Grant Supporting Materials for NYSCA
Metropolis Ensemble
Andrew Cyr, conductor
WORK SAMPLE ONE
Sarah Kirkland Snider — Forward into Light
May 27, 2025 — Drew University Dorothy Young Performing Arts Center
Metropolis Ensemble
Andrew Cyr, conductor
Metropolis Ensemble is collaborating with “one of new music’s leading names” (Gramophone), composer Sarah Kirkland Snider and Grammy-winning producer Silas Brown (The Blind Banister, Liquidverse) to record Sarah's acclaimed orchestral works.
WORK SAMPLE TWO
Life Returns (excerpt from Movement 2, Stirrings Amid Stillness): Matthew Evan Taylor
Metropolis Ensemble
Rajas Ensemble
Andrew Cyr, conductor
Ganavya, solo voice
Recorded Live (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) March 24, 2022
Life Returns is an evening-length composition by Matthew Evan Taylor, co-commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Premiered live at The Met in March 24, 2022, the work blends African American, South Indian, and European musical traditions, featuring performances by the RAJAS Ensemble, Matthew Evan Taylor (saxphone/composer), vocalist Ganavya, and Metropolis Ensemble’s chamber orchestra, conducted by Andrew Cyr. It served as the culmination of the year-long "Postcards to The Met" video series and is slated for album release in May, 2025.
WORK SAMPLE THREE
Simeon ten Holt — Cato Ostinato: Sections 74-87
2025
Sandbox Percussion
Erik Hall
Metropolis Ensemble
Andrew Cyr, conductor
Metropolis Ensemble collaborated with Erik Hall and Sandbox Percussion to breathe new life into Simeon ten Holt’s minimalist masterpiece, Canto Ostinato, in a new arrangement by Erik Hall, David Leon, Jonny Allen, and Ben Wallace.