* En anglais uniquement
A classical and pop hybrid formed around the talents of instrumentalists
Rob Moose (violin),
Nadia Sirota (viola),
Clarice Jensen (cello), Alex Sopp (flute),
Hideaki Aomori (clarinet), and
CJ Camerieri (trumpet), New York City's
yMusic utilize their unique instrumentation in both the chamber music and indie pop worlds. They've collaborated with artists like
Dirty Projectors,
St. Vincent,
the National,
Bon Iver, and
Ben Folds, and have performed their own original instrumental works in nontraditional classical settings.
The sextet released its debut album,
Beautiful Mechanical, in 2011 via New Amsterdam Records, and it went on to win Time Out New York's #1 Classical Record of the Year. They followed it in 2014 with
Richard Reed Parry: Music for Heart and Breath (a collaboration with the
Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist) and the
Son Lux-produced
Balance Problems. The latter included compositions by Timo Andres,
Marcos Balter,
Mark Dancigers,
Nico Muhly,
Andrew Norman,
Sufjan Stevens, and
Jeremy Turner.
Gabriel Cabezas then replaced
Jensen on cello.
The tweaked lineup served as
Ben Folds' backing band on the song portion of 2015's
So There, and made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 with works by, among others,
Caroline Shaw,
Chris Thile, and
Sufjan Stevens. In 2017, Nonesuch issued
The Way Is Read, a collaboration with indie folk trio
the Staves that consisted of both
Staves originals and reworked
yMusic compositions. ~ James Christopher Monger