Charlotte Mundy, soprano
Elisa Sutherland, mezzo-soprano
Sylvia Leith, mezzo-soprano
Steven Bradshaw, tenor
Jeffrey Gavett, baritone and director
Steven Hrycelak, bass
Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works and gems of the historical avant-garde. With a special focus on microtonal works, they have been praised by The New York Times for their "extraordinary sense of pitch." New York is home to a vibrant instrumental New Music scene, with a relative paucity of vocal music. Ekmeles was founded to fill the gap by presenting new a cappella repertoire for solo voices, and by collaborating with these instrumental ensembles. They are one of two winners of the 2023 Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Ensemble Prize, and the first American ensemble to receive the honor.
In the 2019-2020 season, they performed with the MET Museum's first commissioned sound installation, Oliver Beer's Vessel Orchestra, and released their debut album A howl, that was also a prayer on New Focus Recordings, with works by Taylor Brook, Erin Gee, and Christopher Trapani. Other notable collaborations include the U.S. premieres of Stefano Gervasoni’s "Dir - In Dir" and Wolfgang Rihm's "ET LUX" with the Mivos Quartet, Mathias Spahlinger’s "über den frühen tod fräuleins anna augusta marggräfin zu baden" with members of Tilt Brass and loadbang, Beat Furrer’s "FAMA" with Talea Ensemble, and Luigi Nono’s "Quando Stanno Morendo" with AMP New Music. Ekmeles has also performed works by student composers at academic institutions including Columbia University, Ithaca College, NYU, Rutgers University, Stanford University, Syracuse University, the University of Chicago, and the University of New Mexico.
Ekmeles is a signatory of the New Music Equity Action Pledge and is committed to working actively against inequity, racism, and anti-Blackness in our field.
