S.E.M. Ensemble

Still resonating from last week’s concert ✨ Thank you to everyone who joined us at Bohemian National Hall for an unforgettable evening with SEM Ensemble performing music by Petr Kotík. A powerful, precise, and deeply immersive concert that filled the space with layered sound and intensity. Swipe through to relive the night. “Many Many Women is a singular, personal statement, unlike anything else in what we call ‘concert music.’… Kotík’s work breaks entirely from the prevailing trends in new music… it was already revolutionary when it was created between 1975 and 1978, sounding unlike anything else in its time (or today).” – Bernhard Lang (2026) Part of Offbeat Bohemia, an open concert series connecting contemporary Czech and Slovak music with New York’s experimental and alternative scenes—moving between Bohemian National Hall and downtown clubs, and bringing together artists across generations and approaches. Photos by Michael Yu

S.E.M. Ensemble and the Glass Clouds Ensemble performing at Bohemian National Hall, April 22, 2026. Photos 1-4: Michael Yu @enzoferrarifx60 Photo 5: Cha Changhyun @cha_trp @glasscloudsensemble @czechcenternewyork

TOMORROW 4/22: Music by Petr Kotik at Bohemian National Hall, 7pm. You don’t want to miss this free concert! Photos from last night’s preview at Willow Place Auditorium.

PCG Recommends—S.E.M. Ensemble: Many Many Women | Wednesday, April 22 at 7 PM | Bohemian National Hall Ballroom, New York This Wednesday, experience ‘Many Many Women,’ one of Petr Kotík’s most radical and quietly mesmerizing works. The S.E.M. Ensemble will perform Kotik’s landmark setting of Gertrude Stein’s text at the Bohemian National Hall Ballroom, New York. ‘Many Many Women’ premiered in 1979 in a series of 3 performances—the second concert was at Paula Cooper Gallery. The first performance was at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, and the third took place at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Learn more and reserve your ticket @s.e.m.ensemble @czechcenternewyork #SEMensemble _ S.E.M Ensemble recording ‘Many Many Women’ at Vanguard Studio following the 1979 premiere performances at Paula Cooper Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Photo: Blaise Tobia

Petr Kotik on discovering Gertrude Stein’s text, Many Many Women, and deciding to set it to music. Hear a 90-minute version of this 6-hour piece this Wednesday, April 22, 7pm at Bohemian National Hall. Free admission, RSVP through the SEM or Czech Center websites.

Have you had enough of the kitsch Coming to us from Washington? Are you tired of the unending effort to entertain? You will not find any of it At SEM concerts Our music May confuse or contradict itself But Not a single moment throughout history Was it otherwise in the case of music That prevailed (eventually) -Petr Kotik, April 2026 Wednesday, April 22, 7pm Bohemian National Hall Reserve your (free) ticket on either the Czech Center or SEM websites. Video: Footage from SEM’s 1982 Europe tour, sponsored by the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Porto, and on the Island of Madeira. Music: Many Many Women by Petr Kotik

S.E.M. Ensemble: Many Many Women | WED, APR 22, 7 PM | Bohemian National Hall Ballroom A rare chance to experience one of Petr Kotík’s most radical and quietly mesmerizing works live. S.E.M. Ensemble performs Many Many Women, his landmark setting of Gertrude Stein’s text, presented here in a curated version that preserves the piece’s rigor, repetition, and meditative force. The program also includes String Quartet No. 1 “Erinnerungen an Jan” performed by The Glass Clouds Ensemble, bringing another facet of Kotík’s singular musical language into focus. A longtime collaborator of John Cage, Kotík remains a defining figure in experimental music, connecting the legacy of the New York School with his own distinct compositional voice. Petr Kotík • S.E.M. Ensemble • The Glass Clouds Ensemble Part of our Offbeat Bohemia series. 🎟️ LEARN MORE & REGISTER: Follow the link in our bio or visit czechcenter.com #experimentalmusic #newmusic #contemporarymusic #offbeatbohemia #liveinny

Petr Kotik’s “Many Many Women” on the text by Gertrude Stein and “String Quartet No. 1, Erinnerungen a Jan” will be performed by S.E.M. Ensemble and Glass Clouds Ensemble (@glasscloudsensemble ) as part of the Czech Center’s Offbeat Bohemia series. On duration, Gertrude Stein wrote, “A masterpiece does not really have a beginning or an ending. It just starts and ends.” While MMW in its entirety can last for 6 hours, this performance of the piece will be about 90 minutes long. Wednesday, April 22 at 7:00pm Bohemian National Hall 321 East 73rd Street New York, NY Free admission For more information and to RSVP, please visit czechcenter.com or semensemble.org Video: PK riding his bicycle in the rain in Brooklyn. Sound: Many Many Women, excerpt

S.E.M. Ensemble: Many Many Women | WED, APR 22, 7 PM | Bohemian National Hall Ballroom An evening devoted to one of the most uncompromising works of experimental music. S.E.M. Ensemble presents Petr Kotík's Many Many Women, a landmark composition based on the complete text of Gertrude Stein's novella, heard here in a rare, curated version that retains its meditative intensity and structural clarity. Written for paired voices and instruments moving in parallel intervals, the piece unfolds through repetition, duration, and silence, following Stein's principle of "the un-change." Alongside this work, the program includes Kotík's String Quartet No. 1 "Erinnerungen a Jan" performed by The Glass Clouds Ensemble, offering a more recent perspective on his singular compositional language. A long-time collaborator of John Cage, Kotík has shaped the experimental music landscape across decades, bridging the New York School with a distinctly European sensibility. Petr Kotík • S.E.M. Ensemble • The Glass Clouds Ensemble Part of the Offbeat Bohemia contemporary music series. 🎟️ LEARN MORE & REGISTER: Follow the link in our bio or visit czechcenter.com #experimentalmusic #newmusic #contemporarymusic #offbeatbohemia #liveinny

Next month, S.E.M. Ensemble will perform Many Many Women by Petr Kotik (text by Gertrude Stein), “a classic of 1970s underground music” (Kyle Gann). The evening will begin with guest artists from Glass Clouds Ensemble @glasscloudsensemble performing Kotik’s more recent work, String Quartet No. 1 “Erinnerungen an Jan.” This performance corresponds with the new release of Many Many Women on Sub Rosa Label @subrosalabel (Brussels, Belgium). Video courtesy of Sub Rosa. For more information, please visit our website.

Video of my recent piece TIN FOIL performed by the @s.e.m.ensemble for their concert “Compositions by Emerging Composers.” Poem by Joyce Mansour. Translation by Emilie Moorhouse. Petr Kotik, Director Emma Mistele, Narrator @emma_mistele Katie Cox, Flute William Lang, Trombone Conrad Harris, Violin Julie Kim, Cello Tristan Kasten-Krause, Contrabass @successful_artist Special thanks to Julie Kim for the video footage and Shawn O’Sullivan for the recording. #newmusic #poetry #joycemansour #art #composition

Last week’s concert of new works by emerging composers, February 18, 2026. Thank you for joining us! Photos: @enzoferrarifx60