“You feel, ‘This is what it’s like to be a rockstar,'” said Lisa Kaplan, founder and pianist for the sextet, about the wins. “It gives you this recognition because it’s something [the Grammys] that everybody knows.”
The ensemble formed in 1996 when members, then students at Oberlin College and Conservatory, were brought together by conductor Timothy Weiss.
“We really enjoyed playing together on our own,” Kaplan said. The members continued collaborating, and would become one of the country’s best contemporary ensembles.
But Kaplan said when the members were students in the late 1990s, many considered classical music the touchstone for success. “It wasn’t the norm for people to be developing their own speciality.”
But she said in the last decade there’s been a “huge surge in contemporary music ensembles.” Members of eighth blackbird are among the trailblazers.
Named after the eighth stanza of Wallace Stevens’s poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,”2 eighth blackbird plays traditional instruments in an untraditional way.
Not only do members forego fancy dresses and bow ties during performances, but they talk to their audience between songs — seldom found in traditional orchestral performances.
This contemporary approach in presentation also applies to the ensemble’s choice of music.
“There is a lot of diversity in the types of music we’re playing,” Kaplan said. Bach and Mozart aren’t in their typical repertoire. “We’re playing music being composed now,” like composers Steve Reich, Paul Moravec, Frederic Rzewski, and others.
“I feel its something that they’re not used to,” Kaplan said about those more accustomed to the traditional prim and properness of orchestral performances. But an increasing number of people appreciate those, like eighth blackbird, who do something a bit different.
“In the last 10 years, there’s been a trend toward getting out of those traditional spaces,” Kaplan said.
Since 2004, eighth blackbird has been helping local musicians break free of those traditional spaces as the ensemble-in-residence at the University of Richmond. Not only does eighth blackbird perform concerts throughout the year, but members instruct and mentor students.
“It’s really great,” Kaplan said about their work.
She said the city has responded to eighth blackbird’s musical performances.
“I really feel like we’ve developed a nice core audience in Richmond.”
That audience will have another chance to see eighth blackbird when the ensemble performs with Nico Muhly at the Camp Concert Hall at the University of Richmond on Wednesday, March 20th at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $17 – $20 (free for UR students).
The ensemble will then perform a free concert at the Camp Concert Hall on Thursday, March 21st at 7:30 PM.
The University of Richmond’s ensemble-in-residence, eighth blackbird, won two Grammys last night. The ensemble’s album Meanwhile won in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category, and group member Stephen Hartke was credited for composing “Meanwhile – Incidental Music To Imaginary Puppet Plays,” which won Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
Since 2004, the ensemble–comprising wind, string, piano, and percussion musicians–has performed concerts and worked with UR music students, all the while earning public and media accolades.
The group will next perform at the Modlin Center for the Arts on March 20th.
Here’s eighth blackbird’s performance during Sunday’s Grammy Awards pre-show:
University of Richmond’s artists-in-residence eighth blackbird step out of their chamber music setting for a bit to take part in a fascinating multimedia exploration of the seduction and manipulation of the American psyche. (Ticket giveaway inside!)
We’ve got a pair of tickets to eighth blackbird’s performance to give away! Enter to win the tickets here. Contest closes at 3pm TODAY!
eighth blackbird, artists-in-residence at the University of Richmond and the University of Chicago, return to the Modlin Center on Wednesday after a week-and-a-half of frenzied travel. Their recent journeys have put them in front of 300 six-year-olds in Erie, Pennsylvania, a concert audience in Winchester, Virginia, and conservatory students at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Check out their twitter feed at @eighthblackbird for a masterful and often hilarious use of technology to document their adventures. Even in this era of widespread multi-media, genre-splicing, mash-up style experimentation, Wednesday night’s performance offers a unique and mind-bending experience. Slide is a new musical-theater work composed by a rock-influenced electric guitarist, based on a vocalist’s written reflection on a psychological experiment, and performed, both musically and theatrically, by of one of the world’s elite ensembles plus said composer/guitarist and vocalist. You can see/hear for yourself how all this works on eighth blackbird’s website. In anticipation of the Virginia premier of Slide, I spoke with eighth blackbird’s flutist, Tim Munro about memory, movement and, of course, music.
For our readers who may be unfamiliar with Slide’s subject matter, can you briefly describe the psychological experiment that serves as the foundation of this piece?
Slide was inspired by a psychology experiment that co-creator Rinde Eckert read about years ago. Subjects were shown out-of-focus slides, which were then snapped into focus; the time it took them to recognize what was pictured was measured. The experiment showed that subjects took much longer to correctly identify what was pictured when they were first asked to guess the answer. Apparently we are in general more likely to defend our original thoughts about something, despite the evidence to the contrary. The experiment is a good illustration of our all-too-human nature. As the character Renard says, talking about the broader implications of the experiment: “So a lifelong conservative will tend to see only the evidence that confirms his or her beliefs; a lifelong liberal will tend to see only the evidence that confirms his or her beliefs.”
The word Slide seems to have multiple meanings in this context. Care to elaborate on a few of those?
The character Renard sings at once point that things “slide into focus,” and the work as a whole is broadly about Renard’s life gradually “sliding into focus” for him. Much like the subjects in his experiment, he calls into question elements of his life about which he had been completely certain. Unpleasant moments in his personal life, which are blurred at the beginning of the work, gradually reveal themselves to Renard and to the audience during the course of the work.
How are the above elements reflected in Steven Mackey’s music?
The piece is part song cycle, part rock opera. Steve has thought a lot about the long-term trajectory of the work, pacing it so that the big moments, like the rock song “Stare” and the final, quiet, beautiful art song “Lonely Motel,” really tell in a meaningful way. Musically, the piece is draws on a huge range of styles, which is typical for Steve: from complex sections of intimate chamber music to powerful rock ballads, but always with the most finely honed compositional craft.
This piece is also very influenced by the unique voice and performance style of singer/actor Rinde Eckert, who wrote the text for this work. Rinde is a powerhouse of a performer, the sort of uncategorizable stage animal whose very presence on stage is totally transfixing.
What is eighth blackbird’s history with musical-theater performance?
As a chamber music group we are quite unique in our commitment to memorization. Performing without music gives us the freedom to move around the stage, opening us up to the possibility of meaningful collaboration with artists from the world of theater and dance. We’ve staged productions of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with a life-size, Bunraku puppet; worked with a dance choreographer on creating a theatrical expression of an hour of new music by the Bang on a Can composers; worked with an interactive digital artist to give visual expression to a work by his composer wife.
Our work with other artistic mediums allows us to better engage with an audience that is increasingly comfortable in a visual world, an audience that will go to see a new movie or piece of theater but won’t go to hear a new work of classical chamber music.
Could you elaborate on the musician/actor dual role that each performer will be playing, will there be dialogue spoken by the musicians, etc?
In Slide the musicians of eighth blackbird play a chamber group that Renard looks forward to rehearsing with every Thursday evening. We also serve variously as Renard’s imagined subjects or other phantoms within the protagonist’s curious world and psyche. So we do speak and sing at various points, as well as moving around the stage to better highlight relationships in the music. For example, our cellist, Nick, sits next to Rinde Eckert to play a moving, intimate duet with him.
Who is the best actor in eighth blackbird?
Um, wow. I think it is fair to say that we are all comfortable moving around the stage with our instruments, but once you take them away and we have no “security blanket” we all struggle with a certain stiffness on stage. What we’ve found is that if we move in a natural, everyday way on stage it doesn’t necessarily read as “natural,” and there is a certain type of “actorly” movement that is required to read to an audience as “normal.” This is hard for non-actors to capture.
How did the musicians work on their acting chops in preparation for the performance?
Early in the process we worked with Rinde on a number of acting exercises, much of them to do with operating parts of the body independent from other parts, or with creating super-organized stage movement that the audience only gradually reads as such. Later, working with director Mark deChiazza, our movement became much more focused, as he concentrated us on finding ways to move in a very purposeful, efficient way. He calls this sort of work “chore-eography,” as it gives us tasks/chores to do, and we find the most effective means of doing them.
How does the fact that Steven Mackey is an active performer on electric guitar influence his compositional style?
Aside from the influence of a wide variety of rock music genres on Steve’s music, there is a certain “guitar-ness” that can be detected in some of the “figuration” in the ensemble writing. Steve actually plays in the ensemble with us in Slide, and the addition of electric guitar to the normally acoustic eighth blackbird ensemble adds a totally new and radically different color to the palette.
What kinds of similarities/differences do you find in composers that also perform versus those that do not?
Composer/performers are much more aware the practical aspects of performing their music, and Steve is a great example of a multifaceted artist who is totally open and flexible in his working methods, and will ask us for advice and take constructive criticism.
Slide will be performed on Wednesday, March 3 at 7:30pm in the Camp Concert Hall, Booker Hall of Music at the University of Richmond. Tickets are $20 (with discounts available for seniors, children, and UR employees and students) and can purchased online or by calling the Modlin Center box office at 804-289-8980.
A classical music tragic, Tim likes to write and speak about music, and in an earlier life was Publications Coordinator of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Bryan Hooten is a trombonist, composer and educator living in Richmond, VA. He plays with Ombak, Fight the Big Bull, No BS Brass, Verbatim, and various other groups. He teaches Music Theory and Small Jazz Ensembles at VCU and directs the Jazz Band at James River High School. He also serves on the faculty of the Virginia Governor’s School for the Humanities and Visual and Performing Arts.
“Always entertaining, sometimes shocking, often just plain weird,” the Grammy Award winning ensemble eighth blackbird is examining the relationship between rock and new classical this week at the Modlin Center. Tim Munro explains why their performance of SPAM, by Mark Mellits, contains moments of musical genius (and no moments of processed meat).
Equally at home performing Pulitzer Prize winning compositions by household-name composers or creating soundscapes from amplified tables covered in sand, eighth blackbird continues to solidify its reputation is one of the most accomplished and innovative ensembles in the world. On Wednesday, September 16th, this Grammy Award winning ensemble returns to its residence at the University of Richmond to perform SPAM, a concert that explores the relationship between rock music and twenty-first century composition. In anticipation of the event, I spoke with the ensemble’s flutist, Timothy Munro, about music, processed meats, and video games.
How would you describe eighth blackbird to someone who has never heard the group before?
eighth blackbird aims to bring the always entertaining, sometimes shocking, often just plain weird diversity of new classical music to a broad audience. We play from memory, incorporate theatrical elements into our shows, and work with artists as diverse as drummer Glenn Kotche and choreographer Susan Marshall.
What, in your opinion, are some of those ways that rock music has influenced classical composition in the twenty-first century, and what can listeners expect on September 16th?
The grey area between rock music and classical composition has never been larger or…well…more grey. America’s young classical composers, for example Missy Mazzoli or Nico Muhly, grew up listening to indie rock and heavy metal, and these influences can’t help but appear in their music.
The “downtown” NYC music scene, of which the Bang on a Can composer collective is the most prominent example, has helped drive this revolution in Manhattan. One natural outgrowth of that is a New York-based label like New Amsterdam Records (brain-child of talented New York institution Judd Greenstein) consciously seeks out classical performers who straddle both worlds. But, in fact, the fruits can be heard across the country. In fact, just the other day our very first intern began working for us, a rock guitarist who caught the classical bug and whose music no doubt will show the stamp of both.
What should listeners expect for our September 16 show? They’ll hear composers influenced by the hugely diverse world of popular music, but I hope that audiences won’t expect to hear a rock show. Instead, eighth blackbird concerts are a bit of a wild musical roller coaster ride: from the quirky fun of Twelve Hands and SPAM to the mysterious, elusive, other-worldly sounds of Deserted Churchyards and Derive.
Would you say that classical composition has influenced rock music and, if so, how?
A whole generation of indie-rock musicians is either classically trained or have a strong interest in composers as different as Steve Reich and Kaija Saariaho. Personally, when I listen to Andrew Bird I hear the influence of Maurice Ravel, and when I listen to Sufjan Stevens I hear Philip Glass.
What kinds of new instrumental techniques have the members of eighth blackbird explored in order to play this music?
On September 16 we will be playing a piece that throws in everything but the kitchen sink. Twelve Hands is a quotation-free homage to the Beatles by hot young Dutch composer Mayke Nas. The six of us play entirely on the strings and frame of the piano using regular household items: toothpicks, credit cards, dish brushes and hammers.
Playing in eighth blackbird can be a pretty interesting “job.” Apart from destroying pianos, we’ve had to saw wood onstage, play goose and duck calls, scream and shout and play with children’s toys.
Have you performed, or do you wish you could perform in a rock or jazz club-like environment?
I wish that this could happen more often. We’re a little restricted by economic issues – eighth blackbird is essentially a band for hire, and we rely on the larger fees that big, classical venues and presenters can pay, in order to make a living by playing crazy music. Also, we play music that has a huge dynamic range – it gets very loud but also very soft – and the very soft, subtle sounds do get lost among the clinking of beers and dull roar in a club setting. We’re big fans of venues like New York’s The Kitchen, which gives the feel of a rock venue but with a more conventional classical audience setup, and Le Poisson Rouge, which in two years has built a hip, young, excited audience for a huge variety of new music.
A significant portion of music seems to focus on England’s contribution to the rock and roll canon (The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Mark-Anthony Turnage). Coincidence?
Good point! This is coincidence, but I guess you could say that England has been the driving force behind many of rock music’s revolutions, and most of the composers I know are as influenced by the Beatles as by Beethoven. There’s another Englishman represented on our program as well, Thomas Ades, whose Catch is a hilarious playground game, full of taunts and teasing, enacted on- and off-stage.
How does the consistency, flavor and pop-culture relevance of SPAM the meat product inform the work, SPAM, by Marc Mellits?
Marc tends to come up with very quirky titles. I think the biggest point of confluence is that SPAM (the meat product and the piece) doesn’t take itself too seriously. We think of SPAM (the meat product) as cheap, disposable and bland. SPAM (the piece) is fast, virtuosic, direct, fun, and very funky.
Can you talk a little about Steve Reich’s Double Sextet, the Pulitzer Prize it won and eighth blackbird’s world premiere of that work at the University of Richmond?
Double Sextet was written for eighth blackbird in 2007, and we’ve been playing it all over the world since then. Steve doesn’t write for single instruments, so he decided to double each of our instruments (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano) for the piece. We first recorded one sextet part, and played the other sextet part with this pre-recorded mirror-image of ourselves. The piece is fast and driving in the outer movements, and atypically lyrical in the middle section. We were very excited that the piece won a Pulitzer, and feel that Steve was very much overdue! Where was the Pulitzer for Music for 18 Musicians? And for Tehillim? About bloody time!!
From the recording session for the Reich:
Considering the impending release of The Beatles’ Rock Band game, what would Rock Band: eighth blackbird be like?
This is a deeply important question! Our second home, University of Richmond, offered Rock Band as a class one semester, and we definitely spent some seriously crazy time in that little, airless room channeling Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. We’ve been thinking about ways to include Rock Band into our live act, and admittedly it would be pretty bloody difficult, but that doesn’t mean we’ll give up hope!!
Ticket Prices : Adult: $20 , Senior (65+): $18, UR Employee: $16 , Child (0-12): $10, UR Student: Free
Tickets are still available and college students can get their hands on one for only $10.
Tim Munro: Born in Brisbane, Australia, Tim studied flute at Oberlin College, Queensland Conservatorium (Australia) and Australian National Academy of Music. His teachers included Michel Debost, Margaret Crawford and Patrick Nolan.
Tim has played with professional orchestras, chamber groups and new music ensembles around Australia. Highlights include concerto performances with the Queensland Orchestra, solo performances at the Melbourne Arts Festival and Bangalow Festival, and recordings for Australian radio and commercial CD release. He also participated in the Carnegie Hall Training Workshops and the Pacific Music Festival.
Composers he has worked with include Elliott Carter, Oliver Knussen, Aaron Jay Kernis, Joseph Schwantner, Tania Leon, Peter Sculthorpe and Brett Dean.
A classical music tragic, Tim likes to write and speak about music, and in an earlier life was Publications Coordinator of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Bryan Hooten is a trombonist, composer and educator living in Richmond, VA. He plays with Ombak, Fight the Big Bull, No BS Brass, Verbatim, and various other groups. He teaches Music Theory and Small Jazz Ensembles at VCU and directs the Jazz Band at James River High School. He also serves on the faculty of the Virginia Governor’s School for the Humanities and Visual and Performing Arts. http://www.ombakmusic.com
The University of Richmond’s ensemble-in-residence, eighth blackbird, is up for three Grammy nominations for its album “strange imaginary animals.”
The album — the group’s fourth for Chicago-based Cedille Records — is nominated for: Best Chamber Music Performance; Best Classical Contemporary Composition for “Zaka,” the album’s first track, written by Jennifer Higdon; and Best Producer of the […]
The University of Richmond’s ensemble-in-residence, eighth blackbird, is up for three Grammy nominations for its album “strange imaginary animals.”
The album — the group’s fourth for Chicago-based Cedille Records — is nominated for: Best Chamber Music Performance; Best Classical Contemporary Composition for “Zaka,” the album’s first track, written by Jennifer Higdon; and Best Producer of the […]
Family Arts Day Celebration featuring eighth blackbird Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. (performance), free activities beginning at 12:30pm Camp Concert Hall, Booker Hall of Music, University of Richmond Join the Modlin Center for the Arts and the…
Family Arts Day Celebration featuring eighth blackbird Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. (performance), free activities beginning at 12:30pm Camp Concert Hall, Booker Hall of Music, University of Richmond Join the Modlin Center for the Arts and the University of Richmond Museums for the annual Family Arts Day Celebration, an art-centered family fun day […]
The University of Richmond’s Modlin Center for the Arts has announced its 2013-14 season. The upcoming season features Grammy winner Rosanne Cash; Jazz legend Branford Marsalis; National Theatre of London productions; UR’s ensemble-in-residence, eighth blackbird; and much more.
Here’s the schedule (performances at different venues are noted):
— ∮∮∮ —
September
September 8th • Grammy-winner Steep Canyon Rangers perform with special guests Joy Kills Sorrow
September 25th • Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn (at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens)
September 26th • Broadcast of National Theatre of London production Othello.
September 29th • Encore broadcast of Othello.
October
October 3rd & 4th • Contemporary dance group KEIGWIN + COMPANY
October 6th • Songs for Soprano with violist Paul Neubauer, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, and singer Susanna Phillips
October 16th • Artist Voices Series: Anna Deavere Smith leads Engaging the World: The Role of the Artist in Society
October 17th • Broadcast of National Theatre of London production Macbeth.
October 18th • Hungarian State Folk Ensemble
October 25th • Opera Colombine’s performed by eighth blackbird
November
November 8th • Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas
November 13th • “World Blues” featuring the Taj Mahal Trio, Vusi Mahlasela, and Fredericks Brown featuring Deva Mahal
November 15th • Shanghai Quartet w/ Peter Serkin
November 17th • Encore broadcast of Macbeth
November 19th • Dance group CONTRA-TIEMPO (at CenterStage)
December
December 5th • John Pizzarelli Swing 7
January
January 20, 2014 • Broadcast of National Theatre of London production Coriolanus.
January 22, 2014 • Artist Voices Series: Anne Bogart
January 23-24, 2014 • Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and SITI Company’s A Rite
January 26, 2014 • Pedrito Martinez Group (Afro-Cuban soul music)
January 31, 2014 • Monologist Mike Daisey performs All Stories Are Fiction
February
February 1, 2014 • Snarky Puppy (jazz)
February 7, 2014 • King’s Singers perform The Great American Songbook
The weekend after Halloween is traditionally a sleepy one in Richmond, but not this time! Prepare to devote this weekend to reorienting, regrouping, and sharpening your sluggish mind.
The weekend after Halloween is traditionally a sleepy one in Richmond. But with new exhibits opening, old stew recipes rediscovered, and the history of cultural phenomenon being traced in permanent ink, we’ve got to devote this weekend to reorienting, regrouping, and sharpening our sluggish minds.
It’s official. Tattoos are a permanent part of Richmond’s culture. No matter how much we try to scrub them off, they’re firmly implanted as if injected by a hot needle directly into our municipal skin (OK, I don’t really know exactly how tattoos work). The Valentine Richmond History Center, in a genius play for the Coolest Museum in Town distinction, has embraced tattooing’s inky past with an exhibit that celebrates this epidermal art form’s presence in a town not necessarily known for its counterculture. And I say “Kudos to them.” I also say “MOM” and “WINO FOREVER” and “Naked lady perched upon a sword with a snake wrapped around it.” Attend the free grand opening, hear music, and watch some Valentine board members finally get inked up.1
Fri. Nov. 2 • 5:00 PM
Valentine Richmond History Center, 1015 E. Clay St.
This week’s 5 Things column is brought to you by Wikipedia, who provided the valuable knowledge needed to complete this paragraph. See, I always thought Brunswick stew was like a thicker, tomato-based vegetable soup that’s often made by Southern folks to raise funds. Turns out, that’s EXACTLY what it is! At 17th Street Farmer’s Market this Saturday, you’ll be able to buy this hearty regional-or-possibly-German dish along with some other stuff as bands play. Now THAT’s a fall hangout, my friends!
Whoa, I just lost like an hour reading about the trial of Cambodian labor leader Chea Vichea’s “murderers.” We should probably all go see this Richmond-native-produced documentary at art6 so we can learn a little bit about what it’s like to live in a country where freedoms are more limited than ours. You’ll also get to see some avant garde short films. What I’m saying is, you’ll arrive a n00b and leave a beatnik.
True story! I once stumbled across the annual Family Arts Day Celebration at UR’s Modlin Center for the Arts. I had been working all weekend on campus on a very frustrating project, finally finished my work, and then went out to my car only to find that I had a flat tire. I had a sibling working at Modlin that very same day, so I trudged over to sweet-talk him into giving me a lift, when suddenly…I was surrounded by bubbly kids with painted faces holding colorful crafts and holding hands delightedly with parents who looked like they were having just as much fun. I don’t wanna get too hokey here, but let’s just say it didn’t make my day worse. The always genius eighth blackbird is in attendance to help Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals come to life.
Sun. Nov. 4 • 3:00 PM
Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond
Virginia wines are the next Big Thing in the world of People Who Feel Strongly About Wine. Come get some tastin’s and see how nine Virginia wineries pair with catering from hyperlocal restaurants. After a few glasses, everything pairs well with everything else, so just take one down, pass it around, and celebrate how the entire Commonwealth of Virginia and the teeny little Carytown district are the two most exciting places to be at this very moment. You know what? That doesn’t even make any sense. You’ve had enough, I think. Why don’t you get out of here, go home, and take a long, long nap.
You’ve heard of Beethoven, right? Good lord, I hope so. Well, I’m not lying when I say that Philip Glass is the Beethoven of the latter half/former half of the 20th/21st centuries. He’s innovative, often shocking, and always completely beautiful. We’re more than lucky, frigging blessed even, to have such an important and influential composer and performer grace us with his presence.
To underscore the occasion, the folks at Modlin have put together a festival to celebrate his very existence. Those of you who are familiar with his work: this is a good time to delve deeper. Those of you who aren’t: the festival is a brilliant place to start your education. And it’s not one of those painful algebra-type educations. It’s an education that you’ll treasure for the rest of your life.
Here’s the breakdown:
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
Sun. Sept. 16 • 3:00 PM
Camp Concert Hall, The Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
$5 (free for UR students)
Get the inside scoop into what makes the great man tick. This documentary will give you the backstory you need to appreciate Glass’s music from a 365-degree perspective. Scott Hicks’s film gives you a year of Philip Glass’s life in just under two hours. How did he start? What’s up with all that repetition? Why should a guy like this end up as a joke on A Prairie Home Companion? You’ll find out, and if you’re new to the whole thing, your interest will be more than piqued.
eighth blackbird: A Philip Glass Celebration
Wed. Sept. 19 • 7:30 PM
Camp Concert Hall, The Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
$10-$20 (free for UR students)
Modern chamber giants eighth blackbird gives Philip Glass the royal treatment with this tribute performance, featuring works by and for the master. Highlights include: Derek Bermel’s Tied Shifts and Mayke Nas’s Anyone Can Do It. This entertaining spectacle will drive home exactly how influential the guy is, particularly with the piece Doublespeak, which was written by Nico Muhly for eighth blackbird as a birthday present for Glass himself. Oh BTW, people, did I mention eighth blackbird is GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING??
Koyaanisqatsi
The environment. Technology. Modern times. Natural times. HOW WILL THEY ALL GET ALONG? This debut work by Godfrey Reggio is the first in a series of important films directed by Reggio and scored by Philip Glass. No conversation about either is complete without this masterpiece of filmmaking (and naming). Bonus points if you can spell it afterwards.
Sun. Sept. 23 • 3:00 PM
Camp Concert Hall, The Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
$5 (free for UR students)
La Belle et La Bête (Beauty and the Beast)
Glass admired pioneering director Jean Cocteau’s interpretation of the creative process. Being a creative man himself (in case you hadn’t guessed), Glass took on the extremely challenging task of scoring this groundbreaking classic by replacing not just the score, but the dialogue track itself. Throughout this version, you’ll hear music composed by Glass, performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble, and dialogue sung by his hand-selected singers.
Mon. Oct. 1 • 7:00 PM
Camp Concert Hall, The Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
$5 (free for UR students)
ModlinArts Artists Voices Series Presents: Philip Glass: Collaboration and the Creative Process
He speaks!! Listen in awe as you learn about Glass’s firsthand experience as part of the 1970s group of innovative American artists and what it’s like to collaborate with legends such as Allen Ginsberg, Woody Allen, and David (omg) Bowie.
Thurs. Oct. 1 • 7:30 PM
Alice Jepson Theatre, The Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
$17-$34 (free for UR students)
Philip Glass and Tim Fain in Concert
OMFG!!
Fri. Oct. 5 • 7:30 PM
Camp Concert Hall, The Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
$19-$38 (free for UR students)
Buy tickets to this extraordinary event (and learn more while you’re at it) by stopping by the Modlin Center or visiting their website. And compare notes with me on some of these events afterwards, right here, right now. I mean, then.
There are some wonderful free music events coming up this week at the University of Richmond. On Wed., Apr. 6 see the UR Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Fri., Apr. 8, also at 7:30 p.m. see the UR Schola Cantorum and Women’s Chorale with ei…
There are some wonderful free music events coming up this week at the University of Richmond. On Wed., Apr. 6 see the UR Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Fri., Apr. 8, also at 7:30 p.m. see the UR Schola Cantorum and Women’s Chorale with eighth blackbird (tickets are free, but required) And finally, on Sunday, April 10, Global Sounds […]
