HomeBaked Project:
ETHEL
perform music of Sugar Vendil, Simon Brown, Sarah Goldfeather, Nailah Nombeko, Walter Smith, and Harrison Ponce
6pm doors • 7pm show
About
Described as “indefatigable and eclectic” (New York Times), the string quartet ETHEL return to National Sawdust with the fourth chapter of their HomeBaked Project, an initiative showcasing emerging composers.
ETHEL will perform world premiere works by the current round of commissioned HomeBaked composers — Sugar Vendil, Simon Brown, Sarah Goldfeather, and Nailah Nombeko — and by Walter Smith, along with a piece by Harrison Ponce.
HomeBaked has been a resounding success for early career composers, who have gone on to win prestigious national and international prizes — this is an unmissable opportunity to hear their compositional voices take shape.
Tickets
The Artists
“In the hands of ETHEL, American music is alive and well.” (Washington Post)
Established in New York City in 1998, ETHEL quickly earned a reputation as one of America’s most adventurous string quartets. 20 years later, the band continues to set the standard for contemporary concert music. Known for its enlivened playing, blending uptown, conservatory musicianship with downtown genre-crossing, ETHEL has been described as “indefatigable and eclectic” (New York Times), “vital and brilliant” (New Yorker), and “infectiously visceral” (Pitchfork). Since its inception, ETHEL has released nine feature recordings (one of them nominated for a Native American Music Award), performed as guests on 40+ albums, won a GRAMMY® with jazz legend Kurt Elling, and performed in 14 countries, 45 states, and 250 cities.
At the heart of ETHEL is a collaborative ethos — a quest for a common creative expression that is forged in the celebration of community. The quartet creates and tours rich, often multimedia, productions including the evening-length ETHEL’s Documerica, inspired by the tens of thousands of images shot in the 1970’s as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s decade-long Documerica project; The River, a collaboration with Taos Pueblo flutist Robert Mirabal; Ancient Airs and Dances, a journey to European Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque eras; and Circus — Wandering City, which explores the phenomenon of circus through the eyes and insights of people who have created its special thrills and illusions. This season marks the fourth chapter of ETHEL’s HomeBaked Project, an initiative showcasing emerging composers, which will culminate with world premiere performances at National Sawdust, in Brooklyn.
ETHEL is the Resident Ensemble at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Balcony Bar, Ensemble-in-Residence at Denison University, 2018/19 Quartet-in-Residence at Kaufman Music Center’s Face the Music, and a 2019 Levi Family Distinguished Visiting Artist at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.
ETHEL is Ralph Farris (viola), Kip Jones (violin), Dorothy Lawson (cello), and Corin Lee (violin).
