Glassworks, Philip Glass (Irish Premiere) - Crash Ensemble

Show Details:

Crash Ensemble present the Irish premiere of Philip Glass’s iconic Glassworks in full, for three nights only as part of Dublin’s MusicTown festival. We are beyond excited to have this opportunity to perform the work of a living legend in the intimate surrounds of The Gallery at the Complex.

Written as a studio recording, Glassworks was released in 1982 as an LP and cassette on the CBS label, whose roster of artists includes Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen.
The LP and cassette had their own separate mixes, the LP for home listening and the cassette with a headphone specific mix and was Glass’s successful attempt to create a more pop-oriented ‘Walkman-suitable’ work.

“Glassworks was intended to introduce my music to a more general audience than had been familiar with it up to then.” – Philip Glass

Crash Ensemble is supported by the Arts Council and Dublin City Council

Glassworks by Philip Glass

Crash Ensemble
Susan Doyle, flute
Ken Edge, soprano saxophone
Nick Roth, soprano & tenor saxophones
Ruth McGinley, solo piano & keyboard
Billy O’Brien, keyboard
Kate Ellis, keyboard

Production
Adrian Hart FOH Sound/Audio Producer
Rob Kearns Production Manager
Matt Rafter Producer/Concerts Manager

Management
Siân Cunningham CEO
Kate Ellis Artistic Director
Mariana Parás Marketing & Community Manager
Lisa Dowdall Education Coordinator

Crash Ensemble is Ireland’s leading new music ensemble; a group of world-class musicians who play the most adventurous, ground-breaking music of today.

Amazingly ordinary people doing extraordinary things – Crash is innovative, adventurous and ambitious.

Led by cellist and Artistic Director, Kate Ellis and Principal Conductor, Ryan McAdams, the ensemble commissions, collaborates, explores, investigates and experiments with a broad spectrum of music creators and artistic collaborators: ‘We love to innovate, with quality always at the heart of everything we do. We are passionate about the music we play. We create experiences; exploring new ways of presenting music and bringing our audiences on new adventures. Community for us is key – our community inspires us to create and experiment more. We value our audiences and our connection with them.’

Crash perform both in Ireland and internationally. The ensemble’s music is available on their own label, Crash Records and they have recordings on Nonesuch, Cantaloupe, NMC, Ergodos and Bedroom Community labels.

Many well-known artists from diverse musical backgrounds have performed with the ensemble; Terry Reily, Gavin Friday, Dawn Upshaw, Diamanda La Berge Dramm, Laurie Anderson, Lisa Hannigan, Íarla Ó Lionáird (The Gloaming), Bryce Dessner (The National), Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Sam Amidon and Beth Orton.

As well as performing throughout Ireland, Crash regularly perform internationally, with appearances in the last few years at the Edinburgh International Festival, The Royal Opera House (London), The Barbican (London), Carnegie Hall (NYC) The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington DC), Virginia Tech (Virginia), GAIDA Festival (Lithuania) and residencies at The Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival (UK) and Princeton University (NJ).

Crash Ensemble is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council, is a resident ensemble at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland and at Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland.