Stephen Mejias

Saturday, March 12, 7:30pm: Clogs, Shara Worden, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus will perform at Merkin Concert Hall (129 West 67th Street, New York). The performance is part of Merkin’s inaugural Ecstatic Music Festival. Stereophile readers who have enjoyed John Atkinson’s 2007 recording, Attention Screen: Live at Merkin Hall (available here), will be familiar with the rich, inviting sound of the space.

On March 12, Clogs (Bryce Dessner, guitar; Rachael Elliott, bassoon; Thomas Kozumplik, percussion; Padma Newsome, viola) will present two world premieres for mixed ensemble and choir by Newsome and Dessner: Newsome’s “Unattended Shadow” is a series of three songs set to texts by Newsome and Susannah Keebler “concerning observations about people and places on the fringes of society,” and Dessner’s “Tour Eiffel” is based on the 1918 poem of the same name by Chilean poet, Vicente Huidobro. Clogs will be accompanied by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, led by artistic director and founder, Dianne Berkun.

Clogs: "Last Song," from The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton, voted one of five "best genre-defying albums of 2010" by NPR.

My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden will join the ensemble on selections from Clogs’ 2010 album, The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton. Worden’s enchanting voice and presence should add even more drama and magic to an already special night.

Shara Worden and yMusic, live in Studio 360, performing "We Added It Up," written for Lincoln Center's American Songbook series.

The Ecstatic Music Festival is a 14-concert event, presenting more than 150 composers and performers who aim to “re-define contemporary music and blur the line between classical and popular music.” (I am all about blurring lines. Really: I love the intersection of classical and pop.) Tickets for individual performances cost $25. Subscription tickets are $20 each for four or more concerts; students with valid ID get in for $15. For more info, call (212) 501-3330 or click here.

Merrill Garbus of the amazing tUnE-yArDs discusses her music and its place in the Ecstatic Music Festival. tUne-yArDs will perform on Saturday, February 19, with Roomful of Teeth, an eight-piece vocal ensemble including Dashin Burton, formerly of Cantus.