The Rotunda

Bowerbird is pleased to present a special screening of In The Mirror of Maya Deren at The Rotunda. “More than anything else, cinema consists of the eye for the magic—that which perceives and reveals the marvelous in whatsoever it looks upon.” –Maya Deren With In The Mirror of Maya Deren, documentary filmmaker Martina Kudlacek has fashioned…

Bowerbird is pleased to present the Arcana New Music Ensemble performing Cornelius Cardew’s groundbreaking work Treatise at The Rotunda. Composed between 1962-1967, Treatise employs an entirely graphic score with symbols that at times looks like traditional music notation then morphs into beautiful esoteric shapes, curved lines, and large black dots. Without any instruction for performance…

Bowerbird is pleased to present Don Slepian celebrating the forty-fifth anniversary of his album Sea of Bliss, which has been reissued on Numero Group. Opening the evening will be sound artist Saapato. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Don Slepian, a composer, performer, and music technologist, is celebrated as a pioneer in the ambient and new age music…

Bowerbird is pleased to present Nmperign the saxophone/trumpet duo of Bhob Rainey and Greg Kelley at The Rotunda. The duo is known for exploring the quiet side of free improvisation often basing its music around long tones and extended-technique effects to evoke the sounds of electronic drones. The evening will open with a set by…

Bowerbird and Fire Museum present the duo Zelzeleh of Iranian vocalist Kamyar Arsani (Faraway Ghost) and Indian-born percussionist/producer Ravish Momin (Sunken Cages) with an opening set by Savan DePaul aka Ishtar Sr. Their collaboration combines Persian poetry with Mumbai street rhythms, layered over intricate electronic soundscapes. Arsani’s mastery of Persian classical modes (dastgahs) and his evocative…

Bowerbird is pleased to present Nathan Davis in a solo performance at The Rotunda. Finding 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…

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…

Bowerbird is pleased to present a special screening of Guns of the Trees by filmmaker Jonas Mekas and original musical score by Lucia Dlugoszewski. Jonas 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…

*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*   We are thrilled to welcome back Laraaji, a key figure in the…

Bowerbird is delighted to present a special screening of Lotte Reiniger's pioneering animated film, The Adventures of Prince Achmed. When 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…

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…

Bowerbird is pleased to present a concert of works from Gene Coleman's recent album Exploratorium and solo performance by Toshimaru Nakamura. PROGRAM KATA (2021) film version of the work Ensemble N_JP Sansuzu Tsuruzawa (voice and shamisen) Akikazu Nakamura (shakuhachi) Adam Vidiksis (percussion and electronics) Ko Ishikawa (sho) Naoko Kikuchi (koto) Nick Millevoi (e-guitar) Hemmi String…

Bowerbird is pleased to present a special screening of John Cage Meets Sun Ra: The Complete Concert at The Rotunda. Recorded 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. From Pitchfork: "John Cage…

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…

Bowerbird is pleased to present the Music of Moondog performed by the Arcana New Music Ensemble. Louis 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…

Bowerbird is pleased to present David Grubbs and Eli Winter playing electric guitar duets at The Rotunda. ABOUT THE ARTISTS David Grubbs is Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, CUNY. At Brooklyn College he also teaches in the MFA programs in Performance and Interactive Media Arts (PIMA) and Creative Writing. He…