11.22.2014
Peak Performances—Montclair, NJ—03.29.2014
The Icebox at Crane Arts—Philadelphia, PA—03.28.2014
Tufts University—Medford, MA—03.26.2014
University of Michigan— Ann Arbor, MI—11.25.2013
Korzo Theater—Den Haag, the Netherlands—11.16.2012
Ostadetheater—Amsterdam, the Netherlands—11.16.2012
Surround Festival—Concertgebouw Brugge, Brugge, Belgium—11.11.2012
GLOW Festival—Eindhoven, the Netherlands—11.10.2012
November Music Festival—‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands—11.08.2012 (European premiere)
Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center—Troy, NY—09.15.2012 (World premiere)
Booking
For booking and other inquiries, please contact us using the form below.