SARA SCHOENBECK (NY)
bassoon
Sara Schoenbeck makes her anticipated return after having played our inaugural festival in 2014. As an integral member of what the Wire aptly terms the “tiny club of bassoon pioneers” at work in contemporary music today, she’s carefully mapped out her own terrain on the unwieldy double reed instrument. It’s a sound that’s been heralded as “riveting, mixing textural experiments with a big, confident sound,” by the none other than the New York Times.
HARRIS EISENSTADT’S POSCHIAVO 50 ENSEMBLES
Harris Eisenstadt • drums, conductor, composition (NY)
Sara Schoenbeck • bassoon (NY)
Yves Charuest • alto saxophone (QC)
Sam Newsome • soprano saxophone (NY)
Don Byron • reeds (NY)
Géraldine Eguiluz • voice, guitar, trumpet (QC)
David Lee • double bass (Hamilton)
Connor Bennett • saxophones (Hamilton)
Chris Palmer • guitar (Hamilton)
Nick Fraser • drums (Toronto)
NYC drummer Harris Eisenstadt leads a special Something Else! edition of his ambitious Poschiavo 50 project. The name references a book of 50 compositions written for small and large ensembles during a 2017 residency in Switzerland—works that have been debuted around the world by the likes of Erik Friedlander and Ikue Mori. This iteration draws upon our esteemed roster spanning internationals, such as frequent-collaborator Schoenbeck, to some of our finest local talents.
JOSHUA ABRAMS (Chicago)
double bass, guimbri
Joshua Abrams has been a multifaceted mainstay of the Chicago scene for almost thirty years. In addition to leading his own acclaimed project Natural Information Society, he co-founded Town and Country, who traded in what All Music Guide dubs a “homespun minimalism.” He’s also member of Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly among others, was the in-house bassist for Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge. Abrams’ seemingly insatiable curiosity anchors in numerous stylistic realms from jazz to various more elusive experimentalisms.
NO SILENZ (FR/QC)
Susanna Hood • voice (QC)
Jason Sharp • bass saxophone (QC)
Fredéric B Briet • double bass (FR)
Christophe Rocher • clarinets (bass, Bb, Eb) (FR)
Nestled firmly in the bass register, No Silenz springs from a clash of cultures that have been nourished by minimalist music, alternative rock and African-American rhythms. Celebrated movement artist and vocalist Susanna Hood, and Constellation Records’ Jason Sharp join Magma sideman Fred B. Briet and Ensemble Nautilus founder Christopher Rocher for an excursion in pulse, melody and abstraction.
Tickets: $25 advance $30 door (student, senior, artworker, underwaged) $35 door (regular)
Passes:
$100 (student, senior, artworker, underwaged)
$125 (regular)
