BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//BOWERBIRD ::: MUSIC, DANCE, FILM ::: Philadelphia, PA - ECPv6.16.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:BOWERBIRD ::: MUSIC, DANCE, FILM ::: Philadelphia, PA X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.bowerbird.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for BOWERBIRD ::: MUSIC, DANCE, FILM ::: Philadelphia, PA REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20230312T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20231105T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250323T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250323T210000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20250217T162420Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250324T150909Z UID:10001253-1742756400-1742763600@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Jules Reidy DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present Jules Reidy at the Maas Building performing works from their recent album Ghost/Spirit. \n\nABOUT THE ARTIST \nJules Reidy’s sublime music maps the human experience in glittering constellations of sound. The guitarist is a driver of Berlin’s fertile contemporary music scene\, a respected polymath whose prolific output and worldwide touring has led to performances and collaborations with myriad lauded artists. Reidy’s breathtaking recordings and magnetic performances offer a truly futuristic\, singular vision of guitar music. Explorations of microtonal mysticism and alternate tunings drawn from transcendental folk and minimalism color Reidy’s playful experiments with smudged pop melodics and sampling. A wide-eyed imagination combined with technical mastery guide each work in Reidy’s extensive catalog\, from solo guitar albums and collaborations with innovative peers\, including recent works with claire rousay\, Oren Ambarchi\, Andrea Belfi and Sam Dunscombe to major commissions from institutions such as JACK Quartet and Zinc & Copper. The songs of Ghost/Spirit collectively convey an astral sense of yearning and wonder\, pushing towards transcendence. The album charts a deeply personal journey with love\, spirituality and transformation expressed in fractal guitar figures\, ethereal vocal vapors and rippling microtones. \n\nINSTANTS & THEIR ECHOES by Jules Reidy \n\n\n  \n\nOrganized in collaboration with World Askew URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/jules-reidy/ LOCATION:Maas Building\, 1325 N Randolph St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19122\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bowerbird-Main-Img-91.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250321T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250321T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20250127T163558Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250324T150832Z UID:10001250-1742587200-1742594400@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Nathan Davis DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present Nathan Davis in a solo performance at The Rotunda. \nFinding narrative in natural processes and acoustic phenomena\, Nathan Davis’s solo work elucidates essential characters of instruments and objects. This concert presents his recent work with the bowed psaltery alongside pieces for river stones and amplified computer\, supported by and immersive video projections. \n“It is beautiful\, haunting\, immersive. A meditative sound world to live in for a time and think about once you’ve left… In Davis’ hands\, the psaltery soars and twangs\, pings and croons. Gentle and meditative at one moment\, sharp and melancholy the next\, evoking fluid shapes and celestial voices moving together through a complex\, slowly shifting soundscape. It is both of this world and somehow beyond it.” – Megan Westberg – STRINGS Magazine \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nNathan Davis “writes music that deals deftly and poetically with timbre and sonority” (NY Times). His opera/ballet “Hagoromo” was produced by American Opera Projects and premiered at the BAM Next Wave Festival with the International Contemporary Ensemble\, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus\, choreographer David Neumann\, and dancers Wendy Whelan\, and Jock Soto. Lincoln Center presented the premiere of “Bells”\, a site-specific work for ensemble\, multi-channel audio\, and live broadcast to audience members’ mobile phones. \nNathan received other commissions from GMEM and Ensemble CBarré (Marseille)\, FringeArts and the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage\, Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany)\, Yarn/Wire\, Claire Chase\, Ekmeles\, Miller Theatre\, Ojai Music Festival\, the Calder Quartet\, and Third Coast Percussion\, with premieres at Tanglewood\, Park Avenue Armory\, Guggenheim Museum\, and Carnegie Hall. His music has been released on Starkland\, Tundra\, New Focus\, Bridge\, Infrequent Seams\, and Sono Luminus. \nAn Aaron Copland Fellow at the Bogliasco Foundation\, Davis received awards and fellowships from the Camargo Foundation\, New Music USA\, NYSCA\, Meet The Composer\, Fromm Foundation\, Jerome Foundation\, American Music Center\, MATA\, and ASCAP. He and Phyllis Chen won an NY Innovative Theater Award for their score to Sylvia Milo’s play “The Other Mozart”. \nAn active percussionist and multi-instrumentalist\, Nathan has premiered hundreds of works by luminaries and by emerging composers\, and he appeared as a concerto soloist on hammered dulcimer with the Seattle Symphony\, Tokyo Symphony\, and Nagoya Philharmonic. Davis holds degrees in composition and in percussion from Rice\, Yale\, and the Rotterdams Conservatorium on a Fulbright Fellowship\, and he teaches composition and electronic music at The New School. www.nathandavis.com URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/nathan-davis/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bowerbird-Main-Img-87.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250318T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250318T213000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20250210T164850Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250319T141837Z UID:10001252-1742326200-1742333400@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:ALASH DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present Philadelphia favorites Alash at The Rotunda for a FREE concert. Alash are masters of Tuvan throat singing (xöömei)\, a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. Masters of traditional Tuvan instruments as well as the art of throat singing\, Alash are deeply committed to traditional Tuvan music and culture. At the same time\, they are fans of western music. Believing that traditional music must constantly evolve\, the musicians subtly infuse their songs with western elements\, creating their own unique style that is fresh and new\, yet true to their Tuvan musical heritage. \nPresented with The Rotunda. \n**Please note: The performance starts at 7:30pm. Seating and admission to the building for the performance will be on a first come first served basis. Doors will open at 6:45pm. RSVPing helps us to anticipate attendance but does not guarantee entry. If you RSVP but do not check in by 7:20pm\, we may give your spot away to someone waiting in line.** \n\n\n  URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/alash-2025/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bowerbird-Main-Img-90.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250314T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250314T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20240911T141238Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250317T134615Z UID:10001240-1741982400-1741989600@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Re/Create DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present RE/CREATE\, a program for six voices and six viols with Variant 6 & Sylvan Consort of Viols. The highlight of this program is a world premiere by Philadelphia composer\, Kile Smith highlighting the unique sound world created by the combination of voices and viols. Smith’s new work entitled “Endless Morn of Light” features poetry of John Milton that explores ideas of timeless divinity and the power of music to elevate the soul. Paired with this new work is Orlando di Lasso’s Prophetiae Sibyllarum\, a stunning and unconventional work that the two ensembles will present in different combinations of voices and viols. \nTEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS HERE \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nVariant 6 explores the expressive potential of the human voice through vocal chamber music that is at once virtuosic\, poignant\, and approachable. Composed of artists with a diverse set of skills and a wide range of expertise\, we seek out repertoire that embodies this potential. We collaborate with artists of many disciplines\, creating refreshing interpretations of music of the past and innovative premieres of new works. Our concerts are unique and intimate musical experiences that foster deep conversation between artists and audience. Variant 6 shares our unique take on vocal chamber music with people all over the city of Philadelphia. Our approachable and collaborative projects create an environment where audiences of different backgrounds will feel inspired to attend our events\, respond to our music\, and get to know us as individuals. \nThe Sylvan Consort of Viols is composed of players from greater Philadelphia with members Sarah Cunningham\, Donna Fournier\, Gretchen Gettes\, Margaret Humphrey\, Rebecca Humphrey\, Heather Miller Lardin\, and Elena Smith. The name “Sylvan” not only reflects the area they call home but also the materials from which their beautiful instruments are constructed. The resonant sound of a viol has been said to “imitate the human voice in all its modulations\, even in its most intimate nuances: that of grief and joy” (Harmonie Universelle\, 1636). The consort regularly collaborates with vocalists and is excited to be collaborating with Variant 6 in this performance of early and new music. URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/re-create/ LOCATION:Fleisher Art Memorial\, 719 Catharine St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19147\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Bowerbird-Main-Img-77.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250302T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250302T170000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20250129T151926Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250226T151459Z UID:10001249-1740927600-1740934800@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:POSTPONED: C. Lavender DESCRIPTION:***THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. STAY TUNED FOR A NEW DATE.*** \n  \nBowerbird is pleased to present Liminal States\, an ongoing series of in-person performances designed for deep listening and relaxation. Intended to guide audiences to that magic space between wakefulness and sleep\, these performances invite listeners to lie down\, close their eyes\, and immerse themselves in sound. Sink in\, bliss out. \nThis edition features C. Lavender in a solo set at the Maas Building\, blending sound healing and electronic music for a “sound bath” experience—creating a space for calm\, reflection\, and rest. \nPlease bring a blanket\, yoga mat\, or other similarly comfortable option. Chairs will be limited. \n\nABOUT THE ARTIST \nC. Lavender (Lavender Suarez) is a New York-based interdisciplinary sound artist\, sound healing practitioner\, and educator. Bandcamp describes her music as having “curative powers” while also being “confrontational\, primed to change you whether or not you want it to.” She is the author of Transcendent Waves: How Listening Shapes Our Creative Lives and has released recordings on Editions Mego\, Ecstatic Peace!\, and RVNG Intl. Her latest album\, Rupture in the Eternal Realm (iDEAL Recordings)\, explores meditative soundscapes through Buchla synthesizer\, gongs\, and field recordings. For more info: www.clavender.net \n\nRUPTURE IN THE ETERNAL REALM by C. LAVENDER \n\nOrganized in collaboration with World Askew URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/c-lavender-liminal-states/ LOCATION:Maas Building\, 1325 N Randolph St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19122\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bowerbird-Main-Img-88.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250221T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250221T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20250205T184607Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250224T155326Z UID:10001251-1740168000-1740175200@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Jonas Mekas: Guns of the Trees DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present a special screening of Guns of the Trees by filmmaker Jonas Mekas and original musical score by Lucia Dlugoszewski. \nJonas Mekas’s first feature—which he wrote\, produced\, directed\, co-photographed and edited—is an entrancing snapshot of the counterculture in the early 1960s and a work of beatnik existentialism concerning the fine line between generational hope and despair. Past and present intertwine as a young woman (Frances Stillman) searches for a reason to go on living amid a bout of paralyzing depression; she encounters a succession of characters (including a cynical intellectual\, played by Mekas’s brother and frequent collaborator\, Adolfas) who seem to represent some chance at salvation\, but the dark cloud overhead refuses to dissipate. In Mekas’s own words\, his scrappy yet ambitious and above all lyrical film “deals with the thoughts\, feelings\, and anguished strivings of my generation\, faced with the moral perplexity of our times.” \nGuns of the Trees | Jonas Mekas | 1962 | 35mm (digitized) | 75 minutes \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nJonas Mekas (1922 – 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker\, poet\, and artist who has been called “the godfather of American avant-garde cinema”. He was born in 1922 in the farming village of Semeniškiai\, Lithuania. In 1944\, he and his brother Adolfas were taken by the Nazis to a forced labor camp in Elmshorn\, Germany. After the War he studied philosophy at the University of Mainz. At the end of 1949 the UN Refugee Organization brought both brothers to New York City\, where they settled down in Williamsburg\, Brooklyn. Two months after his arrival in New York he borrowed money to buy his first Bolex camera and began to record brief moments of his life. He soon got deeply involved in the American Avant-Garde film movement. In 1954\, together with his brother\, he started Film Culture magazine\, which soon became the most important film publication in the US. In 1958 he began his legendary Movie Journal column in the Village Voice. In 1962 he founded the Film-Makers’ Cooperative\, and in 1964 the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque\, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives\, one of the world’s largest and most important repositories of avant-garde cinema\, and a screening venue. During all this time he continued writing poetry and making films. To this date he has published more than 25 books of prose and poetry\, which have been translated into over a dozen languages. His Lithuanian poetry is now part of Lithuanian classic literature and his films can be found in leading museums around the world. He is largely credited for developing the diaristic forms of cinema. Mekas has also been active as an academic\, teaching at the New School for Social Research\, the International Center for Photography\, Cooper Union\, New York University\, and MIT. \nLucia Dlugoszewski (1925–2000) was a Polish-American composer\, poet\, choreographer\, performer\, and inventor known for her radical approaches to sound and performance. She was a pioneer in experimental music\, developing a unique performance practice on the grand piano called the “timbre piano\,” which involved playing inside the instrument with mallets and other objects. In addition\, she designed and built numerous innovative percussion instruments\, expanding the sonic possibilities of contemporary music. Dlugoszewski was closely associated with modern dance and served as music director and later artistic director of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company (EHDC) for many years. She composed extensively for Hawkins’s choreography\, crafting highly intricate scores that blended acoustic\, electronic\, and unconventional sound sources. Despite the originality and complexity of her work\, she remained somewhat outside the mainstream of contemporary classical music\, and in recent years\, efforts have been made to rediscover and celebrate her contributions. \n\n URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/jonas-mekas-guns-of-the-trees/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jonas-Mekas-Guns-of-Trees-.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250214T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250214T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20241118T155606Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250217T150944Z UID:10001245-1739563200-1739570400@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Leah Asher\, Dennis Sullivan\, and Christopher Goddard DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present violinist/violist Leah Asher with percussionist Dennis Sullivan and pianist Christopher Goddard to perform a program of works by Lewis Nielson\, Anahita Abbasi\, Leah Asher\, and Michael Hersch. \nFeatured on this program is Lewis Nielson’s new work clang clash roar\, whose title taken from a line in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Bells\,” emanates from the array of sound that are produced by large metal instruments\, some familiar\, others less so\, capable of considerable rhythmic discretion as well as the typical\, more sonorous and haunting sounds\, rich in timbre. There is an inevitability in the direction of the structure in which the dialogue between viola and percussion unfolds\, the outcome of which is visually prefigured but the persistence of the viola’s insistent percussion resists the tolling and rattling of the percussionist\, leading to a point of resolution that acts more as a point of departure. \nAnahita Abbasi’s violin solo\, Situation IV/lo E iO\, is a work from her series of situation pieces\, which explores the idea of the ‘dialogical self.’ In this case\, exploring the dialogical self of the musician herself\, a multiplicity of ‘self -positions\,’ an and infusion of external and internal dialogues. \nLeah Asher’s duo for violin and percussion\, A\, open. Open\, features texts of Gertrude Stein to whimsically and obsessively reflect on the perpetual cycles of everyday life. \nMichael Hersch’s epic work\, the wreckage of flowers is a set of 21 short pieces accompanying writings of the Polish-born 1980 Nobel Laureate in Literature\, Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004). Rife with imagery of barren landscapes\, frigid winters\, and vast skies\, this piece emanates a feeling of resilience amidst dark circumstances. \n\nABOUT THE MUSICIANS \nViolinist/violist\, composer\, and visual artist Leah Asher is an avid performer of contemporary music and creator of new artistic works. Leah has been a member of The Rhythm Method string quartet\, an innovative ensemble of composer-performers\, since 2016. A sought after performer and collaborator\, Leah can be found performing as a regular guest with New York-based ensembles such as International Contemporary Ensemble\, Talea Ensemble\, and S.E.M. Ensemble. She is also the co-creator of Meaningless Work\, an interdisciplinary performance collaboration with Nicolee Kuester and half of the violin-piano duo Aether Eos with Christopher Goddard. \nLeah maintains an international career with performances presented by the Lucerne Festival\, Lake George Music Festival\, Omaha One Festival\, MATA Festival\, TriBeCA New Music\, Festspillene i Nord Norge\, Music Mondays\, and Codes d’accès. Leah has equally enjoyed performing at such celebrated venues as The Wiener Musikverein\, Disney Concert Hall\, Carnegie Hall\, Miller Theatre\, and the KKL Lucerne\, as well as smaller\, more intimate venues such as The Owl Music Parlor\, Kimaira\, Echoraum\, the cell theatre\, Konsthall C\, and JACK. Leah has been featured as a concerto soloist with the Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta and Oberlin’s Contemporary Music Ensemble. Leah formerly served as solo violist of the Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta and co-principal viola of the Arctic Philharmonic. \nAs a guest artist and educator\, Leah has given performances and worked with students at universities including Rice University\, New York University\, Bowling Green State University\, Zurich University for Art and Music\, Arkansas State University\, Tulane University\, Peabody Conservatory\, Hunter College\, Brown University\, and Youngstown State University. \nAs a composer\, Leah has been commissioned by several ensembles\, including andPlay\, Chartreuse\, Periapsis\, NorthArc Percussion Group\, The Great Learning Orchestra\, Du.0\, and solo artists such as Meaghan Burke\, Tristan McKay\, and Jennifer Torrence. Recent releases include Leah’s solo album ‘Retreat into Afters’ (SCRIPTS Records)\, and The Rhythm Method’s self-titled debut album (Gold Bolus Recordings). Leah joined the faculty of Manhattan School of Music as of 2022. \nLeah completed her undergraduate degrees at Oberlin College and Conservatory\, studying violin with Gregory Fulkerson and studio art primarily with John Pearson. As a recipient of the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship\, she completed her Master’s in Contemporary Performance at Manhattan School of Music with Curtis Macomber\, then continued studies at UCSD under the tutelage of János Négyesy. \n  \nBased in New York City\, Dennis K. Sullivan II is a percussionist\, composer\, and electronicist\, focusing on new and contemporary music. His music has been performed across the globe by the International Contemporary Ensemble\, yarn/wire\, New Thread Quartet\, DECODER\, Ensemble Adapter\, Hypercube\, and Dal Niente in venues such as the Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg)\, The Stone (NYC)\, Nymusikk Bergen (Norway)\, Omaha Under the Radar\, Splendor (Amsterdam)\, and the Edmonton Fringe Festival (Canada). He is a founding member and core performer in Radical 2\, a classification-defying duo that explores the use of theatric\, vocal\, percussive\, and prototype electronic mediums\, and Popebama\, an experimental duo that applies text\, electronics\, and high-energy performances to non-traditional sounds. \nAn active chamber and orchestral percussionist\, Sullivan has shared the stage with leading contemporary music ensembles such as The Argento New Music Project\, Either/Or\, The International Contemporary Ensemble\, ECCE Ensemble\, Ensemble Court Circuit (Paris)\, Ensemble Pamplemousse\, Wavefield Ensemble\, Newband\, Mivos Quartet\, The Darmstadt Preistrager Forum\, and Ensemble Modern Academy\, among others. He has performed in notable NYC venues such as BAM\, Roulette\, Merkin Hall\, Miller Theater\, Symphony Space\, Le Poisson Rouge\, The Shed\, and The Stone. Equally at home in the world of improvisation\, he has shared the stage with luminaries such as Brandon Lopez\, Erin Rogers\, Peter Evans\, Tom Rainey and Dana Jessen. An advocate for the new music community\, Sullivan successfully curated an annual series of theatrically driven new music\, bringing together classical music\, theater\, rock\, heavy metal\, and film at Jack (Brooklyn) from 2015-17. \nPerformance awards include grand prize at the Van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence\, the Stipiendienpreise at the Darmstadt International Ferienkurse fur Neue Musik (Darmstadt\, Germany) and a STEIM Center composer residency for electroacoustic music (Amsterdam\, Netherlands). Sullivan has recorded for the New Amsterdam\, Mode\, GoldBolus\, New Focus\, Original Abstraction and INNOVA labels. \nSullivan holds a Bachelor of Music (BM) from the Hartt School of Music and Master of Music (MM) / Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) from SUNY Stony Brook University (New York). Sullivan currently serves as instructor of percussion and music tech as well as director of the wind ensemble at Adelphi University. \n  \nChristopher Goddard is a Canadian composer and pianist. As a composer\, he has collaborated with NYO Canada\, Esprit Orchestra\, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne\, Quatuor Molinari\, Continuum\, Ensemble Paramirabo\, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie\, andPlay duo\, No Exit New Music Ensemble\, NOISE-BRIDGE\, and others. Recent commissions have come from the Lucerne Festival\, the Royal Conservatory/ \nKoerner Hall for the 21C Festival and the City of Reutlingen. He was selected for the 11th International Forum for Young Composers with the NEM\, and has participated in the Wellesley Composers Conference\, the National Arts Centre Young Composers Program\, and the Rencontres de Musique Nouvelle at Domaine Forget. His work has been recognized by the MacDowell Foundation\, the Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers\, the Prix Collégien de Musique Contemporaine\, the SOCAN Young Composer Awards\, and the Robert Avalon Competition for Young Composers. \nHe was recently named as the 2022 protégé of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards\, a mentorship program in collaboration with 2021 GGPAA laureate Alexina Louie. The Canadian League of Composers presented him with the 2015 Friends of Canadian Music Award to share with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada\, who would later select him as their 2016 RBC Foundation Emerging Composer-in-Residence. The resulting work received its premiere in Lisbon and was broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 3. \nAs a performer and advocate of contemporary music\, Christopher Goddard has presented dozens of premieres by his colleagues\, appearing with new music groups such as Ensemble Moto Perpetuo\, Columbia Composers\, Penn Composers Guild\, the Wet Ink Ensemble and others. He has participated in the Samos Young Artist Festival\, the Avant Music Festival in New York and was a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy. He performed with TACTUS\, the contemporary music ensemble at the Manhattan School of Music\, while studying with pianists Christopher Oldfather and Anthony de Mare. Previous piano studies took place with Nicole Presentey in Ottawa and Kyoko Hashimoto in Montreal. \nChristopher Goddard holds a D.Mus. in composition from McGill University\, an M.M. in contemporary performance from the Manhattan School of Music\, an M.M.\nin composition from Rice University\, and a B.Mus. in composition and theory from McGill University. Principal past composition mentors include John Rea\, Pierre Jalbert\, Karim Al-Zand\, Chris Paul Harman and Brian Cherney. He is an associate member of the Canadian Music Centre and has received support from the Canada Council for the Arts. He served as Artistic Director of Ottawa New Music Creators from 2017-2019 and currently teaches theory and aural skills at the University of Florida. URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/leah-asher-dennis-sullivan-and-christopher-goddard/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bowerbird-Main-Img-81.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250126T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250126T170000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20250106T172320Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250127T162700Z UID:10001247-1737903600-1737910800@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Pauline Oliveros: The Well and The Gentle DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present the Arcana New Music Ensemble performing Pauline Oliveros’ works The Well and The Gentle at the Icebox Project Space. \nWritten between 1982-1983 and commissioned by Philadelphia’s Relâche Ensemble\, The Well and The Gentle are two of Oliveros’ text based intuitive pieces. Rooted in listening\, the scores consist of written instructions\, scales\, and a rhythmic motif. \nPROGRAM \nOliveros: The Well (1982) \nOliveros: The Gentle (1983) \nARCANA NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE \nNicholas Handahl – flute\nNoa Even – tenor saxophone\nMelinda Rice – violin\nCarlos Santiago – violin\nAlyssa Almeida – cello\nAnne Ishii – percussion\nAndy Thierauf – percussion \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nFounded in 2016\, the Arcana New Music Ensemble is a group of Philadelphia-based musicians dedicated to presenting interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional music in interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional places. Built on a flexible roster of 25 musicians\, Arcana is able to perform a broad range of repertoire in numerous configurations. Composers featured in recent programs include Julius Eastman\, Morton Feldman\, Galina Ustvolskaya\, Pauline Oliveros\, Tom Johnson\, Moondog\, and James Tenney. Arcana has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art\, Fleisher Art Memorial\, The Rotunda\, The Kitchen (NYC)\, and collaborated with Variant Six\, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra\, and Pig Iron Theater Company. \nPauline Oliveros’ (1932-2016) life as a composer\, performer and humanitarian was about opening her own and others’ sensibilities to the universe and facets of sounds. Her career spanned fifty years of boundary dissolving music making. In the ’50s she was part of a circle of iconoclastic composers\, artists\, poets gathered together in San Francisco. In the 1960’s she influenced American music profoundly through her work with improvisation\, meditation\, electronic music\, myth and ritual. \nShe was the recipient of four Honorary Doctorates and among her many recent awards were the William Schuman Award for Lifetime Achievement\, Columbia University\, New York\, NY\,The Giga-Hertz-Award for Lifetime Achievement in Electronic Music from ZKM\, Center for Art and Media\, Karlsruhe\, Germany and The John Cage award from from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts. \nOliveros was Distinguished Research Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute\, Troy\, NY\, and Darius Milhaud Artist-in-Residence at Mills College. She founded “Deep Listening®\,” which came from her childhood fascination with sounds and from her works in concert music with composition\, improvisation and electro-acoustics. She described Deep Listening as a way of listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what you are doing. Such intense listening includes the sounds of daily life\, of nature\, of one’s own thoughts as well as musical sounds. \n“Deep Listening is my life practice\,” Oliveros explained\, simply. Oliveros founded Deep Listening Institute\, formerly Pauline Oliveros Foundation\, now the Center For Deep Listening at Rensselaer\, Troy\, NY. Her creative work is currently disseminated through The Pauline Oliveros Trust and the Ministry of Maåt\, Inc. \n\n \nFrom The Relache Chronicles Podcast\nEpisode Number Three – Pauline Oliveros “The Well”\nA discussion of the origins of the “The Well” and “The Gentle” with Joseph Franklin\, Joe Kasinskas\, and others. \n\nLISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE \nTHE RELACHE CHRONICLES is a podcast about musicians residing in what we call “the Margins of American Music.” In these 30-to-45-minute episodes\, we’ll play recordings – primarily by The Relache Ensemble from Philadelphia – of complete musical works plus commentary by composers\, performers\, and others with insight to the music. Throughout the podcast\, we’ll discuss the guest composers’ processes\, how they utilized current and past technologies and how the acoustical properties of a given space informed the creation and performance of a musical work. Finally\, we will discuss how the composers’ relationship with the musicians brought the music to life. Episodes feature music by John Cage\, Robert Ashley\, Joe Kasinskas\, Pauline Oliveros\, Guy Klucevsek\, Eve Beglarian\, Fred Ho\, Phill Niblock\, Romulus Franceschini\, Bill Duckworth\, Lois v Vierk\, and an overview of the New Music America Festival 1987 – Philadelphia\, and the expansive residency/performance project named Music in Motion. THE RELACHE CHRONICLES is produced\, directed\, and edited\, by Arthur Stidfole with Joseph Franklin\, Joe Kasinskas\, and Arthur Sabatini. Throughout their careers\, they have been performing musicians\, composers\, executive and artistic directors\, university teachers\, radio hosts and authors\, dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. \n\nSupport for this program provided by the Penn Treaty Special Services District URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/pauline-oliveros-the-well-and-the-gentle/ LOCATION:Icebox Project Space\, 1400 N. American St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19122\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Bowerbird-Main-Img-84.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250118T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250118T213000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20241209T154857Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250121T160305Z UID:10001246-1737228600-1737235800@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:New Thread Quartet: Album Release DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present New Thread Quartet’s album release show featuring “A Little Night Music\,” and Tori Cheah’s Walk for a Shell from their new album\, Saxifraga. \n$15-25 suggested donation\, which includes a CD and digital download; No one turned away for lack of funds \nWhile Irish composer Emma O’Halloran was living in Miami\, she listened to the ocean waves at night for comfort and reflection. Her Night Music ripples and whirls like the sea with a nod to Latin music and Miami Sound Machine\, the mixtape that kept O’Halloran company during that year abroad. LA-based Kay Rhie composed Night Blooms for mixed trio following her father’s death in 2019. Adapted for saxophone quartet\, the piece tells the story of his final days in the hospital. As she watched his breathing machine expand and contract\, Rhie was reminded of flowers that bloom at night and how “many first-generation immigrants probably dreamed of beautiful ‘blooms’ during the quiet hours when not too many people took notice.” Helena Tulve‘s Öö\, which is “night” in Estonian\, sets an unsettled atmosphere of impending doom. The concert concludes with Walk for a shell\, which Tori Cheah describes as a reference to a pilgrimage wherein one applies time and effort across a distance in an offering of respect for forces greater than oneself. Short lullaby interludes composed by New Thread members weave the program together. \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nNew Thread Quartet was formed with the mission to develop and perform impactful new music for the saxophone\, and to provide high level ensemble playing to feature today’s compositional voices. In 11 seasons\, the quartet has commissioned and premiered over 45 new works by composers such as Amy Beth Kirsten\, Richard Carrick\, Ben Hjertmann\, Ebun Oguntola\, Scott Wollschleger\, Kathryn Salfelder\, Taylor Brook and Emily Koh. \nBased in New York City\, New Thread has performed at Carnegie Hall\, Roulette\, Dance Theatre of Harlem\, Morgan Library\, Bang on a Can Summer Festival Benefit\, and Monadnock Music. The quartet has performed\, toured and recorded more than 30 important works for saxophone quartet including Kati Agócs’ Hymn in New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall; Marilyn Shrude’s Evolution V and energy flows nervously… in search of stillness\, as part of a 75th Birthday Celebration Concert at the Dimenna Center featuring Lost Dog Ensemble and the Momenta Quartet; Erin Rogers’ Urban Composites at the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews\, Scotland; and the premiere recording of Elliott Sharp’s seminal work Approaching the Arches of Corti for 4 soprano saxophones\, recorded with Grammy-winning engineer\, Judith Sherman\, now available on New World Records. New Thread released its debut album Plastic Facts in 2018 on New Focus Recordings and in 2020 recorded three works on [word]plays\, an album by Emily Koh now available from Innova Recordings. \nNew Thread has a track record of working closely with composers in a workshop environment during the formation of new works. The quartet strives for multiple performances of newly commissioned works in an attempt to bring new music to different audiences as often as possible. New Thread’s annual self-presented Explorations Series showcases works by emerging composers\, adding exciting new voices to the saxophone canon. \nNew Thread has conducted masterclasses\, residencies\, and performances for student saxophonists and composers at Peabody Conservatory\, University of Virginia\, Berklee Conservatory\, Bronx Community College\, Aaron Copland School (Queens College)\, Montclair State University\, and New York University. A strong community supporter\, New Thread attends NASA Regional and Biennial conferences across the US. The quartet encourages young composers to create new works for saxophones through an open submission policy\, conducting reading and feedback sessions throughout the year. New Thread is a presenting partner of Composers Now. \nEnsemble members are Jonathan Hulting-Cohen (soprano saxophone)\, Noa Even (alto saxophone)\, Erin Rogers (tenor saxophone)\, and Zach Herchen (baritone saxophone). \nwww.newthreadquartet.com/ \n\n URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/new-thread-quartet-album-release/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Bowerbird-Main-Img-83.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250117T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250117T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20241111T163003Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250118T141000Z UID:10001243-1737144000-1737151200@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Laraaji DESCRIPTION:*Please note: The performance starts at 8:00pm. Those who reserved tickets will be able to enter at 7:30pm with seating on a first come first served basis; then standing room only. After 8pm\, those without reserved tickets may enter depending on capacity* \n  \nWe are thrilled to welcome back Laraaji\, a key figure in the evolution of ambient music whose distinctive sound has been captivating listeners for decades. Philadelphia-born and New Jersey-raised\, Laraaji has pursued spiritual transcendence through music since the mid-1970s. After years of developing an aesthetic shaped by Eastern philosophies and transcendental research in his longtime Harlem home\, Laraaji’s breakthrough came when Brian Eno discovered him busking in Washington Square Park in 1979\, improvising celestial meditations on his electric zither. This encounter led to a collaboration on Eno’s influential Ambient series\, resulting in the 1980 album Day of Radiance. \nSince then\, Laraaji has become a defining figure in new age and ambient music\, known for his commitment to hand-crafted sounds over synthesizers and his embrace of a human presence in his performances. Whether playing monochord instruments\, singing\, or using electronics-kissed percussion\, his music remains rooted in a cosmic African-American tradition. His soundscapes are as hypnotically beautiful as they are rich with moments of tension and dissonance\, bringing depth to his trance-inducing explorations. For over four decades\, Laraaji’s work has continued to evolve\, inviting listeners into deep states of reflection while remaining grounded in a deeply personal musical journey. \n\n\n  \n\n  URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/laraaji-2025/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bowerbird-Main-Img-21-2.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241220T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241220T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20241104T171842Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241223T162633Z UID:10001242-1734724800-1734732000@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:The Adventures of Prince Achmed DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is delighted to present a special screening of Lotte Reiniger’s pioneering animated film\, The Adventures of Prince Achmed. \nWhen The Adventures of Prince Achmed premiered in Germany on September 23\, 1926\, it was hailed as the first full-length animated film. More than seventy-five years later\, this enchanting film still stands as one of the great classics of animation — beautiful\, mesmerizing and utterly seductive. \nTaken from The Arabian Nights\, the film tells the story of a wicked sorcerer who tricks Prince Achmed into mounting a magical flying horse and sends the rider off on a flight to his death. But the prince foils the magician’s plan and soars headlong into a series of wondrous adventures — joining forces with Aladdin and the Witch of the Fiery Mountains\, doing battle with the sorcerer’s army of monsters and demons\, and falling in love with the beautiful Princess Peri Banu. \nThis cinematic treasure has been beautifully restored with its spectacular color tinting and with a new orchestral recording of the magnificent 1926 score by Wolfgang Zeller. Thrilling\, sensuous and dazzling\, Prince Achmed will enthrall children and film enthusiasts of all ages. \n\nABOUT THE ARTIST \nLotte Reiniger made over sixty films\, of which eleven are considered lost and fifty to have survived. The film maker is best known for her pioneering silhouette films\, in which paper and cardboard cut-out figures\, weighted with lead\, and hinged at the joints were hand-manipulated from frame to frame and shot via stop motion photography. The figures were placed on an animation table and usually lit from below. In some of her later sound films the figures were lit both from above and below\, depending on the desired visual effect. Framed with elaborate backgrounds made from varying layers of translucent paper or colorful acetate foils for color films\, Reiniger’s characters were created and animated with exceptional skill and precision. \nIn addition to producing silhouette animation films\, Reiniger was equally engaged by live shadow puppetry\, which was at times recorded on film and used in live-action films. For example\, in 1933\, Reiniger made a shadow play sequence for G.W. Pabst’s Don Quixote (1933). In 1937 she created “Le Pont Cassé\,” which translates to “the Broken Bridge\,” a short shadow play sequence filmed for Jean Renoir’s La Marseillaise (1938). This famed shadow play was the most popular piece by François Dominique Séraphin\, founder of the Theatre Séraphin in Versailles in 1770. Reiniger’s filmed play emulated Séraphin’s style and was thus an homage to the roots of European shadow play. \n\n URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/the-adventures-of-prince-achmed/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bowerbird-Main-Img-79.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241208T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241208T170000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20241114T155538Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241209T153009Z UID:10001244-1733670000-1733677200@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Chris Dingman DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present Chris Dingman in a solo set at the Maas Building for a “sound bath” style performance. \nPlease bring a blanket\, yoga mat\, or other similarly comfortable option. Chairs will be limited. \n\nABOUT THE ARTIST \nChris Dingman is a vibraphonist and composer known for his distinctive approach to the instrument: sonically rich and expansive\, bringing listeners on a journey to a beautiful\, transcendent place. He has done significant work with legendary artists Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter as well as next generation visionaries such as Linda Oh\, Ambrose Akinmusire\, Steve Lehman\, and many others\, performing around the world including India\, Vietnam\, and extensively in Europe and North America. \nHe has been profiled by NPR\, The New York Times\, AMNY and many other publications\, and has received fellowships and grants from the Chamber Music America\, the Doris Duke Foundation\, New Music USA\, South Arts\, and the Herbie Hancock Institute (formerly the Thelonious Monk Institute). Hailed by The New York Times as a “dazzling” soloist and a composer with a “fondness for airtight logic and burnished lyricism\,” the fluidity of his musical approach has earned him praise as “an extremely gifted composer\, bandleader\, and recording artist.” (Jon Weber\, NPR). \n\n URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/chris-dingman/ LOCATION:Maas Building\, 1325 N Randolph St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19122\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bowerbird-Main-Img-80.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241115T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241115T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20240930T151755Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241118T155655Z UID:10001241-1731700800-1731708000@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Moondog on the Keys DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present Moondog on the Keys\, a concert featuring piano works by the maverick composer Moondog performed by trimbist Julian Calv\, pianist Alex Stewart\, and vocalist/percussionist Sarah Penna. Moondog aka Louis Hardin composed music creating an unexpected link between the resurgent science of counterpoint\, Arapaho\, Navajo\, Blackfoot\, and Sioux rhythms and song forms\, the art of jazz improvisation\, and the beginnings of a repetitive and minimalist aesthetic. The concert will span Moondog’s career and include comments about the music from Julian– who studied with Moondog’s only student\, Stefan Lakatos. \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nJulian Calv is a musicologist and performer who specializes in the music of Moondog. He graduated from Moravian University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Music degree and plays the trimba\, a percussion instrument invented by Moondog. Moondog’s only trimba student\, Stefan Lakatos\, was the teacher of Julian. He does both studio and live projects. His 2023 vinyl release “Route 4/Thorn and Roots” presents two percussion compositions based on rhythmic patterns utilized by Moondog. Following this on November 9th 2024\, Julian’s debut album Nonstop Motion will be released– presenting original compositions alongside never before recorded Moondog compositions. He’s brought Moondog’s music to uncharted territories too. On July 18th\, 2024\, he performed with his vocal sextet Non Prophets at the Southern State Correctional Facility\, in Springfield Vermont\, to a captive audience – some of whom had never heard live music in the last seventeen years. This project was the first of a lifetime of activism projects Julian hopes to continue. \nAlex Stewart is a musician\, architect\, and man about town. He loves living in Newport\, NH. He directs the adult choir and bell choir at the South Congregational Church where he plays organ and piano each week. He directs the Kearsarge Community Band in nearby New London. He also accompanies several community and school ensembles\, performs with the NH Troubadours and the Newport Opera House Association\, serves on the Choral Arts Foundation of the Upper Valley\, and does other stuff. He is grateful for this opportunity\, and hopes you’re having fun. \nSarah Penna is a musician and all around nature lover. She graduated from Moravian university in 2021 where she studied music education along with vocal\, and piano\, performance. Her honors project “The Human Faith Melody and the Power of the Common Soul: Charles Ives and the Concord Transcendentalists” was completed in 2021 and is a culmination of her music studies and spiritual interests. Sarah continues to unify community and music through her work with the Vermont State parks and performances with Julian. \n\nEncore by Julian Calv URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/moondog-on-the-keys/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Bowerbird-Main-Img-78.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241102T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241102T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20240805T143823Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241104T165922Z UID:10001237-1730577600-1730584800@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Chamber Music of George Walker DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present a concert of chamber works by composer George Walker performed by the Daedalus Quartet\, Dynasty Battles\, David Hughes\, and members of the Arcana New Music Ensemble. \nAs an aspiring pianist in his early teens\, George Walker (1922-2018) gave his first public recital at Howard University’s Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel before studying performance and composition at Oberlin College and the Eastman School of Music.   Walker graduated from Philadelphia’s prestigious Curtis Institute with Artist Diplomas in piano and composition in 1945\, as one of the first Black graduates of the music school.  Walker was a trailblazer within the landscape of twentieth and twenty-first century American music. He was the first African-American performer to appear in performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the first African-American musician to receive a doctoral degree from Eastman. Walker’s many firsts are perhaps best captured by his singular achievement in 1996: the Pulitzer Prize for Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra. Despite Walker’s many achievements\, much of his chamber music is not widely known. \nPROGRAM \nPerimeters for Clarinet and Piano\nJonathan Leeds\, clarinet\nDavid Hughes\, piano \nPiano Sonata 1\nDynasty Battles\, piano \nSelection of Songs\n“In the Time of Silver Rain”\n“What If I Say I Shall Not Wait”\n“I Have No Life But This”\n“Bequest”\nAlize Rozsnyai\, soprano\nDavid Hughes\, piano \nPiano Sonata 4\nDavid Hughes\, piano \nString Quartet No. 1\nDaedalus Quartet \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nPraised by The New Yorker as “a fresh and vital young participant in what is a golden age of American string quartets\,” the Daedalus Quartet has established itself as a leader among the new generation of string ensembles. Since winning the top prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2001\, the Daedalus Quartet has impressed critics and listeners alike with the security\, technical finish\, interpretive unity\, and sheer gusto of its performances. The New York Times has praised the Daedalus Quartet’s “insightful and vibrant” Haydn\, the “impressive intensity” of their Beethoven\, their “luminous” Berg\, and the “riveting focus” of their Dutilleux. The Washington Post in turn has acclaimed their performance of Mendelssohn for its “rockets of blistering virtuosity\,” while the Houston Chronicle has described the “silvery beauty” of their Schubert and the “magic that hushed the audience” when they played Ravel\, the Boston Globe the “finesse and fury” of their Shostakovich\, the Toronto Globe and Mail the “thrilling revelation” of their Hindemith\, and the Cincinnati Enquirer the “tremendous emotional power” of their Brahms. \nDynasty Battles\, the recipient of the 2021 Career Advancement Award by the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia\, has been featured with soprano Marietta Simpson in The Philadelphia Inquirer\, and on music critic David Patrick Stearns’ radio program “Creatively Speaking” on Philadelphia’s WRTI (90.1FM). \nOne upcoming highlight: Battles will debut a piano concerto by composer Nina Shekhar\, whose music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra\, Chicago Symphony Orchestra\, and many more. Battles recently debuted a composition by multiple Grammy nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist Ted Hearne\, composed for Dynasty himself\, which was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Other recent engagements include hall debuts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in a concert curated by John Adams\, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall as a featured artist in the International Music Foundation’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts\, and the Benjamin Franklin Hall with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Additionally\, he made his international debut at the Barbican Centre in London while in residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. \nCareer highlights include an invitation to perform George Walker’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in a private engagement at the distinguished composer’s home. In a project profiled by The New York Times\, he also performed in Bowerbird Philly’s ongoing series highlighting the works of Julius Eastman. \nBattles studies with concert pianist Leon Bates and Eve Wolf\, pianist\, and Executive Artistic Director of Ensemble for the Romantic Century. He also studied counterpoint and harmony and analysis with Jonathan Coopersmith\, Chair of Musical Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. A native of Philadelphia\, Dynasty received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance\, cum laude from Temple University\, under the instruction of Harvey Wedeen as a recipient of the Esther Boyer College Scholarship. \ndynastybattles.com \nDavid Hughes is a Philadelphia-based pianist with a wide-ranging repertoire that places a special emphasis on modern and lesser-known works\, as well as chamber music. Hughes has performed at the Kennedy Center\, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw and the Spanish Embassy in Washington\, DC. He has been featured on Philadelphia’s WRTI radio station in an hour-long segment of solo repertoire\, and can also be heard playing four different keyboard instruments on John Zorn’s violin concerto\, “Contes de Fées\,” on the Tzadik label. Mr. Hughes has a strong interest in contemporary music and received third prize in the Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition—one of the world’s premier competitions for modern music—as a member of Outer Banks Duo with saxophonist Stacy Wilson. This was followed by the release of their debut CD\, L’Incandescence. He regularly works with instrumentalists at the Curtis Institute of Music and has appeared on Curtis’ student recital series. He is also a past recipient of a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center\, a prizewinner in the MTNA National Chamber Music Competition\, and holds a doctoral degree in piano performance from Indiana University. \nAlize Francheska Rozsnyai\, soprano and graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music “displaying profound imagination and control” (Philadelphia Inquirer)\, is building a diverse and exciting performance career as a classical soprano with a “superb voice” (Harrogate News) which is “sparkling” (ArtBlog)\, all while serving up “deliciously diva performances” (I CARE IF YOU LISTEN). This season she appears with St. Petersburg Opera as an Emerging Artist and cover for Morgana in Handel’s Alcina\, Minerva and Cookie in the World Premiere of Five Ways to Die with Experiments in Opera NYC\, and makes her role debut as Frasquita in Carmen with Boheme Opera NJ. Recent performances include Serpina in La Serva Padrona with Hub City Opera\, Katherine Hutchinson in Silk City with Garden State Opera\, and Rivka in the world premiere of Part I of Misha Dutka’s Liebovar with Opera Boheme New Jersey. Recently\, Alize portrayed Zina in Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters with Opera Fayetteville\, Soloist in Beth Morrison Projects’ Next Gen Concert with Contemporaneous Ensemble at National Sawdust\, Morgana in Alcina REVAMPED with Alter Ego Chamber Opera\, and Phyllis in Iolanthe at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Harrogate\, England. Alize has performed with Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro\, Den Nye Opera in Bergen\, Norway\, Opera Philadelphia\, San Diego Opera\, Chautauqua Opera\, Seattle Symphony [Untitled 3] Series\, Carnegie Hall\, The Kennedy Center\, Opera Fayetteville\, Center for Contemporary Opera\, The Cape Cod Symphony\, and favorite role credits include Adina (l’elisir d’amore)\, Susanna (le Nozze di Figaro)\, Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites)\, Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare)\, Eurydice (Orphée aux Enfers)\, Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte)\, Thérèse (Les Mamelles des Tirésias)\, Hilda (Elegy for Young Lovers-Henze)\, and Ilia (Idomeneo). Alize is also an accomplished librettist and is has had several works performed with companies including Experiments in Opera\, Hub City Opera\, ENA Ensemble\, and the University of Connecticut. \nFounded in 2016\, the Arcana New Music Ensemble is a group of Philadelphia-based musicians dedicated to presenting interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional music in interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional places. Built on a flexible roster of 25 musicians\, Arcana is able to perform a broad range of repertoire in numerous configurations. Composers featured in recent programs include Julius Eastman\, Morton Feldman\, Galina Ustvolskaya\, Pauline Oliveros\, Tom Johnson\, Moondog\, and James Tenney. Arcana has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art\, Fleisher Art Memorial\, The Rotunda\, The Kitchen (NYC)\, and collaborated with Variant Six\, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra\, and Pig Iron Theater Company. \n\nSupport for this program provided by the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/chamber-music-of-george-walker/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bowerbird-Main-Img-70.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241017T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241017T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20240715T163633Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241021T144627Z UID:10001236-1729195200-1729202400@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Exploratorium DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present a concert of works from Gene Coleman’s recent album Exploratorium and solo performance by Toshimaru Nakamura. \nPROGRAM \nKATA (2021) film version of the work\nEnsemble N_JP\nSansuzu Tsuruzawa (voice and shamisen)\nAkikazu Nakamura (shakuhachi)\nAdam Vidiksis (percussion and electronics)\nKo Ishikawa (sho)\nNaoko Kikuchi (koto)\nNick Millevoi (e-guitar)\nHemmi String Quartet Yasutaka Hemmi (violin 1)\nMarino Nagira (violin 2)\nYuta Tsubonouchi (viola)\nYasunori Onishi (cello)\nGene Coleman (composition\, video and musical direction)\n*US Premiere \nNeuro Music I: Dialog of Thought and Intuition (2024)\nTom Kraines (cello)\nToshimaru Nakamura (live electronics)\nAdam Vidiksis (neuro electronics)\n*World Premiere \nRippling Waves (2024) Text score for ensemble based on haiku by Matsuo Basho\nToshimaru Nakamura (live electronics)\nAnne Ishii (percussion)\nAdam Vidiksis (percussion)\nNick Millevoi (e-guitar)\nTom Kraines (cello)\nGene Coleman (direction) \nThe evening will conclude with a solo performance by Toshimaru Nakamura. \nAlbum available here:\nhttps://www.falsewalls.co.uk/release/exploratorium/ \nhttps://falsewalls1.bandcamp.com/album/exploratorium  \nFocused 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 work for a large ensemble titled “Across Time (Transonic Symphony #1)”. \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nGene Coleman is a composer\, musician and video director\, who has created over 70 works for various instrumentation and media. Central to his work is the inventive use of sound\, image and time\, and the desire to create experiences that expand our understanding of the world. Since 2001 he has explored the global transformation of culture and music’s relationship with video\, science and architecture. He began composing and performing both composed and improvised music in the late 1980s; founded the groups Ensemble Noamnesia\, Ensemble N_JP\, and Transonic Orchestra; was artistic director of the Transonic festival at the House of World Cultures (Berlin)\, Director of the American Composers Forum (Philadelphia)\, artistic director of the Public Art festival Site/Sound (Philadelphia) and a Creative Arts Fellow of the US Japan Friendship Commission. He has an extensive discography of both composed and improvised music\, including the False Walls CD Storobo Imp. with Uchihashi Kazuhisa (2004). Since 2016\, his works have explored the concepts of Neuro Music and audiovisual composition based on Neuroscience. Gene is a 2014 Guggenheim Fellow and received the 2013 Berlin Prize for Music from the American Academy in Berlin.\nwww.genecolemancomposer.com \nComposer Gene Coleman formed Ensemble N_JP in 2001 as a vehicle for his on going work with musicians from Japan. Through concert programs\, multimedia works and educational projects\, the group explores connections between contemporary and traditional forms of art. N_JP is made up of musicians who work with Coleman on a project-by-project basis. It unites outstanding Japanese and US musicians from the traditional\, experimental and contemporary classical music communities\, along with guest artists from Europe. Ensemble N_JP has performed in a number of important festivals and venues since it’s inception\, these include the I-House of Tokyo\, Pitt Inn Shinjuku\, Kidailack Art House (Tokyo)\, The House of World Cultures Berlin\, The Dresden Society Theater\, The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art\, Lake Forest College\, The Chicago World Music Festival\, I-House Philadelphia\, The Blurred Edges Festival in Hamburg\, The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago\, The Japan Society NY\, University of Illinois Urbana\, The Philadelphia Museum of Art\, MaerzMusik Festival\, Warsaw Autumn Festival and The Museum of Modern Art\, New York. \nToshimaru Nakamura’s instrument is the no-input mixing board\, which describes a way of using a standard mixing board as an electronic music instrument\, producing sound without any external audio input. The use of the mixing board in this manner is not only innovative in the the sounds it can create but\, more importantly\, in the approach this method of working with the mixer demands. The unpredictability of the instrument requires an attitude of obedience and resignation to the system and the sounds it produces\, bringing a high level of indeterminacy and surprise to the music. Nakamura pioneered this approach to the use of the mixing board in the mid-1990’s and has since then appeared on over one hundred audio publications\, including nine solo CD’s. \n  \n\nThis program is supported by mediaThefoundation\, The Institute for Music and Neuroaesthetics\, and The New Jersey Arts Council URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/exploratorium-2/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bowerbird-Main-Img-40.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241012T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241012T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044752 CREATED:20240715T163605Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241014T152228Z UID:10001235-1728763200-1728770400@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Evan Chapman - Reveries DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present Evan Chapman performing works from his recently released album “Reveries.” Opening the night will be Koof Ibi and Lizdelise. \nReveries\, Evan’s debut solo full-length album of original music (out 10/11 on Better Company Records) is a boldly personal creative statement that is the culmination of a vast musical background paired with ambitious originality. The percussion-driven collection of compositions draws elements from contemporary-classical\, post-rock\, electronic\, post-minimalist\, ambient\, and pop in ways that are genre-defying and adventurous\, yet emotive and lyrical. The unexpected combinations of instruments and sonic palettes throughout the record – heightened through contributions by modern jazz electric guitarist & upright bassist Joshua Stamper and Wild Up’s virtuoso guitarist JIJI – blur the lines of recognizability between acoustic and electric timbres to create an expansive sound world that becomes greater than the sum of its parts. \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nEvan Chapman has carved a unique and multifaceted path for himself in both the film and music industries\, most prominently as a founding member of instrumental percussion-driven trio Square Peg Round Hole and of film production company Four/Ten Media. \nBoth solo and alongside Square Peg Round Hole and indie-pop band Lydia\, Evan has toured and recorded extensively\, performing at some of the country’s most esteemed venues including NYC’s National Sawdust\, Webster Hall\, and Brooklyn Bowl\, LA’s Fonda Theater\, House of Blues in Dallas\, Houston\, Orlando\, San Diego\, and Chicago\, and festivals such as SXSW (Austin\, TX)\, Treefort (Boise\, ID)\, and Bunbury (Cincinnati\, OH). He has also performed on concert stages such as the Lincoln Center\, playing “Clapping Music” alongside its legendary composer Steve Reich\, among countless others. \nEvan’s compositional contributions spanning four full-length albums with Square Peg Round Hole have been dubbed a “creative adventure” by Bob Boilen of NPR and have landed the group in a headlining showcase concert at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (Indianapolis\, IN) and sharing bills with Mitski\, Rafiq Bhatia\, The Album Leaf\, Sō Percussion\, The Bad Plus\, Kneebody\, Dawn of Midi\, and touring the East Coast with Son Lux’s Ian Chang and post-rock legends The Mercury Program. \nHis concert compositions have been performed by soloists and ensembles across the globe\, having received commissions from groups including the Pathos Trio\, the LINÜ Guitar Duo\, and the University of Tennessee Percussion Ensemble\, among many others. Additionally\, he is also a prolific commissioner and performer of new concert works for drum set\, having released the album Caustics in 2020 that features premiere recordings of pieces by composers Ian Chang\, Molly Joyce\, Robert Honstein\, Alicia Walter\, Anna Meadors\, Alexis C. Lamb\, and Ted Babcock. \nLizdelise is an experimental pop band based in Philadelphia\, the decade-long project of collaborators and partners\, Lizzy and Mark. They play with otherworldly textures to transport\, and catchy hooks to make you dance 🙂 LDL is the 2024 recipient of the Recording Fund and will be releasing new music / videos in the coming months. Their 2023 release\, I Swore I Heard You Laughing\, was recorded with Andy Stack (Wye Oak\, Helado Negro). Lizdelise’s music centers radical self-acceptance through excavation of memory. They have supported Another Michael and Worriers on recent tours. \nKoof Ibi is a multi-instrumentalist in the Philadelphia area. On any given day you could find him strolling down Broad Street straight into the Kimmel Center with brass bands like The West Philadelphia Orchestra\, or sharing the stage with rock stars like Japanese Breakfast\, or performing in the Philadelphia Museum of Art with poet/musician Moor Mother. Koof effortlessly blends his diverse musical influences into his own distinct style. At his solo shows Koof combines live instruments\, loops\, and effects pedals to create surprising soundscapes\, re-invented covers\, and sonic liberation. \n\n \n\nProlog for a Dream by KooF URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/evan-chapman-reveries/ LOCATION:Kirk Hall – Resurrection Church\, 401 South 42nd Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bowerbird-Main-Img-69.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241004T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241004T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240703T163533Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241007T144323Z UID:10001234-1728072000-1728079200@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Tiziana Bertoncini and Thomas Lehn DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present violin and synthesizer duo Tiziana Bertoncini and Thomas Lehn with opening set by Tom Borax playing microtonal harpsichord. \nThe duo have been collaborating since 2002. The special feature of the duo is the alchemy created by the meeting of the classical and the electronic instrument. The different nature of sound\, the characteristics and histories of violin and analogue synthesizer could recall a friction. Actually\, what happens is a sort of mirror game\, in which the roles of the instruments are continuously exchanged. Bertoncini and Lehn move in an abstract territory\, their approach to sound is contemporary. Nevertheless their consideration to music is quite classical insofar as based principally on tension/release\, rupture\, intensity and expressivity in all its facets. The duo will also be performing at the High Zero Festival in Baltimore. \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nThomas Lehn is a pianist\, analogue synthesizer player and a composer-performer of contemporary music. He has been one of the most innovative and successful musical personalities in the field of electroacoustic music in the practices of improvisation and composition for years. He was trained as a sound engineer and pianist at the music academies in Detmold and Cologne from 1979 to 1987. Rooted in the experiences as an pianist\, he has been developing his unique live electronic music since the early 1990s\, focusing on the use of analog synthesizer systems\, which allow direct access to the elements of electronic sound synthesis. As a synthesizer interpreter – live and on CD studio productions – he has realized works by Éliane Radigue\, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati\, Bogusław Schaeffer and Zbigniew Karkowski\, among others. He was soloist in the world premiere of Peter Jakober’s dort with Klangforum Wien at musikprotokoll festival and in the CD recording of Christopher Fox’s Topophony with the WDR Symphony Orchestra. \nTiziana Bertoncini graduated with a Master in Violin at Siena Conservatory and a Master in Painting at the Fine Arts’ Academy in Carrara. Completed by Studies in Art history\, and specialization masterclasses for chamber music and music didactics.\nAfter being playing in orchestras and chamber music ensembles\, she focused on contemporary music\, written and improvised. Her work is developing from interpretation ad improvisation towards composition and collaboration with artists of other medias. At the same time her interest is focused on the crossing and synthesis between visual elements and music/sound.\nShe has been performing in many international festivals and contexts and has been part of numerous dance\, theatre\, video and multi-media projects\, contributing the musical part of them. Her solo work includes composition\, performance and installation. \nTom Borax aka “Tom Boram” is a Baltimore native\, multimedia artist and musician. His live performances are all improvised\, focusing on intense physical techniques on the modular synthesizer and the harpsichord. His synthesizer work takes on a much more gestural approach than what is usually thought of with the instrument\, going from whisper quiet to explosive dynamics\, comprising sounds ranging from the natural – water\, human digestion\, storms\, animals – to the unnatural: broken radios\, rocket launches\, and fax machines. His harpsichord playing utilizes unique tunings – dissonant mathematical temperaments or Eastern/Asian intonations – and uses the shimmering overtones of the instrument to create synthetic-sounding shards of sound\, fractured melody\, and swarming textures. Borax is a founder of Baltimore’s High Zero Festival and Improvised and Experimental Music\, which is now enjoyings its 26th year. \n\nSupported in part by BMKÖS Austria URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/tatiana-bertinova-and-tom-leonardson/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bowerbird-Main-Img-68.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241002T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241002T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240828T150847Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241003T232854Z UID:10001238-1727899200-1727906400@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Postal Pieces DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is excited to present “Postal Pieces\,” a concert featuring the Arcana New Music Ensemble that draws inspiration from James Tenney’s unorthodox set of compositions. Tenney’s “Postal Pieces\,” composed between 1954 and 1971\, are a series of ten concise works each printed on a postcard. These pieces capture Tenney’s exploration of sound and form\, focusing on minimalist structures\, intonation\, and what he called “Swell” forms—gradual crescendos and decrescendos that create a unique auditory experience. Conceived originally as musical “letters” to friends and collaborators\, such as Pauline Oliveros and La Monte Young\, these works reflect Tenney’s deep connections within the avant-garde music scene and his penchant for inviting listeners into meditative states of listening. \nFor this concert\, the Arcana New Music Ensemble presents a new collection of postcard-sized works commissioned from nine Philadelphia-based composers\, each inspired by the spirit of Tenney’s originals. The program features pieces by David Middleton\, Andrea Clearfield\, Erin Busch\, Natacha Diels\, Sepehr Pirasteh\, James Diaz\, Adam Vidiksis\, Gene Coleman\, and Nick Millevoi. Each composition reflects a dialogue with Tenney’s approach\, exploring the boundaries between notation\, interpretation\, and experience. \nSets of the nine newly commissioned postcard works will be available for purchase at the concert\, with all proceeds benefiting the Arcana New Music Ensemble. \nPROGRAM \nJames Tenney: Swell Piece\nDavid Middleton: All the Alleys Home\nAndrea Clearfield: The Rest Between Two Notes\nErin Busch: wave tones\nNatacha Diels: watermusic\nSepehr Pirasteh: New Norm\nJames Diaz: total internal reflection\nAdam Vidiksis: Orbital Mechanics\nGene Coleman: Rippling Waves\nNick Millevoi: Greetings from the Alligator Farm \nARCANA NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE \nNicholas Handahl\, flute\nAaron Stewart\, saxophone(s)\nTessa Ellis\, trumpet\nJay Krush\, tuba\nErin Busch\, cello\nAndy Thierauf\, percussion \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nFounded in 2016\, the Arcana New Music Ensemble is a group of Philadelphia-based musicians dedicated to presenting interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional music in interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional places. Built on a flexible roster of 25 musicians\, Arcana is able to perform a broad range of repertoire in numerous configurations. Composers featured in recent programs include Julius Eastman\, Sarah Hennies\, Raven Chacon\, Anahita Abbasi\, Morton Feldman\, Galina Ustvolskaya\, Pauline Oliveros\, Tom Johnson\, Moondog\, and James Tenney. Arcana has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art\, Fleisher Art Memorial\, The Rotunda\, The Kitchen (NYC)\, and collaborated with Variant Six\, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra\, Pig Iron Theater Company\, and Wildflower Composers. \nJames Tenney (1934–2006) was an American composer\, theorist\, and performer renowned for his innovative contributions to experimental and electronic music. A student of notable figures such as Carl Ruggles\, Edgard Varèse\, and John Cage\, Tenney was a central figure in the development of post-war avant-garde music. His work often explored concepts of indeterminacy\, microtonality\, just intonation\, and the physics of sound\, integrating mathematical and acoustical theories into his compositions.\nTenney’s diverse output includes works for computer-generated sound\, instrumental ensembles\, and unconventional notations that challenge traditional musical forms. He was also a significant educator\, teaching at the California Institute of the Arts and York University\, influencing a generation of composers with his boundary-pushing ideas. His collaborations and associations with artists such as Steve Reich\, La Monte Young\, and Philip Glass positioned him as a vital connector in the experimental music scene. Tenney’s legacy is marked by his relentless curiosity and his ability to blend rigorous theoretical frameworks with an intuitive approach to sound\, profoundly shaping the landscape of contemporary music. \n\nSupport provided by The Presser Foundation URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/postal-pieces/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bowerbird-Main-Img-75.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240920T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240920T210000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240903T142843Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240923T153121Z UID:10001239-1726858800-1726866000@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:The Musical Offering DESCRIPTION:***Please note this concert is at 7:00pm*** \nBowerbird is pleased to present Filament with flautist Héloïse Degrugillier performing J. S. Bach’s The Musical Offering. In the spring of 1747\, J.S. Bach paid a visit to King Frederick the Great\, where his son Carl Phillip Emmanuel was employed as a court musician. Curious to test Bach’s contrapunctal prowess\, Frederick presented Bach with a subject to improvise two fugues\, first one in three parts\, and then one in six. Declining the second of these tests\, Bach took Frederick’s subject home with him to create one of his most fascinating collections of music\, The Musical Offering. \n  \n\n\nABOUT THE MUSICIANS \nFILAMENT is a chamber ensemble\, formed in 2019\, of Philadelphia-based period-instrument soloists. Comprising a core trio of violin\, viola da gamba\, and keyboards\, its respective founding members are Evan Few\, Elena Kauffman\, and John Walthausen. As a collective\, its mission is to be the bright connective thread—that eponymous filament—linking the world of its audience with that of its repertoire\, illuminating the delightful\, sometimes uncanny familiarity of the emotions and images it evokes. \nFilament is building a reputation as a leading proponent and champion of 17th- and 18th-century chamber music. The Broad Street Review praised Filament for a “fervor and delight that make early music seem current\, and easy\, joyful communication\,” and the Lancaster News noted Filament’s “profound understanding” of its repertoire. Filament’s programs bridge the gap between music from some of history’s most celebrated and familiar composers and music that is completely unknown. Recent concerts have featured unpublished music by anonymous composers\, Filament’s own original transcriptions\, and music by female composers. \nFilament presents concerts in its core formation and in collaboration with other musicians in \nPhiladelphia\, the Delaware Valley\, and across the country. In its hometown\, Filament performs on numerous concert series\, including Main Line Early Music and the PhilaLandmarks Early Music Series\, and in self-presented concerts in a variety of sacred and secular spaces\, including Gloria Dei “Old Swedes” Church and the Fleischer Art Memorial. Regionally\, Filament has been featured on Gotham Early Music Scene’s Midtown Concert Series and Musae (New York\, NY); Early Music at St. James (Lancaster\, PA)\, Market Street Music’s Festival Concerts (Wilmington\, DE)\, Concerts at Locktown Stone Church (Flemington\, NJ)\, and Immanuel Concerts at Immanuel on the Green (New Castle\, DE). Recent performances in South Carolina and Florida have expanded Filament’s reach. Of its 2023 collaboration with vocal ensemble Variant 6\, the Chestnut Hill Local cited a “sterling performance.” Filament was a featured ensemble in Early Music America’s 2021 Emerging Artists Showcase\, and in 2022 was featured on the American Bach Society’s TinyBach series. \nDuring the 2023-2024 season\, marking its fifth anniversary\, Filament made its debut at Penn Live Arts at the University of Pennsylvania with renowned mezzo soprano Meg Bragle and Friends\, presenting seldom-heard music of Salamone Rossi. In February 2024\, Filament traveled to New Orleans to perform 18th-century music from that historic city in partnership with fellow Philadelphia chamber ensemble Variant 6 in a concert presented by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. \nVisit www.filamentbaroque.com to learn more. \nFilament is joined by Héloïse Degrugillier who has worked extensively as both a recorder and traverso performer\, and teacher throughout Europe and the United States. She has performed with leading period ensembles\, including the Boston Camerata\, Boston Early Music Festival\, Piffaro and Tempesta Di Mare. \nHeloise also enjoys an active teaching career. She teaches at Tufts university and Rhode Island College. She is the president and music director of the Boston Recorder Society. She has completed her studies in the Alexander Technique and has a Masters in Music from the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands. URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/the-musical-offering/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bowerbird-Main-Img-76.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240710T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240710T200000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240624T170710Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240715T143448Z UID:10001230-1720634400-1720641600@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Wildflower Composers Festival Faculty Concert DESCRIPTION:The Wildflower Composers Festival and Arcana New Music Ensemble are pleased to announce their annual concert featuring new works by Wildflower faculty. The July 10\, 2024\, performance will take place at 6pm at Rock Hall at Temple University\, 1715 N. Broad Street\, Philadelphia\, PA. The suggested donation is $10–20. \nThe program will feature five compositions by Wildflower faculty composers Melissa Dunphy\, Cerulean Payne-Passmore\, Sepehr Pirasteh\, Cece Olszewski\, and Erin Busch. The performers from Arcana will be Chelsea Meynig (flute)\, Jonathan Leeds (clarinet)\, Angelique Montes (cello)\, Aaron Stewart (saxophone)\, and Melinda Rice (violin). A Q & A with the composers will follow the program. \nPROGRAM\nSepehr Pirasteh: Narrative for solo cello scordatura\nErin Busch: inhabit\, for flute\, clarinet\, and cello\nCece Olszewski: bonedog\, for alto saxophone and tape\nMelissa Dunphy: Scallops and Bollocks for solo violin and pre-recorded tape\nCerulean Payne-Passmore: Duet for flute and live electronics \n  \nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nThe Wildflower Composers Festival is a 12-day program for young female\, transgender\, nonbinary\, and/or genderqueer composers between the ages of 13 and 19. This is the second year that Wildflower Composers and Arcana New Music Ensemble have partnered to highlight faculty works. \n“Our partnership with the Arcana New Music Ensemble allows our students to witness the creative collaboration process between Wildflower faculty and Arcana performers\, and also provides our faculty with an opportunity to showcase their creative work\,” says Wildflower founder and executive director Erin Busch. \nWildflower Composers was founded by Dr. Erin Busch in 2018 as Young Women Composers Camp (YWCC) as a way to address the gender disparity in contemporary classical music. The organization brings together young\, gender-marginalized composers for composition mentorship\, coursework\, and community-building. \nThe Arcana New Music Ensemble is built on a flexible roster of 25 Philadelphia-based musicians dedicated to presenting a broad range of repertoire in numerous configurations. \nFor more information about Wildflower Composers\, visit https://wildflowercomposers.org. \nFor more information about Arcana New Music Ensemble\, visit https://www.arcananewmusic.org/. URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/wildflower-composers-festival-faculty-concert/ LOCATION:Rock Hall Temple University\, Philadelphia\, PA ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Bowerbird-Main-Img-64.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240621T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240621T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240515T154853Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240624T171523Z UID:10001229-1719000000-1719007200@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Screening: John Cage Meets Sun Ra DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present a special screening of John Cage Meets Sun Ra: The Complete Concert at The Rotunda. \nRecorded at Sideshows by the Seashore along the Coney Island boardwalk on June 8th\, 1986 as documented by John Polizzi under the commission of event producers Rick Russo and Bronwyn Rucker. \nFrom Pitchfork: “John Cage Meets Sun Ra: The Complete Concert gradually emerges as something greater than a footnote. That’s not because the pairing results in an ‘avant super duo.’ As it happens\, the two artists tend to trade off soloing\, and only play together audibly at one point during this hour-plus set\, recorded at Coney Island. Yet despite the arms-length embrace\, the overall concert has a surprisingly seamless quality.” \nCo-presented with The Rotunda \n\n URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/screening-john-cage-meets-sun-ra/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Shiraz-Main-Bowerbird-Main-Img-2.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240612T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240612T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20231103T160403Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240613T203552Z UID:10001209-1718222400-1718229600@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Dynasty Battles DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present pianist Dynasty Battles at University Lutheran Church. \nPROGRAM \n\nFranz Schubert: 4 Impromptus\, Op. 90\, D. 899 with Improvised Interludes in-between loosely based on its themes. \nFranz Schubert: Allegro molto moderato in C minor\, No.1\nDynasty Battles: Improvised Interlude\nFranz Schubert: Allegro in E-flat major\, No. 2\nDynasty Battles: Improvised Interlude\nFranz Schubert: Andante in G-flat major\, No.3\nDynasty Battles: Improvised Interlude\nFranz Schubert: Allegretto in A-flat major\, No.4 \nJohannes Brahms: Rhapsody\, Op. 79\, No.2 (Part 1)\nPaul Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis: XI. Interludium (Part 2)\nJohannes Brahms: Ballade\, Op. 118\, No.2 (Part 3)\nAlexander Scriabin: Piano Sonata\, Op. 30\, No.4 \n\nABOUT THE ARTIST \nDynasty Battles\, the recipient of the 2021 Career Advancement Award by the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia\, has been featured with soprano Marietta Simpson in The Philadelphia Inquirer\, and on music critic David Patrick Stearns’ radio program “Creatively Speaking” on Philadelphia’s WRTI (90.1FM). \nA highlight include a composition Battles debuted by multiple Grammy nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist Ted Hearne\, composed for Dynasty himself\, which was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Recent engagements comprise of hall debuts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in a concert curated by John Adams\, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall as a featured artist in the International Music Foundation’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts\, and the Benjamin Franklin Hall with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Additionally\, he made his international debut at the Barbican Centre in London while in residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. \nCareer highlights include an invitation to perform George Walker’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in a private engagement at the distinguished composer’s home. In a project profiled by The New York Times\, he also performed in Bowerbird Philly’s ongoing series highlighting the works of Julius Eastman. \nBattles studies with concert pianist Leon Bates and Eve Wolf\, pianist\, and Executive Artistic Director of Ensemble for the Romantic Century. He also studied counterpoint and harmony and analysis with Jonathan Coopersmith\, Chair of Musical Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. A native of Philadelphia\, Dynasty received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance\, cum laude from Temple University\, under the instruction of Harvey Wedeen as a recipient of the Esther Boyer College Scholarship. \nmore at www.dynastybattles.com \nPhoto: Helena Raju \n  \n\n URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/dynasty-battles/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Bowerbird-Main-Img-51.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240520T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240520T200000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240206T203301Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240529T142310Z UID:10001224-1716235200-1716235200@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Claire Rousay DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present LA-based musician and artist claire rousay at The Rotunda with opening set by Apologist. claire rousay\, known for challenging conventions in experimental and ambient music forms\, recently released a new album in early 2024. A meditation on loneliness\, her new album is her most audacious work yet\, synthesizing disparate and unexpected influences from throughout rousay’s long and varied career as a performer. \nPhoto: Zoe Donahoe \nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nclaire rousay is a singular artist\, known for challenging conventions in experimental and ambient music forms. rousay masterfully incorporates textural found sounds\, sumptuous drones and candid field recordings into music that celebrates the beauty in life’s banalities. Her music is curatorial and granular in detail\, deftly shaped into emotionally affecting pieces. sentiment is a meditation of the poignant emotional terrains of loneliness\, nostalgia\, sentimentality\, guilt\, and sex. The album’s narrative arc is guided by delicate musical gestures and artistic vulnerability\, audaciously synthesizing disparate and unexpected influences. rousay crafted the songs in various homes\, bedrooms\, hotels\, and other private places\, the feeling of time and energy spent alone radiating from each passage. The album is a collection of heart-rending\, incisive pop songs that explore universal feelings with subtlety and remarkable vision. \nRose Actor-Engel is a Philadelphia based musician and composer. She uses synthesizer\, tape and field recordings to create ambient and experimental music\, implementing specific rules and protocols to determine structure. She has been recording/performing as Apologist since 2018. URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/claire-rousay/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bowerbird-Main-Img-61.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240518T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240518T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20230913T150957Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240520T154824Z UID:10001205-1716062400-1716069600@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Un bel sol DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present vocal ensemble Variant 6 performing an acapella program that explores the timeless theme of the natural world and its influence on the human condition. In a stunning presentation of music spanning over 1\,000 years – from Medieval composers like Hildegard Von Bingen and Claude le Jeune all the way through music of today by Edie Hill\, Edith Canat de Chizy\, and Pelle Gudmunsen-Holmgreen – this program will showcase the wide range of composer’s reflections of the world we inhabit. \nPROGRAM \nO Viridissima Virga\nHildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179) \nGreen (to the greenwood we must go\, alas)\nPelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (1932-2016) \nLe Chant des Oiseaux\nClément Janequin (1485-1558) \nSweet Suffolk Owl\nThomas Vautor (1592 – 1619) \nIl Bianco e Dolce Cigno\nJacques Arcadelt (1505 – 1568): \nIl Mio Più Vago Sole \nSulpitia Cesis (1577 – 1619) \nO Radiant Dawn\nJames MacMillan (1959-) \nAlma Beata et Bella\nEdie Hill (1962-) \nSolhyme – Movements II & III\nVagn Holmboe (1909 – 1996) \nOctonaires de la Vanité et Inconstance du Monde (excerpts)\nQuand la terre au Printemps\nLa glace est luisante et belle\nLors que la fueille va mourant\nVois tu l’Hyver accroupi\nCe luy qui pense pourvoir\nCe Monde est un pelerinage\nRevecy Venir du Printemps\nClaude Le Jeune (1528 -1600) \nTEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS \n  \nVARIANT 6 \nRebecca Myers – soprano\nJessica Beebe – soprano\nTim Parsons – counter-tenor\nNick Karageorgiou – tenor\nSteven Eddy – baritone\nDan Schwartz – bass \n  \nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nLauded as having a “honey-colored tone” and “the most radiant solo singing” (Opera News)\, soprano Jessica Beebe is an affecting interpreter of repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary American opera. As a sought-after concert soloist\, Ms. Beebe has performed as a soloist with several major orchestras and ensembles across the world including The New York Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall\, The English Concert at the Barbican Theatre and Carnegie Hall\, The Los Angeles Philharmonic\, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra\, The Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra\, The Folger Consort\, Utah Symphony\, Omaha Symphony\, Baltimore Symphony\, Lancaster Symphony\, The Washington Bach Consort\, Piffaro\, Gamut Bach Ensemble\, Bach Choir of Bethlehem\, Philadelphia Bach Collegium\, Lyric Fest and more. Some of Beebe’s solo operatic highlights include premiering multiple operas by Jennifer Higdon\, Lembit Beecher and David Hertzberg with Opera Philadelphia\, Bergen National Opera in Norway\, and a Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in Meredith Monk’s opera\, Atlas. Ms. Beebe is a member of Variant 6\, The Crossing\, Seraphic Fire\, Clarion\, Lorelei\, Trio Eos\, The Thirteen\, and is on several GRAMMY-nominated albums with The Crossing and Clarion Ensemble. Most recently\, Ms. Beebe was placed as a finalist in the New York Oratorio Society competition. Ms. Beebe is a graduate of The University of Delaware and Indiana University. Ms. Beebe has been a voice faculty member at Franklin and Marshall College since 2015.  \nAn accomplished concert artist and Baroque music specialist\, baritone Steven Eddy has garnered praise as a soloist and professional choral singer with such ensembles as The New York Philharmonic\, The Oratorio Society of New York\, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra\, Seraphic Fire\, True Concord Voices and Orchestra\, Spire Chamber Ensemble\, Clarion Music Society\, American Classical Orchestra\, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space\, Choral Arts Philadelphia\, Handel Choir of Baltimore\, and Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity. \nUpcoming projects in the 2023-2024 season include Considering Matthew Shepard with Spire Chamber Ensemble\, the premiere of Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg’s Any of Those Decembers in conjunction with LyricFest\, Bach’s Mass in B Minor with American Classical Orchestra and The Thirteen\, and concert projects with Seraphic Fire\, Variant 6\, and Choral Arts Philadelphia. \nTenor Nick Karageorgiou has established himself as a formidable chamber musician and soloist. A resident of Brooklyn\, Nick is a member of the Trinity Wall Street Chorus\, performing a wide array of choral repertoire\, from baroque gems\, to new commissions. Last fall\, Nick sang the reimagined role of Narrator in Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard. \nHe can also be heard singing in ensembles like Seraphic Fire\, TENET\, and Clarion Music Society. Previous engagements have also included ensembles such as Pegasus Early Music Society\, True Concord\, The Crossing\, Spire\, The Thirteen\, and The Rose Ensemble. \nOutside of a busy performance season\, Nick is frequently seen with needles and yarn\, biking through the park\, or going on a hike. Nick is excited to join Variant Six for their ‘23-‘24 season! \nPhiladelphia based artist Rebecca Myers is a soloist\, vocal chamber singer\, collaborator\, recording artist\, and creator in high demand. Rebecca has gained a reputation for her “timbral clarity and flawless pitch”\, “nimble coloratura” and “vulnerability and grace”. She has appeared on three GRAMMY winning albums\, most notably as a soloist on The Crossing’s Born\, winner of the 2023 GRAMMY for Best Choral performance. Last season she made her New World Symphony Debut under the baton of Patrick Dupre Quigley in 2023 as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana. This past summer she performed at the esteemed Institute de France in Paris for the European premiere of Philip Lasser’s A Mask in the Mirror with Verità Baroque. \nHer 2023/2024 season includes the world premiere of David T. Little’s SIN-EATER with The Crossing\, the world premiere of Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg’s Any of Those Decembers with Lyric Fest\, the role of Vagaus in Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans with Tempesta di Mare\, several solo and ensemble engagements with Seraphic Fire\, and an appearance as the the soprano solo in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion at the annual CalPoly Bach week. Rebecca is thrilled to be taking on this new role as Artistic Director of Variant 6. \nTimothy Parsons is an acclaimed and GRAMMY®-nominated countertenor & choral conductor. \nHe has traveled and performed extensively – as an ensemble & consort singer\, and as soloist – in such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall\, Metropolitan Museum of Art\, and Alice Tully Hall\, London’s St John’s Smith Square\, Montreal’s Salle Bourgie\, and Utrecht’s Tivoli Vredenburg. Timothy has performed with many of North America’s top early music ensembles\, including TENET Vocal Artists (for whom he has also served as programming consultant) and Apollo’s Fire\, and has twice toured with the English Concert performing Handel oratorios. He has had the great privilege of premiering two Pulitzer-prize winning operas\, Ellen Reid’s p r i s m\, for LA Opera and the Prototype Festival\, and Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone\, for the Prototype Festival. He is a former Lay Clerk of Christ Church Cathedral\, Oxford\, and a longtime member of two GRAMMY®-nominated New York ensembles\, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Clarion Choir. Timothy can be heard on numerous recordings\, including the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom and the GRAMMY®-nominated Vespers by Benedict Sheehan\, recordings of p r i s m and Angel’s Bone\, and numerous recordings with the Clarion Choir and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. Highlights of the ’23/’24 season include a marathon concert of Ockeghem at the Metropolitan Museum’s Cloisters\, festival appearances in Norway and Germany with Ekmeles\, and debut appearances with Blue Heron and Variant Six. He is an avid hiker\, meditator\, and vegan. He is the co-artistic director of Ampersand\, a vocal chamber music ensemble and resides in Vermont. \nA Philadelphia native\, Daniel Schwartz received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Temple University where he studied voice with retired Metropolitan Opera baritone Daivid Arnold.  Upon his graduation in 2011\, Daniel was honored with the Elaine Brown Award for musicianship\, dedication to excellence\, and humanitarianism. \nAfter graduating\, Daniel won the position of Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Voices of Pride\, Philadelphia’s LGBT mixed voice chorus. From 2014-2017 Daniel sang with the Opera Philadelphia chorus where he performed a number of roles such as The Foreman in the east coast premiere of Oscar.  Daniel also sings with The Crossing and has performed on three of their Grammy winning albums.  In 2014 he traveled to California to perform Louis Andriessen’s De Materie with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and seven other singers from The Crossing\, who also made their Carnegie Hall debut that year.  In 2018 he made his debut as a soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra for Pat Metheny and the American Beat.  Most recently\, he has performed with The Crossing alongside the New York Philharmonic. Daniel also teaches voice at Haverford College. \nVariant 6 explores the expressive potential of the human voice through vocal chamber music that is at once virtuosic\, poignant\, and approachable. Composed of artists with a diverse set of skills and a wide range of expertise\, we seek out repertoire that embodies this potential. We collaborate with artists of many disciplines\, creating refreshing interpretations of music of the past and innovative premieres of new works. Our concerts are unique and intimate musical experiences that foster deep conversation between artists and audience. \nVariant 6 shares our unique take on vocal chamber music with people all over the city of Philadelphia. Our approachable and collaborative projects create an environment where audiences of different backgrounds will feel inspired to attend our events\, respond to our music\, and get to know us as individuals.  \nVariant 6’s artists have performed with internationally recognized ensembles and orchestras including The Crossing\, Lorelei\, Seraphic Fire\, Roomful of Teeth\, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale\, Apollo’s Fire\, Chicago Bach Project\, Piffaro\, Tempesta di Mare\, TENET Vocal Artists\, the Philadelphia Orchestra\, Opera Philadelphia\, The New World Symphony\, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra\, The Aspen Festival Orchestra\, Opera Philadelphia\, American Bach Soloists\, The Philadelphia Orchestra\, Lyric Fest\, and more.  \n\n\n  URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/un-bel-sol/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bowerbird-Main-Img-44.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240517T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240517T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20231127T230027Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240518T140832Z UID:10001213-1715976000-1715983200@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Music of Moondog DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present the Music of Moondog performed by the Arcana New Music Ensemble. \nLouis Thomas Hardin\, Jr.\, better known as Moondog\, is one of the most famous and influential outsider musicians of the twentieth century. Born in Kansas to a devoutly religious family\, Hardin was blinded at age 16 when he dug up a live dynamite cap. For 30 years\, from the early 1940s to the early 1970s\, he lived in New York City\, where he became a well-known street performer known\, thanks to his Nordic garb\, as “the Viking of Sixth Avenue.” During this time he recorded several albums and won the respect of many important musicians\, including Leonard Bernstein\, Charlie Parker (for whom he wrote the piece “Bird’s Lament”)\, and Philip Glass (with whom he briefly shared an apartment). From 1974 until his death in 1999\, Moondog lived primarily in Germany\, where he enjoyed the most stable and productive creative period of his life. Celebrated for his diverse body of work that combines– among other influences– the rhythmic energy of jazz\, the ritualistic intensity of Native American tribal music\, and classical principles of counterpoint\, Moondog’s music is at once uncategorizable and instantly identifiable. \n\nPROGRAM \nTheme\nBird’s Lament\nWitch of Endor\nSpruchweisheiten\nSandalwood\nMother’s Whistler\nChaconne in G Major\nElf Dance\nDog Trot\nPastorale in C \nand others \nENSEMBLE \nAaron Stewart – saxophones\nTessa Ellis – trumpet\nCarlos Santiago – violin\nThomas Kraines – cello\nAndy Thierauf – percussion \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nFounded in 2016\, the Arcana New Music Ensemble is a group of Philadelphia-based musicians dedicated to presenting interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional music in interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional places. Built on a flexible roster of 25 musicians\, Arcana is able to perform a broad range of repertoire in numerous configurations. Composers featured in recent programs include Julius Eastman\, Morton Feldman\, Galina Ustvolskaya\, Pauline Oliveros\, Tom Johnson\, Moondog\, and James Tenney. Arcana has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art\, Fleisher Art Memorial\, The Rotunda\, The Kitchen (NYC)\, and collaborated with Variant Six\, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra\, and Pig Iron Theater Company. \n  URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/music-of-moondog/ LOCATION:The Rotunda\, 4014 Walnut St\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Bowerbird-Main-Img-55.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240426T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240426T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20231213T162741Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240429T161544Z UID:10001214-1714161600-1714168800@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Ghost Ensemble DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present Ghost Ensemble performing works by Catherine Lamb and Ben Richter.  Based in New York the ensemble fosters groundbreaking music that blurs borders of genre\, style\, and scene\, expanding perceptual horizons through shared immersive experience. \nBen Richter’s Rewild\, inspired by nonhuman perspectives and distant orders of magnitude in the universe of life\, explores the thresholds at which pitch becomes rhythm\, harmonic interval becomes beating rate\, and timbres morph over time. By offering an aural metaphor for the interacting gradual processes of quantum and cosmic systems\, Rewild’s pulsing\, breathing sonic ecosystem aims to auralize the vast and infinitesimal timescales we do not experience in everyday life. Catherine Lamb’s interius/exterius explores multi-dimensional harmonic space\, investigating how collective intentions or focal points allow various and sometimes unusual pathways to emerge. As the group links together in phase\, the greater web of activity aligns intention and desire within a community of musicians sounding together\, the initiation of sound constantly shifting\, unfolding new sonic dimensions. \nPROGRAM \nBen Richter: Rewild \nCatherine Lamb: interius/exterius \nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nGhost Ensemble fosters groundbreaking music that blurs borders of genre\, style\, and scene\, expanding perceptual horizons through shared immersive experience. Collaboration with living composers is its primary focus. Since its 2012 inception\, the ensemble has performed over 100 works and commissioned 34 new compositions by a diverse range of highly original composers who share a belief in music’s potential for individual and community transformation. Rethinking the norms of composer/performer collaboration\, Ghost Ensemble conducts innovative workshops to nurture adventurous new music over the course of multiple seasons. The resulting work often draws from contemporary classical\, experimental chamber music\, avant-garde jazz\, environmental sound art\, and territories in between. Critics have praised Ghost Ensemble performances as “prodigious … a thrilling listen” (Christian Carey\, Sequenza21)\, “wonderful work … both exhilarating and a bit scary” (Peter Margasak\, Bandcamp Daily)\, “beautifully performed and recorded … a body-felt sound mass … a multifaceted texture that evokes the primeval” (Meg Wilhoite\, Sound Meets Sound)\, and “cloudy\, mysterious\, and dark … Beckettian in its slow spread … certainly a group to keep an eye on” (Brian Olewnick\, Just Outside).\nwww.ghostensemble.org \nBen Richter is a composer\, accordionist\, and founding Artistic & Executive Director of Ghost Ensemble. Inspired by nonhuman consciousness\, Ben’s immersive\, gradually evolving compositions seek new orders of magnitude in musical parameters to mark humanity’s transient yet vital role within the immensity of geologic time. A student of Pauline Oliveros\, Ben also explores the extended microtonal and timbral potential of the accordion in solo works such as Panthalassa: Dream Music of the Once and Future Ocean\, hailed as “likely to offer a profound impact on the very nature of listening” (Stephen Smoliar\, The Rehearsal Studio).\nwww.benrichtermusic.com \nCatherine Lamb is an active composer exploring the interaction of tone\, summations of shapes and shadows\, phenomenological expansions\, the architecture of the liminal\, and the long introduction form. She began her musical life early\, later abandoning the conservatory in 2003 to study Hindustani music in Pune\, India. She received her BFA in 2006 under James Tenney and Michael Pisaro at CalArts in Los Angeles\, where she first developed her research into the interaction of tone. She mentored under the experimental filmmaker/Dhrupad musician Mani Kaul until his death in 2011. In 2012 she received her MFA in music/sound from the Milton Avery School of Fine Arts at Bard College in New York. She toured Shade/Gradient extensively and was awarded the Henry Cowell Research Fellowship to work with Eliane Radigue in Paris. In 2013 Lamb relocated to Berlin\, Germany where she lives currently\, and has written for ensembles such as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra\, Konzert Minimal\, Dedalus\, Ensemble neoN\, the London Contemporary Orchestra\, as well as the JACK Quartet\, while collaborating regularly with Marc Sabat\, Johnny Chang (Viola Torros)\, Bryan Eubanks\, and Rebecca Lane. In 2019 she co-founded the collectively oriented Harmonic Space Orchestra. She is a 2020 recipient of the Ernst von Siemens Composer’s prize\, a 2018 recipient of the Grants to Artists award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts\, a Staubach Fellow for the 2016 Darmstadt Summer course\, and a 2016-2017 Schloss Solitude Fellow. \nGhost Ensemble’s concerts with premieres by Catherine Lamb\, Sky Macklay\, and Miya Masaoka are presented\nwith the friendly support of URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/ghost-ensemble/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bowerbird-Main-Img-56.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240417T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240417T210000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240401T144939Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240421T175449Z UID:10001228-1713380400-1713387600@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Opening Day: Baseball in Experimental Film and Video DESCRIPTION:”It’s a paradise of balls and bats” — George Kuchar \n  \nWhat does baseball mean to the experimental filmmaker? In the great taxonomy of American archetypes\, the jocks and the artists don’t tend to sit together at the same proverbial table. So it’s unsurprising that although baseball was the most popular American sport from the days of early cinema through at least the Vietnam War and an unquestionable symbol of Americanism\, film outside of the mainstream paid little attention to the sport. But it was only a matter of time until filmmakers would begin mining baseball and its iconography to tackle subjects that have always been near and dear to the American avant-garde: nationalism\, nostalgia\, masculinity\, identity\, and celebrity. \nIn honor of the beginning of the baseball season\, Opening Day presents five very different films and videos which use baseball as raw material. Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Brady Lewis playfully works with his town’s obsession with the Pirates and much more in a dense collage of references. Robert Breer\, one of the legends of hand drawn animation\, incorporated his youthful love of baseball into Bang!\, a kaleidoscopic hybrid of drawings\, animation\, film\, and video. In Breer’s hands baseball takes a role as a symbol of nostalgia and American boyhood. Sharon Couzin similarly uses baseball as a marker of nostalgia and boyhood but to very different effects. Cousin’s OdilonOdilon looks back at the swirl of cultural and political forces surrounding young Odilon coming of age in World War II. Vanalyne Green’s A Spy in the House that Ruth Built is a quintessential work of 1980s feminist video art\, deconstructing the male-dominated sport and desire for their bodies with a confessional edge. With Joe Dimaggio 1\, 2\, 3\, Anne McGuire takes the obsession with the icons Green intellectualizes and turns it pure Id as she stalks and sings to the elderly Hall of Famer around San Francisco. Without any knowledge that McGuire is following him and McGuire’s performative total lack of self-awareness\, Joe Dimaggio 1\, 2\, 3 is the missing link between the earlier generation of videography and the current “weirdo” strain of YouTube and Vine video art. \nCo-presented with Nightletter. \n\nPROGRAM\nBang! / Robert Breer / 1986 / 10 min / 16mm\nOdilonOdilon / Sharon Couzin / 1984 / 21 min / 16mm\nQuick Opener / Brady Lewis / 1987 / 5 min / 16mm\nA Spy in the House that Ruth Built / Vanalyne Green / 1990 / 29 min / Digital\nJoe Dimaggio 1\, 2\, 3 / Anne McGuire / 1991 / 11 min / Digital URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/opening-day/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Shiraz-Main-Bowerbird-Main-Img-1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240410T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240410T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240117T154612Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240415T141134Z UID:10001220-1712779200-1712786400@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Bennardo-Larson Duo DESCRIPTION:Bowerbird is pleased to present the Bennardo-Larson Duo – violin and piano – at UniLu performing works by Anthony Vine and Maya Bennardo. \n\nPROGRAM \nAnthony Vine: Worshipful Company \nMaya Bennardo: dormant gardens \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nMaya Bennardo (she/her) is an active performer and composer living in Stockholm\, Sweden. Maya is interested in opening the dialogue and blurring the boundaries between composers and performers\, and is devoted to performing music of the present. She is a founding member of the violin/viola duo andPlay\, described by I Care If You Listen as “enthusiastic champions for new music and collaboration.” She is a member of the internationally acclaimed Mivos Quartet and also performs new and traditional repertoire for violin and piano with pianist Karl Larson in their Bennardo/Larson Duo. Maya’s compositions are characterized by slow\, unfolding timbral movements–exploring the co-existence of pitch and noise. Her compositions have grown naturally out of her improvisational practice on the violin\, and the two continue to inform each other. This season Maya is composing new works for NoExit + andPlay\, Lamnth\, Alkemie + Amanda Gookin\, Bennardo/Larson Duo\, and a new long-form piece for solo violin. \nKarl Larson is a Brooklyn-based pianist and specialist in the music of our time. A devoted supporter of contemporary composers and their craft\, Larson has built a career grounded in commissioning and long-term collaborations. He frequently performs in a variety of chamber music settings\, most notably with his trio\, Bearthoven\, a piano / bass / percussion ensemble focussed on cultivating a diverse new repertoire for their instrumentation. As a soloist\, Larson is known for championing the works of his peers and the recent canon alike\, often gravitating towards long-form\, reflective works of the 20th and 21st centuries. Through his work with Bearthoven\, collaborations with a wide variety of chamber musicians\, and his solo projects\, Larson has helped to generate a large body of new work\, resulting in world premiere performances of pieces by notable composers including David Lang\, Sarah Hennies\, Chris Cerrone\, and Michael Gordon. \nAnthony Vine is a composer and guitarist living in Brooklyn. He creates music about spirituality\, beauty\, and acoustics. His work across different media—performance\, installation\, and sound sculpture—is minimal yet acoustically rich and deeply emotive. Currently his imagination is most at ease with medieval liturgical and devotional music. His recent work has been inspired by medieval motets\, church acoustics\, the sound of prayer\, and how medieval notation communicates to the eye and ear. These projects range from hagiographic concertos to archaeoacoustic research. His music has been presented by Blank Forms\, Carnegie Hall\, Gaudeamus Muziekweek\, Lévy Gorvy\, The Metropolitan Museum of Art\, Musiikin Aika\, Pioneer Works\, Transit Festival\, and Ultima Festival\, and performed by Alarm Will Sound\, AndPlay\, Quatuor Bozzini\, Bearthoven\, Dudok Kwartet\, Gareth Davis\, Duo Axis\, Madison Greenstone\, Hotel Elefant\, Mari Kawamura\, The La Jolla Symphony and Chorus\, David Lackner\, Will Lang\, Karl Larson\, loadbang\, longleash\, The Minnesota Orchestra\, Ensemble Modelo62\, Palimpsest\, The Rhythm Method\, Steven Schick\, Trio SurPlus\, and Yarn/Wire. Recordings of his music have been released on Cantaloupe\, Galtta Media\, and Yarn/Wire’s imprint. \n\n URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/bennardo-larson-duo/ LOCATION:University Lutheran\, 3637 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bowerbird-Main-Img-59.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240330T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240330T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240108T165707Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240401T145018Z UID:10001217-1711814400-1711836000@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Shiraz Panorama DESCRIPTION:TICKET PRE-SALES HAVE ENDED. TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR. \nThe Shiraz Arts Festival was a platform for cultural exchange that brought together artists from around the world to share and celebrate their diverse artistic expressions. One notable event from the festival was the “Stockhausen Panorama” in 1972\, which celebrated the work of the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen through a series of multiple concerts. Our “Shiraz Panorama” celebrates that legacy through the rich lens of Philadelphia’s vibrant performing arts community. Mina Zarfsaz & Eugene Lew will present a new work inspired by the Persian poem “The Conference of the Birds\,” followed by a gallery tour with curator Vali Mahlouji. Traditional Indian classical Bharatanatyam dance will be performed by USILOQUY DANCE\, and the evening will include a cultural debate with special guests. Jupiter Blue\, featuring members of Sun Ra Arkestra\, will captivate with guitar and vocals\, leading to traditional Balinese music and dance by Gamelan Gita Santi x Modero & Company\, and a striking performance of Luciano Berio’s “Sequenza III per voce” (1965) by Alize Rozsnyai. Experimental percussion by Shakoor Hakeem & Pete Angevine\, Toshi Makihara’s unique fusion of percussion and dance\, and traditional Korean percussion by Uriol우리얼 will round out this vibrant celebration of world arts. \nThis event runs from 4pm to 10pm\, and the exhibition will be open this day from 2pm to 10pm.   \n\nSCHEDULE\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\nTIME\nTHEATER\nGALLERIES\n\n\n4:00 PM\n7 VALLEYS: REWIND/REWILD\nMina Zarfsaz & Eugene Lew perform a new work inspired by the Persian poem “The Conference of the Birds”\n\n\n\n\n\nGALLERY TOUR\nwith “A Utopian Stage” curator Vali Mahlouji\n\n\n5:00 PM\nUSILOQUY DANCE\ntraditional Indian classical Bharatanatyam dance\n\n\n\n\n\nA CULTURAL ATLAS DEBATE\nwith Vali Mahlouji and Peter Crimmins\n\n\n6:00 PM\nJUPITER BLUE\nguitar and vocals from members of Sun Ra Arkestra\n\n\n\n\n\nBREAK\n\n\n7:00 PM\nGAMELAN GITA SANTI x MODERO & COMPANY\ntraditional Balinese music and dance\n\n\n\n\n\nALIZE ROZSNYAI\nperforming Luciano Berio “Sequenza III per voce” (1965)\n\n\n8:00 PM\nUNIVERSAL RHYTHM\nExperimental rhythm & drone with percussion & electronics – Pete Angevine and Shakoor Hakeem\, percussion\, Chris Powell  and Manna Pourrezaei\, drones\n\n\n\n\n\nTOSHI MAKIHARA\nsolo drum improvisation\n\n\n9:00 PM\nURIOL우리얼\ntraditional Korean percussion ensemble\n\n\n\n\n\nADDITIONAL INFORMATION: \nEach performance will be approximately 30mins.  All start times are approximate and subject to change. Only one act will be performing at a time. \nPerformances will take place in the Theater and Galleries and audiences will be asked to move to different spaces through out the event. \nA single general admission ticket is good for one individual for the whole day.  Audiences may arrive or depart at any time they wish.  Re-entry (with provided wristband) will be permitted. \n  \n\nThis event is part of A UTOPIAN STAGE\, an exhibition at Asian Arts Initiative from February 9 to March 30\, 2024. \nPictured above: Mantra\, for two Pianos\, Karlheinz Stockhausen (composer)\, Alfons Kontarsky\, Aloys Kontarsky (pianists) – Saray-e Moshir\, 1972; Courtesy Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik / Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS\n  \n\n\n\n \n\n\n7 Valleys: REWIND/REWILD\nInspired by the Seven Valleys of Attar of Nishapur’s “Conference of the Birds\,” a renowned Persian literary masterpiece\, and the conservation concept of “Rewilding\,” this collaborative performance by Mina Zarfsaz & Eugene Lew synthesizes a multi-sensory space that revolves around the semiotics of social interactions among multi-species.\n\n\n\nUSILOQUY\nUsiloquy Dance Designs creates traditional and contemporary cross-cultural works rooted in the technique of Indian classical dance style Bharatanatyam. Founded in 2008 by Artistic Director Shaily Dadiala\, Philadelphia-based Usiloquy applies Bharatanatyam embracing new modalities of an ancient arts form.\nDancers: Aney Abraham\, Ankita Reddy\, Asavari Scarff\, Meghna Gummadi\, Shaily Dadiala.\n\n\n\nJupiter Blue\nFrom the Sun Ra Arkestra’s engine room\, Jupiter Blue’s tone scientists DM Hotep and Jupiter Girl (Tara Middleton) emerge to reveal elements and precepts of another kind of language\, another tomorrow. Their collaboration is interstellar and unique\, granting passage through spacious\, jazz textured sonorties informed by Ra’s ever necessary mission of saving the world.\n\n\n\nGamelan Gita Santi x Modero & Company\nGamelan Gita Santi is a community-based music ensemble and class led by Gapura\, the Indonesian community non-profit. The group offers free weekly classes for the Indonesian community in South Philadelphia\, catering to individuals aged 6 years and older. Tom Whitman of Swarthmore College leads the group\, which also collaborates with Modero & Company\, a dance company founded by Sinta Penyami Storms. Gita Santi hosts spring and fall concerts for the public and performs at the annual Indonesian Festival\, The Island Country.\n\n\n\nAlize Francheska Rozsnyai\nAlize Francheska Rozsnyai coloratura soprano and graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music “displaying profound imagination and control” (Philadelphia Inquirer)\, building a diverse and exciting performance career as a classical soprano with a “superb voice” (Harrogate News) which is “sparkling” (ArtBlog)\, all while serving up “deliciously diva performances” (I CARE IF YOU LISTEN). This season she appears with St. Petersburg Opera as an Emerging Artist and cover for Morgana in Handel’s Alcina\, is part of the development as Five Ways to Die with Experiments in Opera NYC\, and makes her role debut as Frasquita in Carmen with Boheme Opera NJ. Ms. Rozsnyai has performed with Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro\, Den Nye Opera in Bergen\, Norway\, Opera Philadelphia\, San Diego Opera\, Chautauqua Opera\, Seattle Symphony [Untitled 3] Series\, Carnegie Hall\, The Kennedy Center\, Opera Fayetteville\, Center for Contemporary Opera\, The Cape Cod Symphony\, and favorite role credits include Adina (l’elisir d’amore)\, Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare)\, Hilda (Elegy for Young Lovers-Henze)\, and Ilia (Idomeneo).\n\n\n\nUniversal Rhythm\nUniversal Rhythm is the catchall title for the always-in-flux musical expression of brothers in percussion\, Shakoor Hakeem and Pete Angevine.\nFearless percussionist Shakoor Hakeem\, a prolific up-and-coming talent\, has a gift for making experimental\, Afro-diasporan\, rhythmic improvisational music immediately enjoyable. Hakeem’s unique old soul has him adhering to the cultural traditions of mysticism and folklore\, within which are contained the secrets of his elders. The mythical experience of his stage presence evokes feelings that you are witness to a ceremonial gathering\, of an ancient rhythmic history. In building this\, he has long supported many of the most forward-thinking legendary improvisers\, including Graham Haynes\, Immanual Wilkins\, Joel Ross\, Adam Rudolph\, Bobby Zankel and Wallace Roney. Performing live with these great artists\, he refrains from overplaying and prefers minimalism\, playing with the musical and compositional contexts of colors and texture\, delivering limited solos\, all while occupying the eye of the hurricane.Pete Angevine works independently as a creative producer with a constellation of individuals and organizations in fields such as life sciences\, farmer cooperatives\, public art\, and experimental music.He has helped to develop and create many creative projects including musical albums\, experimental theater\, Ice Cream dreams\, public history themed augmented reality apps\, art exhibitions\, a Wide Range of Popular and Avant Garde Musics\, free food for the people\, murals\, watershed science infused walking tours\, two beloved children\, interactive sound sculptures\, historically interpretive artist-designed miniature golf holes\, psychedelic ceremonies\, gongs\, and more.\n\n\n\nToshi Makihara\nToshi Makihara’s performance utilizes traditional percussion with a variety of discovered sound media\, everyday objects and toys. Through a rigorous\, systematic\, and practiced process of experimentation\, Makihara seeks out sounds that have never been heard before\, experimenting with touch\, force\, and speed\, and always remaining aware of sound’s relationship to the body. Makihara studied drums and percussion with Sabu Toyozumi\, a renowned improvising percussionist in Tokyo. He has also studied butoh with dance master Kazuo Ohno and others.\n\n\n\nURIOL우리얼\nFounded in 2018\, URIOL(우리얼) is a traditional Korean percussion ensemble based in Philadelphia. URIOL began as a Samulnori group and continues to explore and create new music for traditional percussion instruments. Hyunjin Cha\, artistic director of URIOL\, has been a performer and director of programming & operations for Dulsori\, a world-renowned Korean world music ensemble that has appeared in over 54 countries and prestigious festivals such as WOMAD\, Edinburgh Fringe Festival\, and Roskilde Rock Festival. URIOL’s music is for anyone and everyone\, based on the traditional Korean performance of ‘Pungmul’\, ‘Minyo’\, and ‘Chukjae’. During the performance\, we play and dance to wish for our happiness and hopes to be fulfilled. As you become one with the performers\, enjoying and applauding\, you will feel a magical sensation.\n\n\n\nPeter Crimmins\nPeter Crimmins has been reporting on arts and culture for WHYY News since 2010\, reporting stories on a wide variety of cultural topics\, from artist profiles to community initiatives to philanthropic funding trends. He started his career in the San Francisco Bay Area\, cutting his teeth at community station KALX and producing syndicated radio programming for Ben Manilla Productions. He lives in Fishtown with his wife and dogs.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMajor support for A Utopian Stage has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage with additional support from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.. Presented in collaboration with Asian Arts Initiative and Fire Museum Presents URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/shiraz-panorama-a-utopian-stage/ LOCATION:Asian Arts Initiative\, 1219 Vine Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19107\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bowerbird-A-Utopian-Stage-PANORAMA-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240329T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240329T220000 DTSTAMP:20260627T044753 CREATED:20240108T164524Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240517T202451Z UID:10001216-1711742400-1711749600@www.bowerbird.org SUMMARY:Contemporary Persian Poetry and Music DESCRIPTION:Composer/performers Mahya Hamedi and Sepehr Pirasteh unite their talents with the Shiraz Ensemble and the Arcana New Music Ensemble to craft an enchanting evening celebrating Contemporary Persian Poetry and Music. With poems curated by Fatemeh Shams\, the event will immerse audiences in the depth of Iran’s poetic legacy while capturing the spirit of the contemporary moment. \nHarking back to the inception of the Shiraz Arts Festival in 1967\, the platform played a pivotal role in showcasing Iran’s vibrant community of poets and musicians. A recital of “Contemporary Persian Poetry\,” the inaugural year paid homage to literary giants Hafez and Sa’di and living poets took the stage to recite their own verses.  The venerable Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar\, Iran’s eldest living poet\, debuted a new poem in honor of the Festival. The poetic event took place at Hafeziyeh\, the final resting place of the esteemed Persian poet Hafez. \nParallel to the poets’ engagement with both historical and contemporary themes\, composers at the Shiraz Arts Festival drew inspiration from a fusion of past and present elements. Noteworthy figures from the Euro-American avant garde\, such as Karlheinz Stockhausen\, Iannis Xenakis\, Olivier Messiaen\, Bruno Maderna\, John Cage\, David Tudor\, and Morton Feldman\, were featured at the festival.  Proposals for a significant arts center\, encompassing electronic music and recording studios\, were planned but were thwarted by the onset of the Revolution. Nevertheless\, the festival left an indelible mark on Iran’s contemporary and experimental music scene\, shaping its trajectory in enduring ways. \n\nPROGRAM \nFarzia Fallah (b. 1980): Posht-e Hichestan for solo flute \nAida Shirazi (b. 1987): ephemera for clarinet and percussion \nAnahita Abbasi (b. 1985): Situation IV/Io E iO for solo violin \nArcana New Music Ensemble\nNicholas Handahl\, flute\nJonathan Leeds\, clarinet\nAndy Thierauf\, percussion\nCarlos Santiago – violin \n~ INTERMISSION ~ \nMahya Hamedi\nShiraz Ensemble\nNooshin Nowrouzi\, kamancheh\nSepehr Pirasteh\, alto kamancheh\nSina Homaee\, santoor \nperforming new works based on poetry selections by Fatemeh Shams. \n  \n\nThis event is part of A UTOPIAN STAGE\, an exhibition at Asian Arts Initiative from February 9 to March 30\, 2024. \nPictured above: Shahr-e Qesseh (City of Tales)\, Bijan Mofid (playwright & director); from left: Soheil Souzani\, Mehdi Ali Beigi\, Jamileh.Nedai\, Mahmood Ostad Mohamad\, Rashid Kanaani\, commissioned by the Festival\, University Hall\, 1968. Courtesy of Dariush Hajir / Afshin Mofid / Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives. \n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS \nMahya Hamedi (born 1999) is an Iranian vocalist\, pianist\, and composer from Tehran. Singing and playing the piano since the age of nine\, Mahya realized quickly that music was her lifelong passion. Her early compositions for theatre won local and national awards\, and she has performed in groups across Iran and in Greece before university. Unable to pursue studies in vocal performance in her home country due to a national ban on women singing\, she studied classical piano at the University of Tehran for two years before traveling to Berklee to focus on voice and composition. Mahya’s recorded works are highly syncretic\, fusing Iranian folk music with contemporary jazz pop\, and classical music showcasing her powerful and versatile voice. \nSepehr Pirasteh is a composer and conductor born in Shiraz\, Iran. His compositions draw on Persian classical and folk as well as contemporary classical music vocabularies to express his concerns and fears about the political and social realities of the world we are living in. Sepehr’s works have been performed by ensembles such as Argus String Quartet\, PRISM saxophone quartet\, Pushback Ensemble\, Unheard-of Ensemble\, Orquestra Criança Cidadã\, Hole in the Floor\, fivebyfive\, and members of the Fifth House Ensemble. He has been commissioned by Susan Horvath Chamber Music\, ENA chamber opera ensemble\, Philadelphia Student Composers Project\, Detroit Composers’ Project\, YInMn project\, Pushback Collective\, Fresh Inc. Festival\, Yara Ensemble\, Central Michigan University’s (CMU) Percussion Ensemble\, and the CMU Saxophone Ensemble. His music has been performed in Argentina\, Brazil\, Iran and the United States. Sepehr has also been a fellow in festivals and residencies such as Harvard University’s Fromm Foundation Fellowship (Composers Conference)\, CCI Initiative\, and Fresh Inc Festival. \nDr. Fatemeh Shams is a Persian poet\, literary scholar\, and translator. She currently teaches Persianate literature and history at the University of Pennsylvania and is a core faculty member of the Gender\, Sexuality\, and Women’s Studies Program. Her work focuses on the intersection of literature\, politics\, and society. Fatemeh is interested in the evolution of poetry and patronage in the Persian literary tradition and the representation and transformation of this relationship in modern Iran. She previously taught poetry at Oxford and SOAS Universities in the UK. She has published three award-winning poetry collections in Persian and English. In her academic research\, she concentrates on the intersection of poetry and politics in past and present Iran. Her book\, Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-Option Under Islamic Republic (Oxford University Press)\, explores the role of poetry and poetics in the political ideology of the Islamic Republic. \nShiraz 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 their experiences into a transformative musical narrative. Blending contemporary classical music with the rich traditions of Iran\, Shiraz Ensemble aims to engage audiences and promote cultural understanding by fusing different musical aesthetics. Founded in Philadelphia\, Shiraz Ensemble takes its name from the ancient city of Shiraz in Iran\, a place of birth and upbringing for both its founders\, Sina Homaee (santoor and tombak) and Sepehr Pirasteh. \nFounded in 2016\, the Arcana New Music Ensemble is a group of Philadelphia-based musicians dedicated to presenting interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional music in interesting\, beautiful\, and unconventional places. Built on a flexible roster of 25 musicians\, Arcana is able to perform a broad range of repertoire in numerous configurations. Composers featured in recent programs include Julius Eastman\, Morton Feldman\, Galina Ustvolskaya\, Pauline Oliveros\, Tom Johnson\, Moondog\, and James Tenney. Arcana has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art\, Fleisher Art Memorial\, The Rotunda\, The Kitchen (NYC)\, and collaborated with Variant Six\, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra\, and Pig Iron Theater Company. \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\nMajor support for A Utopian Stage has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage with additional support from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.. Presented in collaboration with Asian Arts Initiative\, Fire Museum Presents and Philly Iranians URL:https://www.bowerbird.org/event/contemporary-persian-poetry-and-music-a-utopian-stage/ LOCATION:Asian Arts Initiative\, 1219 Vine Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19107\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowerbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/A-Utopian-Stage-Shahr-e-Qesseh-City-of-Tales.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR