The 2011 Ecstatic Music Festival, presented by New York City’s Kaufman Center, in association with New Amsterdam Records, announced a slew of new genre-pushing composers, songwriters, and performers coming together to present a new generation of artists combining vast influences and techniques to explore the crossover of classical and pop music. On January 17th, 2011 the event opens with a free seven-hour marathon and continues with 13 additional concerts until March 28, 2011.The series includes imaginative collaborations such as Owen Pallett with Nadia Sirota and Thomas Bartlett (Doveman); Clogs with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus; Dan Deacon with So Percussion; tUnE-yArDs, William Brittelle, and Caleb Burhans with Roomful of Teeth; a Ben Frost arrangement for Alarm Will Sound; Vijay Iyer writing for Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and much, much more. All concerts will be performed at the award-winning Merkin Concert Hall. Check out some highlights of the schedule below.

Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 7:30 pm

So Percussion & Dan Deacon – The “brilliant” (New York Times), “astonishing and entrancing” (Village Voice) quartet So Percussion is joined by electronic iconoclast Dan Deacon, whose visceral and sophisticated work has inspired a near-cult following by “connect[ing] the loops and repetition of dance music to the patterns of 20th-century classical Minimalism” (New York Times), in a series of new collaborative works. The quartet will also play arrangements of Deacon’s songs and selections from their own vast and varied output.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm

Nadia Sirota & Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) with Owen Pallett – The evening will include the world premiere of a new work by Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy) written for violist Nadia Sirota, and Sirota joining the “mesmerizing” (New York Times) Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) to perform new songs by Bartlett and some of Sirota’s close collaborators. They will both also join Pallett for arrangements of his songs, described by Pitchfork as “ambitious, classicist, cleverly arranged, lyrically high-concept, dense with possible meaning– and, yes, a little strange.”

Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 7:30 pm

Clogs & Brooklyn Youth Chorus – The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, heralded as “a polished ensemble of miniature professionals” (New York Times), joins the legendary chamber/rock quartet Clogs for an evening of new works by Bryce Dessner (The National) and Padma Newsome for chorus, for Clogs and for the two groups together.Monday,

March 28, 2011 at 7:30 pm

So Percussion & Bobby Previte with Zeena Parkins, John Medeski, DJ Olive & Jen ShyuA Special Presentation of New Sounds® Live with WNYC’s John Schaefer – Composer Bobby Previte, whose ensembles “speak in visionary tongues” (The York Yorker), premieres TERMINALS, Part 1: DEPARTURES – five concertos for the “brilliant” (New York Times), “astonishing and entrancing” (Village Voice) quartet So Percussion and star soloists Zeena Parkins, harp; John Medeski, keyboards;  DJ Olive, turntables; vocalist Jen Shyu; and Bobby Previte on drums.

John Medeski on keyboards? I want to go to there. Full schedule at www.ecstaticmusicfestival.com