Beautiful Mechanical

yMusic is a group of young performers who are actively engaged and equally comfortable in the overlapping classical and pop music worlds. Not only do its members regularly play with classical institutions like the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, but they are active recitalists, arrangers, and commissioners, and have served key roles in touring and fulfilling indie rock visions from Sufjan Stevens to Bon Iver to The National. The group’s unique instrumentation includes a traditional string trio as well as the distinctive combination of flute, clarinet and trumpet. This exciting composite of sounds has sparked a burgeoning repertoire of commissions from some of today’s most important artists. Beautiful Mechanical, the group’s focused and stunning debut album, features compositions by indie- classical all-stars Annie Clark (St. Vincent) – a piece commissioned by the MusicNOW Festival, Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Ryan Lott (Son Lux), Gabriel Kahane, and New Amsterdam Records co-founders Sarah Kirkland Snider and Judd Greenstein. The compositions are assured and fervent yet tender and humane, the performances delicate yet fiercely virtuosic, making for a cohesive album that stands as a manifesto of what music-making in the 21st century can – and should – be.