Tribeca New Music is thrilled to present NakedEye, an electro-acoustic octet with classical, rock, and jazz DNA on the forefront of cutting-edge and crossover music that defies conventional labels.
Opening the program will be the Tribeca New Music premiere of Theresa Wong’s The Secret of Growth, a compelling multi-media piece written specifically for NakedEye, and we’ll close with a rare Steve Reich classic, 2x5 (written in 2008).
A highlight of the concert will be the NYC premiere of works by the innovative young British composer Ben Nobuto, including his LOVE GAMES for sextet, Tell me again for soundtrack and piano, and trio (for ivy house) for flute, cello, piano, and soundtrack.
NakedEye Ensemble is led by pianist Ju-Ping Song and is supported in part by The Russo Family Foundation, PA Council on the Arts, The Amphion Foundation, and New Music USA.
Program
The Secret of Growth by Theresa Wong
LOVE GAMES (NYC premiere) by Ben Nobuto
Tell me again (NYC premiere) by Ben Nobuto
trio (for ivy house) (US premiere) by Ben Nobuto
2x5 by Steve Reich
Notes
The NakedEye Ensemble presents a visionary program exploring the intersection of technology, voice, and contemporary musical expression.
Opening the program is Theresa Wong’s The Secret of Growth, a compelling audio-visual piece conceived as an ancestral altar honoring past generations of family members through the framework of film and sound. The five movements draw upon traditional Chinese symbols of veneration including offerings of light, food, flowers, water, and imagery associated with various individuals of her ancestry. While honoring ancestors in her bloodline, Wong also acknowledges the disjunction with the traditions of her past as a result of her family's diasporic trajectory.
A highlight of the concert will be a set of three works by British composer Ben Nobuto. In his LOVE GAMES (2023), he draws on text generated by an AI pop-song program. The resulting language—simple, surreal, and childlike—is transformed into speech and paired with live performers, who gradually build from unison into harmony. The result is a striking form of “AI folk music,” where human musicians respond to an artificial voice, evoking an uncanny and deeply moving sense of connection.
Tell me again (2022) continues Nobuto’s exploration of modern consciousness. For piano, handbells, and electronics, the work cycles through fragments of spoken text—from spiritual teachers to digital voices—triggered unpredictably like channels on a screen. The performer navigates this restless flow, searching for stillness within a constant stream of information.
The third work by Nobuto is trio (at ivy house), written for flute, cello, keyboard and electronics. This clever and captivating 4-movement score unfolds as an immersive 27-minute soundscape, blending acoustic instruments with playful sequenced electronic riffs, fragments, and textures to build a richly layered, atmospheric experience.
Finally, the program wraps up with a classic - Steve Reich’s 2 x 5, a bold, rock-infused work scored for electric guitars, bass, piano, and drums. With driving rhythms and pulsing energy, the piece expands Reich’s signature style into an amplified, high-energy sound world.
Together, these works offer a curated selection of today’s contemporary music—restless, inventive, and deeply attuned to the world around us.