On April 27, Dean Drummond's Newband performed two early and rarely heard works by Harry Partch: From 11 Intrusions ("2 Studies on Ancient Greek Scales," "The Wind," "The Street"), and Seventeen Lyrics by Li Po. Newband has been involved with resurrecting Partch's great works since it received custodianship of the original Harry Partch Instrument Collection in 1990. Performers included Robert Osborne (bass-baritone), Dean Drummond (harmonic canon), Bill Ruyle (bass marimba), and Katie Schlaikjer (tenor violin). This program highlighted performances of Dean Drummond's Mars Face, commissioned by the McKim Fund of the Library of Congress and performed by Tom Chiu (violin) and Martin Goldray (synthesizer); Precious Metals, commissioned by The National Flute Association and performed by Stefani Starin; and My Data's Gone, from the new comic quasi-opera, Caf� Buff�, with text by Charles Bernstein, and performed by Robert Osborne (bass-baritone) and Martin Goldray (synthesizer).

The 2006 Cutting Edge Concerts series began on April 6 with the N.Y. premiere of Katherine Hoover's The Knot, performed by The Colorado String Quartet. Also on the program was Jeffrey Mumford's a landscape of interior resonances, commissioned jointly by the Phillips Collection in Washington (DC), The Kathryn Bache Miller Theater (NY), and the Schubert Club in St. Paul (MN), and written for pianist Margaret Kampmeier; Victoria Bond's Sacred Sisters, commissioned by The American Society for Jewish Music and written for Renee Jolles (violin), and Susan Jolles (harp); and Richard Wernick's Quartet No. 6, commissioned in 1999 for the Jerusalem Quartet in memory of Henry Levy and performed by The Colorado String Quartet.

The April 20's concert featured Allen Shawn's From the Sad Caf�, Matthew Greenbaum's Squire Allworthy's Menuetto, and Allen Cohen's Duo-Partita, all performed by The Claremont Duo (cello and guitar). The evening featured Patricia Morehead's Multiples, for oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn and electric tape.