Cenk Ergün
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
169 Bowery NYC
6:00 pm
A set of islands, emerging from the seafloor, standing isolated from one another above water. In Inseln, this image manifests itself musically as combinations of long tones, fading in, fading out, overlapping in everchanging permutations to form islands of sound in a sea of silence.
A multi-channel sound work by Turkish-American composer Cenk Ergün, Inseln was first realized as an installation for six loudspeakers at Zionskirche, Berlin in March 2021. 44 minutes in length, the work is solely made up of long tones and melodic fragments sung by countertenor Rupert Enticknap. Throughout the piece, isolated tones alternate with dense, choir-like textures comprising up to 12 simultaneous layers of Rupert’s voice. On May 21, 2025, Inseln will be installed at Fridman Gallery between 6-10 pm as part of New Ear’s SPATIAL Long Form Series. Live solo musicians will be interacting with the installation throughout the evening.
In this NY premiere, 4 soloists will interact live with the work:
MADISON GREENSTONE, clarinet
SEAN MEEHAN, snare drum
MARIEL ROBERTS, cello
CLEEK SCHREY, hardanger fiddle
About the Artist
Cenk Ergün is a composer and improviser based in New York. He creates chamber music, electronic music, and sound installations. Cenk’s compositions are performed by groups such as JACK Quartet, So Percussion, and Wet Ink. As an electronics performer, he collaborates with Jason Treuting, Jeff Snyder, Cansu Tanrikulu, Nick Dunston, Sudhu Tewari, Samita Sinha, Alvin Curran, and Fred Frith. Venues that have featured his work include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, 92Y, Miller Theater, The Roulette, The Stone (New York); Wigmore Hall (London); Pierre Boulez Saal, KM28 (Berlin); Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg); Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam); Tonhalle (Zurich). His multi-channel vocal work, Inseln, was released 2022 on Sacred Realism. Other records include Sonare & Celare with JACK Quartet, and Lock Me Up & Lock Me Down with Fred Frith and Sudhu Tewari.
Inseln, 2021, performed at the historic Zionskirche in Berlin.
NEW EAR :: 