The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), described recently in the New York Times as “one of the most adventurous and accomplished groups in new music” and by the New Yorker as “a powerhouse of new-music programming on a Chicago-New York axis…brilliant and unexpected” is a uniquely structured chamber music ensemble comprised of thirty dynamic and versatile young performers who are dedicated to advancing the music of our time. Through innovative programming, inter-disciplinary collaborations, commissions by young composers, and performances in nontraditional venues, ICE brings together new music and new audiences.
ICE was founded in 2001, and has rapidly established itself as one of the leading new-music ensembles of its generation, winning first prize in the 2005 Chamber Music America/ASCAP Awards, and performing over fifty concerts a year in the US and abroad. Recent engagements include performances at the Mostly Mozart Festival of Lincoln Center, the Bang on a Can Marathon at the World Financial Center, the opening ceremonies of the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, multiple engagements at Miller Theatre, and performances at international festivals in Europe, Asia and Latin America. ICE served as ensemble-in-residence at New York University from 2004-2008, and at Columbia College Chicago from 2003-2008.
The ensemble released its first critically acclaimed CD on the Naxos label in 2007, and has recently released a new album on the New York based indie New Focus Recordings label featuring works by Davidovsky, Linberg, Saariaho, Du Yun and Fujikura. ICE is also featured on a new release featuring works by George Crumb on the Complete Crumb Edition of Bridge Records, recorded under the supervision of the composer.
In addition to ICE’s performances at major venues throughout the world, the ensemble has self-produced eight contemporary music festivals in venues as wide-ranging as nightclubs, galleries and warehouses, many of which are free and open to the public. An interest in multimedia productions has led to collaborations with Ridge Theater, with the New York City ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, with director Luca Vegetti on the US Premiere of Xenakis’ opera Oresteia, and with director Lydia Steier on the co-production of a touring version of Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King.
A champion of music by emerging composers, ICE has given over 400 world premieres to date. In 2004, ICE launched the 21st Century Young Composers Project, a worldwide call-for-entries by composers under the age of 35, which has culminated in the world premieres of works by young composers in 27 different countries.
