Eco Ensemble

Eco Ensemble, under the direction of David Milnes, is a group of prominent Bay Area musicians who are passionate about exp­loring and performing contemporary works. Its mission is to enrich and serve the Bay Area’s cultural life through the creation, performance, and dissemination of new music by composers from Berkeley and around the world. Called a “dream team of local musicians who embody a high point in the Bay Area’s vibrant contemporary music scene” by the New York Times, Eco Ensemble has been featured at the Festival of New American Music and the Venice Biennale and has worked closely with renowned composers including Kaija Saari­aho, Beat Furrer, Philippe Leroux, George Lewis, Erin Gee, and Ivan Fedele. The group is the ensemble-in-residence at UC Berke­ley’s Department of Music and the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT), and as the university’s principal performance outlet for performers and composers of new music, Eco Ensemble commissions and premieres works from UC Berkeley com­posers. With a focus on education for both experienced audiences and novices, Eco Ensemble’s and CNMAT’s public outreach efforts include lectures, demonstrations, workshops, and composer residencies. Members of the ensemble work extensively with undergraduate and gradu­ate musicians in new-music studies. Eco Ensemble’s unique collaboration with CNMAT inspires works that are informed by contemporary explorations into the intersection between science and music. The ensemble seeks to expand the possi­bilities for new music by working with CNMAT faculty, students, and researchers to develop new instru­ments, new appli­cations of technologies for composition and performance, and new modes of expression.