Philip Glass Ensemble

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The Philip Glass Ensemble is a musical group founded by composer Philip Glass in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music. The Ensemble's instrumentation became a hallmark of Glass' early minimalist style. After Glass wrote his first opera, Einstein on the Beach, for the Ensemble in 1976, he began to compose for other instrumentation more frequently, but he still retains the core ensemble instrumentation.

While the Ensemble's exact instrumentation has varied over the years, it has generally consisted of amplified woodwinds, keyboard synthesizers, and solo soprano voice (singing solfege). The Philip Glass Ensemble continues to perform and record, under the musical direction of keyboardist Michael Riesman.

In 2011, individuals from the ensemble performed a series of concerts in an installation at the Museum of Modern Art. The group continues to perform around the world and will continue to present Mr. Glass' works. From 2012 until early 2014 the ensemble has presented, along with many other talented performers, a revival of Einstein on the Beach in Montpellier, London, Reggio Emilia, Toronto, Brooklyn, and various other cities.

Recently the ensemble has begun to perform Mr. Glass' opera, "La Belle et Le Bête" again and with the help of some very talented featured performers will present this gem worldwide.

Members

Michael Riesman, keyboards
Philip Glass, keyboards
Jon Gibson, woodwinds
Dan Dryden, audio engineer
Eleanor Sandresky, keyboards
Nelson Padgett, keyboards
Ted Baker, keyboards
Lisa Bielawa, voice
Andrew Sterman, woodwinds
Mick Rossi, percussion, keyboards
Frank Cassara, percussion
Stephen Erb, audio engineer (partially disabled during "Einstein on the Beach")
David Crowell, woodwinds
Dan Bora, audio engineer

Featured Vocalists in "La Belle et Le Bête":

Gregory Purnhagen, baritone
Peter Stewart, bass
Marie Mascari, soprano
Hai-Ting Chin, mezzo-soprano
Alexandra Montano, mezzo-soprano (deceased)
Janice Felty, mezzo-soprano (still active in the opera world)
Anna-Maria Martinez, soprano (still active in opera world)

Former Ensemble Members:

Martin Goldray, keyboards (retired)
Richard Peck, woodwinds (retired)
Jack Kripl, woodwinds (retired)
Richard Landry, woodwinds (retired)
Joan La Barbara, voice (retired)
Iris Hiskey, voice (retired)
Dora Ohrenstein, voice (retired)
Kurt Munkacsi, audio engineer (now producer)

Films

1982 - Koyaanisqatsi. Directed by Godfrey Reggio.
1983 - Philip Glass. From Four American Composers. Directed by Peter Greenaway.
1988 - Powaqqatsi. Directed by Godfrey Reggio.
2002 - Naqoyqatsi. Directed by Godfrey Reggio.
2008 - Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts. Directed by Scott Hicks.
2009 - Pruit Igoe and prophecies. From Watchmen.

Games

2008 - Pruit Igoe and prophecies. Grand Theft Auto 4

v t e Philip Glass

Compositions	Music in Twelve Parts Glassworks String Quartet No. 2 The Light Passages Itaipu Songs from Liquid Days Aguas da Amazonia

Operas	Einstein on the Beach Satyagraha The Photographer Akhnaten The Civil Wars The Juniper Tree The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 1000 Airplanes on the Roof Hydrogen Jukebox The Voyage Monsters of Grace In the Penal Colony Galileo Galilei The Sound of a Voice Waiting for the Barbarians Appomattox Kepler

Symphonies	Symphony No. 1 (Low) Symphony No. 2 Symphony No. 3 Symphony No. 4 (Heroes) Symphony No. 5 (Choral) Symphony No. 6 (Plutonian Ode) Symphony No. 7 (A Toltec Symphony) Symphony No. 8 Symphony No. 9

Concertos	Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tirol) Piano Concerto No. 2 (After Lewis and Clark) Harpsichord Concerto Violin Concerto (withdrawn) Violin Concerto No. 1 Violin Concerto No. 2 (American Four Seasons) Cello Concerto No. 1 Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra

Film scores	Koyaanisqatsi Mishima Hamburger Hill The Thin Blue Line Mindwalk A Brief History of Time Anima Mundi Candyman Candyman 2 Bent Kundun The Truman Show Dracula The Hours The Fog of War Going Upriver Secret Window Taking Lives Undertow Neverwas Roving Mars The Illusionist Notes on a Scandal No Reservations Cassandra's Dream Transcendent Man Nosso Lar Icarus at the Edge of Time Elena

Related articles	List of compositions Philip Glass Ensemble Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts Minimal music Robert Wilson Dennis Russell Davies David Henry Hwang Errol Morris La Monte Young Steve Reich Terry Riley Kronos Quartet Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread

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