"I'd love to hear that piece again." And now you can -- thanks to American Accent.

American Accent celebrates American 20th and 21st century masterpieces via those elusive repeat performances. Artistic, dedicated, exhilarating performances by the Lark Quartet, pianist Joanne Polk, soprano Gayla Blaisdell and clarinetist Alan Kay guarantee a superb, stimulating evening.

American Accent is a New York City-based performance group dedicated to world-class performances that present the vitality and enormous breadth of American chamber music of the 20th Century and beyond. Their intent is to survey over time the richness and many personalities of America's composers, and to present their music not as an occasional visitor to the concert stage, but in its rightful place, at center stage.

Co-founded and directed by composer Judith Lang Zaimont (professor of composition at the School of Music - University of Minnesota) and pianist Joanne Polk (director of chamber music studies at the Manhattan School of Music), American Accent will concentrate on works of the present moment and recent past, focusing on the elusive second, third or fourth performances of music by distinguished composers who are primarily members of our own national community. The core ensemble — pianist Joanne Polk, soprano Gayla Blaisdell, clarinetist Alan Kay and the Lark Quartet — are visionary artists connected to the music of their own time, and who perform with artistry, enthusiasm and devotion.

For their second season, American Accent will present their Spring Showcase — "Romance in the Air"Ê on Thursday, May 23, 2002 at 7:30 PM in the Recital Hall of The Kosciuszko Foundation, 15 East 65th Street in Manhattan.

For advanced tickets reservations, please contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at 516-586-3433 or jamesarts@att.net or The Kosciuszko Foundation at 212 - 734-2130.

Performers - pianist Joanne Polk,soprano Gayla Blaisdell, clarinetist Alan Kay and the Lark Quartet

American Accent is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Review by Leo Kraft of American Accent November 15, 2000 concert — published in New Music Connoisseur Magazine

The debut of a group primarily devoted to American music is an important event, especially when the program and the performances are on a very high level. The initial concert of American Accent at Merkin Hall on November 15th was an unqualified success, and the group promises to make a significant contribution to the musical life of the city.

The well-planned program (three Pulitzer Prize winners, no less) began with the Fantasy Duo for violin and piano by John Harbison. It is a single movement work with mercurial changes in mood, texture, and tempo. Yet it always hangs together, the segments either leading into each other or in dramatic confrontation. The Harbison duo was followed by George Perle's Monody I for flute solo, which Mr. Rorem described as one of the three major works for solo flute of the 20th century. It certainly is true that the piece has held up for many years, and it sounded fresh and intriguing as ever. It may have sounded better than ever because a performer like Linda Chesis has had the time to digest the music thoroughly and to give it the kind of mature performance that is difficult to achieve when a work is new.

The Piano Trio No. 2 by Judith Zaimont is entitled Zones, and its movements are labeled, Cold, Warm, and Temperate. The music is strong and assertive and positively passionate in the third movement. The trio is very well made and well suited to the instrumental combination. For those who have expanded their conception of tonality beyond what they grew up with, the Trio is decidedly tonal. The same is true of Mr. Harbison's duo and probably, in a very subtle way of Mr. Perle's Monody.

Two short works by Sofia Gubaidulina for flute and piano presented contrasting characters. Klange des Waldes is atmospheric and very pretty. I took Allegro Rustico to be a very clever take-off on Russian folk and popular music as well as on the music of two well-known Russian composers whose names I need not mention.

Ned Rorem has broadened and deepened his art; Bright Music for flute, two violins, Ôcello, and piano proved to be an unalloyed delight. I was struck by the originality of the form, each of the five movements going its own way to fulfill the implications of the musical material. The mood shifted from light-hearted to highly eloquent. The unusual instrumental combination did not sound unusual at all, and the composer found many felicitous ways of combining sonorities to produce music that fell gracefully upon the ear.

The performers included: Linda Chesis, flute, Diane Pascal and Jennifer Orchard, violins, Astrid Schween, 'cello, and Joanne Polk, piano. It is impossible to single out any one for special commendation, for each played with a high degree of skill and commitment. That American Accent should have made the effort to enlist such strong players is a good indication of the group's seriousness of purpose.

The audience gave every indication of appreciating the concert thoroughly. Those who were not present missed out on a concert that was both important and highly enjoyable.