Call it New Amsterdam!
Issue Project Room, an arts space formerly based in the Can Factory in Gowanus, is celebrating the move to its brand new space at 110 Livingston Street in Brooklyn Heights with a four-day concert series inspired by, and in partnership with, Dutch contemporary music festival Gaudeamus Muziekweek.
“The Dutch are musical trailblazers; we feel a real kinship with them,” said Ed Patuto, Issue Project Room’s executive director. “Brooklyn is a place for experimental culture, new works and new art, and that’s part of the natural identity of the Dutch people, too.”
Issue’s festival — which mirrors its Dutch predecessor Gaudeamus Muziekweek, one of the most established and popular music festivals in Holland — features the U.S. premiere of 2011 Gaudeamus Prize-winner Yoshi Onishi’s “Depart das
Ns,” performed by Wet Ink Ensemble; and artists including the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Iktus Percussion, and the Netherlands-based ensemble MAE, in addition to a rare performance of Gyorgi Ligeti’s Poeme Symphonique for 100 metronomes.
“Since 1945, the Gaudeamus Muziekweek festival presents groundbreaking new music from emerging composers from all over the world,” Patuto said. “And that’s what Issue does as well.”
And the venue — Issue’s refurbished European-style jewel box theater concert hall — couldn’t be more fitting for such a festival.
“Europeans have a tradition of taking old venues and outfitting them for contemporary performance, especially the Dutch,” Patuto said. “Our beautiful theater is perfect for this.”
Issue Project Room’s Gaudeamus Muziekweek [110 Livingston St. between Court Street and Boerum Place in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 330-0313]. Jan. 25-Jan. 28, 8 pm. Tickets, $20. For info, visit www.issueprojectroom.org.
Reach Arts Editor Juliet Linderman at [email protected] or by calling (718) 260-8309.
