Tickets
About the Show
National Sawdust is thrilled to announce a new venture with John Zorn’s artist movement THE STONE. THE STONE is opening a new chapter in its storied history of artist empowerment through a monthly commissioning series at National Sawdust, directly investing in the careers of the most exciting composer/performers of New York. This move by THE STONE is the next step in Mr. Zorn’s mission, allowing the venue to transcend its walls to expand its reach and exist in multiple places. National Sawdust is honored to be a prominent host for THE STONE’s evolution, and looks forward to this new opportunity to continue empowering the artist community.
Other Winter Highlights
Philip Glass @ 80 – The Complete Etudes with Maki Namekawa
February 24, 2017 - 7:00pm Following studies at the Kunitachi Music University in Tokyo, Maki Namekawa pursued advanced work under Pierre-Laurent Aimard at the Musikhochschule in Cologne as well as studies with Werner Genuit and Kaya Han at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe and Stefan Litwin in Saarbrücken.
Ritz Chamber Series Vol. 1
January 29, 2017 - 4:00pm THE RITZ CHAMBER PLAYERS is hailed by the e Baltimore Sun as “one of the most interesting and dynamic ensembles to emerge in recent years.” Boasting some of the world’s preeminent musicians spanning the African diaspora, it brings a fresh, new energy to the classical music genre.
Spring Revolution: Amanda Gookin
March 1, 2017 - 7:00pm The Forward Music Project is driven by social justice for women. We musicians, now more than ever, have an incredible ability to effect change in our communities. The seven FMP composers were commissioned to write pieces based on their personal story or a particular issue that affects women and girls. The compositions are stylistically contrasting and represent the vast definition of what it means to be a woman, ranging from empowerment and issues of the LGBTQ+ community, to reproductive rights, and violence against women. A visceral experience, the composers require that she embodies the spirit of their message mentally, emotionally, and physically. In performance Amanda sings, chants, breathes, and sweats life into these works.
Lost Spring
March 3, 2017 - 7:00pm One hundred years after the Armenian Genocide, a mother must explain this troubled history to her daughter. But how does one explain inhuman cruelty to innocence itself? Mixing theater, dance, and live music, and further brought to life by the visuals of artist Kevork Mourad, this multi-disciplinary creation is the poetic journey of a woman in quest of her history, in quest of meaning, in quest of a lost spring…
Glass @ 80: Philip Glass & Foday Musa Suso with Jeffrey Zeigler
March 12, 2017 - 7:00pm Known for his hypnotic performances of traditional Kora (Harp/Lute) music, as well as his cutting edge musical encounters, Kora virtuoso Foday Musa Suso is a direct descendent of Jalimadi Wulen Suso, the inventor of the Kora.
BMP Presents: Sound from the Bench
February 3, 2017 - 7:00pm A single sentence from the Iraq War Logs, wealth distribution and privilege, the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, and the 2013 case of rape by high school students in Steubenville, Ohio: inspirations all for the music of Ted Hearne.
Prototype Presents: Funeral Doom Spiritual
January 14, 2017 - 10:00pm Funeral Doom Spiritual is a song of mourning for what Anthony Paul Farley calls “the motionless movement of death through slavery, segregation, and neo-segregation.” This new monodrama composed by M. Lamar and Hunter Hunt-Hendrix draws on themes of apocalypse, end times, and rapture found in Negro Spirituals, what Lamar calls “Doom Spirituals.”
James Rhodes
February 4, 2017 - 7:00pm Immortal piano music by history's finest composers performed in an intimate setting with the lights down low and an opportunity to disappear and escape from the world for an hour and a half. Along with a few jokes. And a bit of historical context.
Attacca Quartet: Recently Added
February 19, 2017 - 7:00pm First Prize winners of the 7th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in 2011, top prizewinners and Listeners’ Choice Award recipients in the 2011 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and winners of the Alice Coleman Grand Prize at the 60th annual Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition in 2006, the internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet has become one of America’s premier young performing ensembles.
The Thurber Theater: Michael Thurber’s 30th Birthday Concert
January 7, 2017 - 10:00pm Celebrate Michael Thurber's 30th birthday with a concert featuring music by Thurber and guest performers from different musical traditions. The audience will hear performers from the Classical and Jazz worlds as well as the Pop and Broadway worlds.
Alternative Guitar Summit 2017: Guitars of Heaven, Guitars of Hell
March 15, 2017 - 7:00pmFounded and produced by Joel Harrison and Life Force Arts, The "Summit" is a yearly gathering of some of the most creative guitarists on earth.
Ferus Festival: The Afield / Nelson Patton with Lonnie Holley
January 6, 2017 - 7:00pm This evening features a split bill of musicians who are expanding the notions of visual and textual storytelling within musical performance.
