RHYTHM METHOD INC

BROOKLYN, New York, 11213-4205 United States

Mission Statement

As an ensemble of four composer-performers, The Rhythm Method strives to reimagine the string quartet in a contemporary, feminist context. We cherish close collaboration with composers at every stage of work development, and as improvisers and composers, we are particularly interested in music which invites performers’ creative agency. Many of the works we write, commission, and choose to perform explore and expand the terrains between free improvisation and different forms of notation, from graphic scores to Western classical notation. We believe that an intersectional feminist approach to our work means fostering equity through the amplification of marginalized voices. Our programming and collaborative efforts seek to highlight artistry that represents the beautiful spectrum of gender, race, sexuality, age, ability, and all other lines of identity. In our educational work, we nurture ongoing relationships with universities and schools, cultivating multifaceted creativity and musicianship in students of all ages. We believe that supporting and nurturing each other’s creative voices helps build community, both inside and outside our ensemble, and presents a model for collective creativity.

About This Cause

Praised as “fierce, fearless, and virtuosic… unapologetically stylistically omnivorous and versatile” (New Music Box) and “trailblazing...skillful composer-performers” (The New Yorker), The Rhythm Method strives to reimagine the string quartet in a contemporary, feminist context. The four performer-composers of The Rhythm Method continually expand their sonic and expressive palette through the use of improvisation, vocalization, graphic notation, songwriting, and theater. The Rhythm Method has given performances at Roulette, Joe’s Pub, The Stone, the Met Museum, the Morris Museum, the MIT Museum, and the Noguchi Museum, and has been featured on the American Composers Orchestra's Sonic Festival, String Orchestra of Brooklyn’s String Theories Festival, MATA Festival, Music Mondays, TriBeCa New Music, and the Austrian Cultural Forum’s Moving Sounds Festival. The quartet tours regularly both in the US and abroad, and has performed internationally in France, Austria, and Switzerland. The Rhythm Method seeks to nurture ongoing relationships with universities and schools, cultivating multifaceted creativity and musicianship in students of all ages, and have completed residencies at Tulane University, Arkansas State University, Zurich University for Art and Music, Hunter College, Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts, and New York University. They were quartet-in-residence for Lake George Music Festival’s Composer’s Institute in 2020-22, and will return in 2023. The Rhythm Method’s ongoing activities include the Hidden Mothers Project, a programming initiative that highlights works by historical women composers, and Broad Statements, an annual mini-festival celebrating creative music-making by women, non-binary, and gender-expansive people in a wide array of artistic styles. In March 2022, the quartet released their self-titled debut album, featuring music by all of the quartet members, on Gold Bolus Recordings. Other releases include the 2021 “A Few Concerns,” an album of cellist-singer-songwriter Meaghan Burke’s music, on Gold Bolus Recordings, and the group’s signature Wandelweiser Christmas arrangements, volumes I and II. The Rhythm Method’s recording of “Silence Seeking Solace” (with soprano Alice Teyssier) was featured on Dai Fujikura’s “Chance Monsoon” (SONY Japan). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To all of our supporters who have joined us for concerts, listened to our albums, kept up-to-date with our newsletter updates, or simply sent us a positive thought now and again – we want to say thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. This business of music making is inherently and necessarily social, and we truly couldn’t do it without you, our audience and collaborators – nor would we want to! Thank you for taking time out of your day to enter into a listening environment with us, and for opening space in your life to engage with the art we care so very deeply about. We hope it has made you think about something with a new perspective, or brought you a moment of joy, or challenged you to reflect in a meaningful way. If you’ve enjoyed our concerts, recordings, videos, or updates this year, please consider supporting us by making a fully tax-deductible donation to The Rhythm Method. Every dollar helps us to keep making the music we all care so deeply about. Here’s some of what we got up to this year: - Our second residency with the graduate string quartet writing seminar at NYU - Returning to the Lake George Music Festival as ensemble-in-residence with the Composer’s Institute - Bringing back our popular mini-festival of women composer-performers, “Broad Statements” with a stellar lineup of artists - An academic residency at the Boston Conservatory of Music - Performing as guest ensemble with the Composers Collective in NYC - Recording “Pastorale para los pobres de la tierra” by Lewis Nielson, an epic and breathtaking work written for the quartet + Alice Teyssier, for a 2024 release - Recording Marina Kifferstein’s stunning String Quartet No. 2 - Premiering new works by all four quartet members And here’s some of what we have planned for the year to come, which happens to be our TENTH ANNIVERSARY: - Releasing our next album, featuring works by Lewis Nielson, Paul Pinto, and our own Marina Kifferstein, on New Focus - Premiering newly commissioned works by Victoria Cheah and inti figgis-vizueta - Collaborating with students at Iceberg Composer Collective’s Iceberg Institute in Orlando, FL as quartet in residence - Collaborating with Mosaic Composers Collective (MoCoCo) at their National Sawdust show - Another spectacular “Broad Statements” mini-fest featuring artists we are so excited to present -Returning to NYU’s graduate string quartet writing seminar - Returning to Lake George Music Festival - Commissioning a new double quartet with video from our long-time collaborator Paul Pinto We hope you’ll join us for some of what we have planned this year. If you appreciate what we do, we hope that you’ll consider making a fully tax-deductible donation to The Rhythm Method. Every dollar helps us to build our organization, so that we can continue our work in creating the music we all care so deeply about. Thank you for supporting The Rhythm Method!

RHYTHM METHOD INC
368 Brooklyn Ave
BROOKLYN, New York 11213-4205
United States
Phone 9177364122
Unique Identifier 352777368