The Creative Music Studio’s Enduring Spirit Showcased in Twelve June Performances

Published by Creative Music Studio on

Series Features Small Ensembles to Orchestras, From NYC to the Catskills

Karl Berger and Ingrid Sertso

May 30, 2017, Woodstock, NY – The enduring spirit if the Creative Music Studio™, nearing its fifty-year anniversary, will be showcased in a month-long series of concerts from New York City to the organization’s home base in upstate New York. The twelve June performances will feature CMS artistic directors – Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, Steven Bernstein,  Billy Martin and Peter Apfelbaum – in various settings from small ensembles to full orchestras. A complete schedule is below.

Steve Bernstein

The performances commence on Saturday, June 10 with the CMS Improvisers Orchestra at the El Taller Cultural Community Center at 215 East 99th Street in Manhattan. CMS co-founder Karl Berger will conduct the Orchestra, comprised of twenty or more soloists, and this performance will feature percussionist Valerie Naranjo. It begins at 8:30pm with a rehearsal that’s open to ticket holders at 7:00pm. Tickets are $20 ($15 students) at the door.

Peter Apfelbaum

Evening performances in conjunction with the CMS Spring Workshop in Big Indian, NY, will take place from June 12 – 15. Each night at 8:15pm, ensembles comprised of the workshop’s Guiding Artists will take the stage in the Full Moon Resort’s intimate Roadhouse.  Artists performing in these four upstate concerts will include: Karl Berger (piano/vibes), Ingrid Sertso (vocal), Peter Apfelbaum (reeds, flutes), Warren Smith (percussion), Min Xiao Fen (Chinese pipa), Joe McPhee (reeds), Tanya Kalmanovitch (viola), Ken Filiano (bass), Angelica Sanchez (piano) and Omar Tamez (guitar). Suggested donation is $20.

On Sunday June 17 at 7:00pm, Karl Berger’s new group, “Together,” will perform at the Falcon in Marlboro, NY. The group features Karl Berger (vibes, piano), Ingrid Sertso (poetry, vocals), Kirk Knuffke (cornet),

Billy Martin

Billy Martin (drums), Kenny Wessel (guitar), Ken Filiano (bass) and special guest, Peter Apfelbaum (reeds, flutes). Suggested donation is $20.

Finally, The Stone in New York City will be home base for CMS and its artistic directors during the week of June 27 – July 2 in a series Karl Berger is curating. Tickets are $20 at the door. The schedule is:

June 27: “Vibes, Voice & Bass” (Ken Filiano, bass; Ingrid Sertso, vocals, poetry; and Karl Berger, vibes, compositions)

June 28: “Hustling Raindrops” (Billy Martin, percussion; Peter Apfelbaum, flutes/reeds; Jay Rodriguez, flutes, reeds; Dana Lyn, violin; and Falu, vocals)

June 29: “Apfelbaum/Rojas/Baptista” (Peter Apfelbaum , woodwinds, keyboards, percussion; Marcus Rojas, tuba, percussion; and Cyro Baptista, percussion, vocals)

June 30: “Sertso/Berger Quintet” (Kenny Wessel, guitar; Ken Filiano, bass; Warren Smith, drums; Ingrid Sertso, vocals, poetry; and Karl Berger, vibes, piano, compositions)

July 1: “The Directors” (Steven Bernstein, trumpet; Peter Apfelbaum, tenor sax, flutes; Billy Martin, drums; Ken Filiano, bass; Ingrid Sertso, vocals, poetry; and Karl Berger, piano, vibes)

July 2 “Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra” (Steven Bernstein, trumpet; Curtis Fowlkes, trombone; Charlie Burnham, violin; Doug Wieselman, clarinet; Peter Apfelbaum, tenor saxophone; Erik Lawrence, baritone saxophone; Matt Munisteri, guitar; Ben Allison, bass; and Ben Perowsky, drums).

The Creative Music Studio engages musicians and listeners from all backgrounds and traditions, deepening and transforming their personal experience, understanding and expression of music as a universal language by illuminating its shared elements in workshops, residencies, performances, recording and archival projects throughout the U.S. and around the globe. The Creative Music Studio™ and CMS ™ are trademarks of the Creative Music Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation founded in 1971 that receives funding from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), among others. Its website is: creativemusic.org.