Dedicated to Daphne Oram On a celluloid film print, even sound is made of light. Running alongside the picture is the optical soundtrack, an image in itself. A beam of light penetrates it, exciting a photoelectric cell with its sound determined by the pattern of black and white. Ever since sound first joined film, artists…
Bowerbird is excited to present Philadelphia's Arcana New Music Ensemble performing a portrait concert of Raven Chacon. PROGRAM Whisper Trio Tessa Ellis, Andy Thierauf, Chelsea Meynig Quiver Tom Kraines, cello Tááʼtsʼáadah Tessa Ellis, trumpet Lats’ aadah Carlos Santiago, violin Biyan Jonathan Leeds, clarinet; Chelsea Meynig, flute; Carlos Santiago, violin; Tom Kraines, cello; Andy Thierauf, percussion…
Bowerbird is pleased to present the Berlin-based trio Sawt Out at the Rotunda with an opening set by Philadelphia-based musician Julius Masri. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Since its foundation in 2015 the Berlin-based trio Sawt Out has shaped and refined its profile as a prominent improvisational unit. With their unusual acoustic instrumentation of trumpet and two…
Bowerbird is pleased to present interdisciplinary artist eddy kwon and the Philadelphia-based trio Totally Automatic at The Rotunda. ABOUT THE ARTIST eddy kwon (b. 1989) is violinist/violist and interdisciplinary artist based in Lenapehoking (Brooklyn, NY). Her practice connects composition, performance, improvisation, dance, and ceremony to explore transformation & transgression, ritual practice as a tool to…
Bowerbird, in collaboration with Nightletter, are pleased to present Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf's 1998 film "The Silence". "The Silence" follows Khorshid, a blind 10-year old living with his mother in a small Tajikistan village. Khorshid earns money tuning musical instruments, while Nadereh -- the beautiful protege of the instrument maker for whom Khorshid works --…
We are pleased to present the Shiraz Ensemble: Sina Homaee and Sepehr Pirasteh. Shiraz Ensemble embodies a global perspective, combining their roles as citizens of the world and passionate artists to shed light on crucial socio-political matters through art. Drawing inspiration from their personal journeys as immigrants from Iran to the United States, they channel…
Every film by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub is a challenge: to the political status quo of capitalism, to the film industry, even to their own audiences. The films of these married longtime-collaborators are marked by an intellectual rigor, a purity of form and movement, and an overriding concern with power and politics. That their…
Bowerbird is pleased to present Andy Thierauf performing SonicRainbow, a kaleidoscope of acoustic and electronic sounds utilizing a wide spectrum of percussion instruments. This solo performance includes original compositions and improvisations that weave an intricate web of timbres and sonorities from roars to wisps, drums to gongs, and vibraphone to tin cans. Pulling from classical,…
Bowerbird is pleased to present BEAM SPLITTER - duo for amplified voice, trombone & analog electronics BEAM SPLITTER have been touring globally since 2015, playing close to two hundred concerts in a wide variety of spaces and contexts, bringing their own brand of highly amplified dialog, which is as intimate as it is equal amounts…
Bowerbird is pleased to present the Eli Winter Trio at University Lutheran with opening set by BASIC - Chris Forsyth (guitar) and Nick Millevoi (guitar/drum machine). ABOUT THE ARTISTS Playing older than his 26 years, Eli Winter has long demonstrated mastery over solo guitar composition and performance, with praise from Pitchfork, The Guardian, Stereogum,…
Bowerbird is pleased to partner with Philly Iran in presenting Song of Disobedience, a musical performance honoring the one year anniversary of the Woman, Life, Freedom Revolution. Created specifically for this day, musicians Adib Ghorbani and Aida Shahghasemi along with local performers will be performing a heartfelt collection of music and storytelling on stage at…
Bowerbird is pleased to present Attorneys General featuring Bill Nace and Ken Brenninger with an opening set by Andy Giles. Co-presented with Open Mouth Records ABOUT THE ARTISTS Attorneys General is a project led by Matthew Byars of DC-based band The Caribbean and NPR-distributed podcast Essential Tremors. A formative experience for Byars as a listener was hearing the…
Bowerbird is pleased to present The Lepidopterans: Tom Boram (Synthesizer, Sitar), Jason Willett (Electronics), and Toshi Makihara (Percussion), at The Rotunda with an opening set by Anne Ishii. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Tom Boram and Jason Willett have been playing together for almost 25 years as 'Leprechaun Catering." The Baltimore-based duo makes improvised music from…
Bowerbird is pleased to present the Max Johnson Trio at UniLu with opening set by Arcx Quartet. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Fresh off the release of their 2022 album “Orbit of Sound” and their tour across Europe, virtuoso double bassist and composer Max Johnson presents his trio with Anna Webber (saxophone, flute), and Michael Sarin (drumset).…
DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS PERFORMANCE WILL BE POSTPONED. STAY TUNED FOR A NEW DATE Bowerbird is pleased to present a concert of Gene Coleman's album Exploratorium. Focused on his recent compositions based on models from auditory neuroscience the album includes Coleman's 2nd string quartet, three works for voices and electronics and a new…
Bowerbird is pleased to present two solo performances by Natacha Diels and Levi Lu at The Rotunda. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Natacha Diels’ work combines choreographed movement, improvisation, video, instrumental practice, and cynical play to create worlds of curiosity and unease. Recent work includes Papillon and the Dancing Cranes, for construction cranes and giant butterfly…
Bowerbird is pleased to present the acclaimed new music duo LIGAMENT. Described as “perverse and nihilistic”, Anika Kildegaard (voice) and Will Yager (double bass) perform as LIGAMENT, an ensemble dedicated to commissioning new music and creating work for their unique instrumentation. LIGAMENT’s performances are a fusion of standard and non-standard elements; sometimes there are high…
Bowerbird is pleased to present two brass virtuosos: Trumpeter Peter Evans and Trombonist David Taylor in a solo/solo/duo performance at University Lutheran. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Peter Evans is a trumpet player and composer based in New York City since 2003. Evans is part of a broad, hybridized scene of musical experimentation, and his work cuts…