REDCAT: "Wadada Leo Smith spans everything. He is lyrical, intense, soaring, powerful, meditative, hard, soft, deep..." All About Jazz

This season’s edition of the storied CalArts creative music revue brings one of the most formidable lineups in the festival’s history. Trumpeter, composer, improviser and festival founder Wadada Leo Smith leads two different ensembles: his Golden Quintet, with Vijay Iyer (piano), John Lindberg (bass), and Pheeroan akLaff and Famoudou Don Moye (drums, percussion), and the Silver Orchestra, which performs with Thomas Buckner (baritone), Vinny Golia (winds), Vicki Ray (piano), Mark Menzies (violin), and Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello). The genre-defying pianist, composer and improviser Anthony Davis returns with a new iteration of his 1980s ensemble Episteme, featuring Earl Howard (synthesizer and saxophone), Mark Dresser (bass), J.D. Parran (reeds), and Cynthia Aaronson-Davis (soprano). The festival also includes one of the leading creative forces from Iran, the Sufi tradition-inspired Lian Ensemble, with Houman Pourmehdi (tonbak, daf, ney, vocals), Mahshid Mirzadeh (santur), Mani Bolouri (kamanche, gheychak, vocals), Amir Koushkani (tar, vocals) and Pirayeh Pourafar (tar, vocals). Completing the program is pianist, organist, gospel singer, composer and improviser Amina Claudine Myers, a longtime stalwart of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. She plays in a trio with Don Pate (bass) and Reggie Nicholson (drums), accompanied by Paul Berkolds and the CalArts Choir. Curated by Wadada Leo Smith.

Fri Sep 19 8:30 pm
Music and the Voice
Thomas Buckner and the Silver Orchestra
Anthony Davis and Episteme
Amina Claudine Myers Trio and the CalArts Choir

"[Anthony Davis is] an august avant-garde pianist… A post-everything, polymath composer-performer." The New York Times

Sat Sep 20 8:30 pm
Music and Video
Lian Ensemble
The Golden Quintet

"Lian Ensemble is a gifted group with contemplative compositions and virtuosic performances." Los Angeles Times

Funded in part by a generous grant from The Phaedrus Foundation.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/mus/creative.php ($)

REDCAT: "Wadada Leo Smith spans everything. He is lyrical, intense, soaring, powerful, meditative, hard, soft, deep..." All About Jazz

This season’s edition of the storied CalArts creative music revue brings one of the most formidable lineups in the festival’s history. Trumpeter, composer, improviser and festival founder Wadada Leo Smith leads two different ensembles: his Golden Quintet, with Vijay Iyer (piano), John Lindberg (bass), and Pheeroan akLaff and Famoudou Don Moye (drums, percussion), and the Silver Orchestra, which performs with Thomas Buckner (baritone), Vinny Golia (winds), Vicki Ray (piano), Mark Menzies (violin), and Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello). The genre-defying pianist, composer and improviser Anthony Davis returns with a new iteration of his 1980s ensemble Episteme, featuring Earl Howard (synthesizer and saxophone), Mark Dresser (bass), J.D. Parran (reeds), and Cynthia Aaronson-Davis (soprano). The festival also includes one of the leading creative forces from Iran, the Sufi tradition-inspired Lian Ensemble, with Houman Pourmehdi (tonbak, daf, ney, vocals), Mahshid Mirzadeh (santur), Mani Bolouri (kamanche, gheychak, vocals), Amir Koushkani (tar, vocals) and Pirayeh Pourafar (tar, vocals). Completing the program is pianist, organist, gospel singer, composer and improviser Amina Claudine Myers, a longtime stalwart of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. She plays in a trio with Don Pate (bass) and Reggie Nicholson (drums), accompanied by Paul Berkolds and the CalArts Choir. Curated by Wadada Leo Smith.

Sat Sep 20 8:30 pm
Music and Video
Lian Ensemble
The Golden Quintet

"Lian Ensemble is a gifted group with contemplative compositions and virtuosic performances." Los Angeles Times

Funded in part by a generous grant from The Phaedrus Foundation.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/mus/creative.php ($)

REDCAT: West Coast premiere

"Utterly original... A stunning act of choreographed literary transmutation." Time Out New York

"A great work... its rough-hewn, homemade air is suffused with an innocence that one rarely glimpses in a contemporary work of art." Hilton Als, The New Yorker

When the famously risk-taking experimental New York company announced that it was producing a stage adaptation of the first chapter of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, it was rumored that the young theatrical innovators had finally lost their minds. The resulting production turned out to be the runaway Off-Broadway sensation of the ’08 season as ERS’s masterful work illuminated with heartbreaking lucidity what is one of the most daunting passages in American literature. That mesmerizing opening section of Faulkner’s novel, "April Seventh, 1928," wends its labyrinthine way though the decline of a Mississippi family from the point of view of stunted man-child Benjy Compson—a deeply scarred mute who cannot tell past from present. In bringing this dark tale to the stage, director John Collins and the 12-member troupe fully embrace Faulkner’s free-flowing language and his radically fractured, multilayered narrative technique. Multiple actors portray each character as the ensemble inhabits an eerily timeless family living room, using bawdy humor, pathos, and jolts of high-energy choreography to build up an exhilarating, unforgettable theatrical experience.

Funded in part by a generous grant from The George and MaryLou Boone Fund for Artistic Advancement.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/elevator.php ($)

REDCAT: West Coast premiere

"Utterly original... A stunning act of choreographed literary transmutation." Time Out New York

"A great work... its rough-hewn, homemade air is suffused with an innocence that one rarely glimpses in a contemporary work of art." Hilton Als, The New Yorker

When the famously risk-taking experimental New York company announced that it was producing a stage adaptation of the first chapter of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, it was rumored that the young theatrical innovators had finally lost their minds. The resulting production turned out to be the runaway Off-Broadway sensation of the ’08 season as ERS’s masterful work illuminated with heartbreaking lucidity what is one of the most daunting passages in American literature. That mesmerizing opening section of Faulkner’s novel, "April Seventh, 1928," wends its labyrinthine way though the decline of a Mississippi family from the point of view of stunted man-child Benjy Compson—a deeply scarred mute who cannot tell past from present. In bringing this dark tale to the stage, director John Collins and the 12-member troupe fully embrace Faulkner’s free-flowing language and his radically fractured, multilayered narrative technique. Multiple actors portray each character as the ensemble inhabits an eerily timeless family living room, using bawdy humor, pathos, and jolts of high-energy choreography to build up an exhilarating, unforgettable theatrical experience.

Funded in part by a generous grant from The George and MaryLou Boone Fund for Artistic Advancement.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/elevator.php ($)

REDCAT: West Coast premiere

"Utterly original... A stunning act of choreographed literary transmutation." Time Out New York

"A great work... its rough-hewn, homemade air is suffused with an innocence that one rarely glimpses in a contemporary work of art." Hilton Als, The New Yorker

When the famously risk-taking experimental New York company announced that it was producing a stage adaptation of the first chapter of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, it was rumored that the young theatrical innovators had finally lost their minds. The resulting production turned out to be the runaway Off-Broadway sensation of the ’08 season as ERS’s masterful work illuminated with heartbreaking lucidity what is one of the most daunting passages in American literature. That mesmerizing opening section of Faulkner’s novel, "April Seventh, 1928," wends its labyrinthine way though the decline of a Mississippi family from the point of view of stunted man-child Benjy Compson—a deeply scarred mute who cannot tell past from present. In bringing this dark tale to the stage, director John Collins and the 12-member troupe fully embrace Faulkner’s free-flowing language and his radically fractured, multilayered narrative technique. Multiple actors portray each character as the ensemble inhabits an eerily timeless family living room, using bawdy humor, pathos, and jolts of high-energy choreography to build up an exhilarating, unforgettable theatrical experience.

Funded in part by a generous grant from The George and MaryLou Boone Fund for Artistic Advancement.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/elevator.php ($)

REDCAT: West Coast premiere

"Utterly original... A stunning act of choreographed literary transmutation." Time Out New York

"A great work... its rough-hewn, homemade air is suffused with an innocence that one rarely glimpses in a contemporary work of art." Hilton Als, The New Yorker

When the famously risk-taking experimental New York company announced that it was producing a stage adaptation of the first chapter of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, it was rumored that the young theatrical innovators had finally lost their minds. The resulting production turned out to be the runaway Off-Broadway sensation of the ’08 season as ERS’s masterful work illuminated with heartbreaking lucidity what is one of the most daunting passages in American literature. That mesmerizing opening section of Faulkner’s novel, "April Seventh, 1928," wends its labyrinthine way though the decline of a Mississippi family from the point of view of stunted man-child Benjy Compson—a deeply scarred mute who cannot tell past from present. In bringing this dark tale to the stage, director John Collins and the 12-member troupe fully embrace Faulkner’s free-flowing language and his radically fractured, multilayered narrative technique. Multiple actors portray each character as the ensemble inhabits an eerily timeless family living room, using bawdy humor, pathos, and jolts of high-energy choreography to build up an exhilarating, unforgettable theatrical experience.

Funded in part by a generous grant from The George and MaryLou Boone Fund for Artistic Advancement.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/elevator.php ($)

REDCAT: Los Angeles premiere

"[Meredith Monk is] a high priestess of enchantment… She invites you to bypass the part of your brain that craves logic and understanding and to respond intuitively to the wondrous qualities of her sounds and images." The New York Times

"[Monk is] one of America’s most brilliant and unclassifiable theatrical artists." The New York Times

Soaring to a grand scale of artistic gesture and ambition, this major new multimedia work reunites two of the most influential artists in the United States today. Monk’s signature form of incantatory music-theater finds an uncanny match in Hamilton’s sensuous visual artistry as the full-evening piece channels an exploration of the spiritual, vocal, and physical notions of ascension across geography and time. Conceived as an immersive theatrical environment that is kaleidoscopic in detail and nuance, the performance combines Monk’s pristine music -- featuring a 20-singer choir, the artist’s own vocal ensemble, a string quartet and percussion -- with movement and surround-video projections. Songs of Ascension was originally inspired in part by poet Norman Fischer’s translations of the Psalms and in part by Hamilton’s The Tower, an eight-story sculpture and performance space located in Northern California.

Co-commissioned by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium, a partnership formed by CalArts, Dartington Plus, and Idyllwild Arts; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University; with additional support provided by the William and Nadine McGuire Commissioning Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/ascention.php ($)

REDCAT: Los Angeles premiere

"[Meredith Monk is] a high priestess of enchantment… She invites you to bypass the part of your brain that craves logic and understanding and to respond intuitively to the wondrous qualities of her sounds and images." The New York Times

"[Monk is] one of America’s most brilliant and unclassifiable theatrical artists." The New York Times

Soaring to a grand scale of artistic gesture and ambition, this major new multimedia work reunites two of the most influential artists in the United States today. Monk’s signature form of incantatory music-theater finds an uncanny match in Hamilton’s sensuous visual artistry as the full-evening piece channels an exploration of the spiritual, vocal, and physical notions of ascension across geography and time. Conceived as an immersive theatrical environment that is kaleidoscopic in detail and nuance, the performance combines Monk’s pristine music -- featuring a 20-singer choir, the artist’s own vocal ensemble, a string quartet and percussion -- with movement and surround-video projections. Songs of Ascension was originally inspired in part by poet Norman Fischer’s translations of the Psalms and in part by Hamilton’s The Tower, an eight-story sculpture and performance space located in Northern California.

Co-commissioned by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium, a partnership formed by CalArts, Dartington Plus, and Idyllwild Arts; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University; with additional support provided by the William and Nadine McGuire Commissioning Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/ascention.php ($)

REDCAT: Los Angeles premiere

"[Meredith Monk is] a high priestess of enchantment… She invites you to bypass the part of your brain that craves logic and understanding and to respond intuitively to the wondrous qualities of her sounds and images." The New York Times

"[Monk is] one of America’s most brilliant and unclassifiable theatrical artists." The New York Times

Soaring to a grand scale of artistic gesture and ambition, this major new multimedia work reunites two of the most influential artists in the United States today. Monk’s signature form of incantatory music-theater finds an uncanny match in Hamilton’s sensuous visual artistry as the full-evening piece channels an exploration of the spiritual, vocal, and physical notions of ascension across geography and time. Conceived as an immersive theatrical environment that is kaleidoscopic in detail and nuance, the performance combines Monk’s pristine music -- featuring a 20-singer choir, the artist’s own vocal ensemble, a string quartet and percussion -- with movement and surround-video projections. Songs of Ascension was originally inspired in part by poet Norman Fischer’s translations of the Psalms and in part by Hamilton’s The Tower, an eight-story sculpture and performance space located in Northern California.

Co-commissioned by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium, a partnership formed by CalArts, Dartington Plus, and Idyllwild Arts; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University; with additional support provided by the William and Nadine McGuire Commissioning Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/ascention.php ($)

REDCAT: Los Angeles premiere

"[Meredith Monk is] a high priestess of enchantment… She invites you to bypass the part of your brain that craves logic and understanding and to respond intuitively to the wondrous qualities of her sounds and images." The New York Times

"[Monk is] one of America’s most brilliant and unclassifiable theatrical artists." The New York Times

Soaring to a grand scale of artistic gesture and ambition, this major new multimedia work reunites two of the most influential artists in the United States today. Monk’s signature form of incantatory music-theater finds an uncanny match in Hamilton’s sensuous visual artistry as the full-evening piece channels an exploration of the spiritual, vocal, and physical notions of ascension across geography and time. Conceived as an immersive theatrical environment that is kaleidoscopic in detail and nuance, the performance combines Monk’s pristine music -- featuring a 20-singer choir, the artist’s own vocal ensemble, a string quartet and percussion -- with movement and surround-video projections. Songs of Ascension was originally inspired in part by poet Norman Fischer’s translations of the Psalms and in part by Hamilton’s The Tower, an eight-story sculpture and performance space located in Northern California.

Co-commissioned by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium, a partnership formed by CalArts, Dartington Plus, and Idyllwild Arts; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University; with additional support provided by the William and Nadine McGuire Commissioning Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.

See: http://redcat.org/season/0809/the/ascention.php ($)