Georg Friedrich Haas was born in 1953 in Graz, a city in the east of Austria. His childhood was spent in the mountainous province of Vorarlberg, on the Swiss border. The landscape and the atmosphere of the place have left a lasting impression on his personality. To study music, Haas returned to his native city where his professors were Gösta Neuwirth and Ivan Eröd. Later, he continued his studies in Vienna with Friedrich Cerha.

Heralded as “a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere” by the New York Times, the Talea Ensemble’s mission is to champion musical creativity, cultivate curious listeners, and bring visionary new works to life with vibrant performances that remain in the audience’s imagination long after a concert. 

Recipients of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Talea has brought to life at least 50 commissions of major new works since it was founded in 2008. Talea has helped introduce NYC audiences to important works of composers such as Pierre Boulez, Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Olga Neuwirth, Unsuk Chin, and Hans Abrahamsen.

Festival engagements include performances at Lincoln Center Festival, Donaueschingen Musiktage, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, the Fromm Concerts at Harvard University, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Wien Modern, Vancouver New Music, Time of Music Finland, TIME:SPANS, and many more. The ensemble has also partnered with institutions from across disciplines, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, the City of Ideas Festival in Mexico, or the Storm King Art Center. Talea’s recordings have been distributed worldwide on the Kairos, Wergo, Gravina Musica, Tzadik, Innova, and New World Records labels, and been broadcast on ORF (Austria), HRF (Germany), and WQXR’s Q2. Talea assumes an ongoing role in supporting a new generation of composers, and has undertaken residencies in music departments around the country. 

On Tuesday 12/19 at 4pm, The Talea Ensemble will host a workshop in the PS21 Black Box Theater with Kids 4 Harmony, a free, intensive classical music program for youth from some of the most under-resourced communities in Berkshire County.

The Ensemble will guide workshop participants through the piece, introduce microtonal playing, and finally, play alongside one another.

Kids 4 Harmony is inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema, an ensemble-based music program for social justice change. Kids 4 Harmony focuses on musical excellence, student well-being and development, and family support, building the skills, access, and support for participants to succeed in music and beyond. Kids 4 Harmony is the only El Sistema-inspired program embedded within a social services agency.