Theo Bleckmann Presents: Becca Stevens Band
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About this Program
April 21 – 7pm
Regina is a body of music, a muse, and an alter ego.
The word “Regina” (Latin for Queen) served as a springboard for each of the songs in this performance. For example; “Queen Mab” is my setting of Mercutio’s famous rant about a naughty fairy in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, the lyrics of “Mercury” are made up entirely of quotes by Freddie Mercury (the lead singer of “Queen”), and “Harbor Hawk” is a special dedication to my grandmother and is named after my grandfather’s boat that I used to sail in as a child.
I can trace the inspiration for this project back to a late night Wikipedia obsession with Queen Elizabeth the 1st and my fascination with her intense devotion to her work. But as I’ve written my way deeper into the source of that inspiration, I’ve found that the true muse of this set of songs is something that has been in me for as long as I can remember. The more I write, the more she is taking form as an entity that exists somewhere between memory and imagination. I’ve named her “Regina”.
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This program features Jo Lawry on voice, Timo Andres on piano, Liam Robinson on keyboards and vocals, Chris Tordini on bass and vocals, Nathan Schram on Viola, Hamilton Berry on cello, Jordan Perlson on drums and percussion, & Becca Stevens on voice, guitars, and Charango.
Curator
Other events with Theo Bleckman
ACME: American Contemporary Music Ensemble
Dec 20, 2015 • 6pm
ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, a National Sawdust Group-in-Residence, will have its first residency in the space from December 14-20, 2015. The week will culminate with an open-to-the public concert at 6pm on Sunday, December 20, 2015.
ACME has been performing and interpreting new music for over 10 years, and at National Sawdust will begin exploring the world of creating original music as well. A number of musicians in ACME also identify as composers, and an equal number identify as primarily performers. During their National Sawdust residency, ACME members will work together in making new music – individually and collaboratively, those who compose for public performance, those who compose privately, and those who have never composed. On December 20, they will present their new works and works-in-progress – a mix of composition and improvisation incorporating percussion, electric guitar, bass, and electronics – to the public for the first time.
Players include Timo Andres, piano/keys; Chris Thompson, electronics/percussion; Yuki Numata Resnick, violin; ACME artistic director Clarice Jensen, cello/bass; Aaron Roche, guitar/electronics/synths; and Grey Mcmurray, guitar. The group returns for another residency at National Sawdust from April 19-23, 2016.
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ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, a National Sawdust Group-in-Residence, will have its first residency in the space from December 14-20, 2015. The week will culminate with an open-to-the public concert at 6pm on Sunday, December 20, 2015.
ACME has been performing and interpreting new music for over 10 years, and at National Sawdust will begin exploring the world of creating original music as well. A number of musicians in ACME also identify as composers, and an equal number identify as primarily performers. During their National Sawdust residency, ACME members will work together in making new music – individually and collaboratively, those who compose for public performance, those who compose privately, and those who have never composed. On December 20, they will present their new works and works-in-progress – a mix of composition and improvisation incorporating percussion, electric guitar, bass, and electronics – to the public for the first time.
Players include Timo Andres, piano/keys; Chris Thompson, electronics/percussion; Yuki Numata Resnick, violin; ACME artistic director Clarice Jensen, cello/bass; Aaron Roche, guitar/electronics/synths; and Grey Mcmurray, guitar. The group returns for another residency at National Sawdust from April 19-23, 2016.
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Theo Bleckmann Presents: Becca Stevens Band
Apr 21, 2016 - 7:00pm The word "Regina" (Latin for Queen) served as a springboard for each of the songs in this performance. For example; "Queen Mab" is my setting of Mercutio’s famous rant about a naughty fairy in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, the lyrics of "Mercury" are made up entirely of quotes by Freddie Mercury (the lead singer of "Queen"), and "Harbor Hawk" is a special dedication to my grandmother and is named after my grandfather's boat that I used to sail in as a child.
Meredith Monk with Theo Bleckmann and Katie Geissinger in Concert
May 19, 2016 - 9:30pm The iconic composer/performer Meredith Monk offers one of her rare, more intimate concerts in her premiere at National Sawdust, with two of her esteemed colleagues, Theo Bleckmann and Katie Geissinger, both highly acclaimed singers in the New Music world.
Theo Bleckmann Presents: Shai Maestro
Feb 18, 2016 - 9:30pm After touring for the last 5 years with his trio and collaborating with the A-list of jazz musicians in the world, Israel born pianist Shai Maestro presents a first solo concert in NYC. Exploring and deconstructing his original music.
Theo Bleckmann Presents: Jo Lawry
Jan 29, 2016 - 10:00pm
Heartbreak meets humor in Jo’s sparkling original songs, and for this performance she will be joined by Alan Hampton (bass/vocals), Will Vinson (saxophone/keyboards) and Nate Wood (vocals/drums). In praise of Taking Pictures, the New York Times called Jo a “singer of dazzling self-possession”, The Sydney Morning Herald described her as “effervescent and riveting” and Time Out New York called her “one of our favorite discoveries of the past year.”
Heartbreak meets humor in Jo’s sparkling original songs, and for this performance she will be joined by Alan Hampton (bass/vocals), Will Vinson (saxophone/keyboards) and Nate Wood (vocals/drums). In praise of Taking Pictures, the New York Times called Jo a “singer of dazzling self-possession”, The Sydney Morning Herald described her as “effervescent and riveting” and Time Out New York called her “one of our favorite discoveries of the past year.”
Theo Bleckmann presents: Sheila Jordan
Mar 17, 2016 - 7:00pm This performance will be a CD Release concert for the new/old release of a live recording from 1991, which was recorded at Kimball's Jazz Club in San Francisco. An evening of Jazz Classics, the performance will also feature some other original and standard compositions.
Theo Bleckmann Presents: Kate McGarry & The Tough Get Growing
Kate McGarry and The Tough Get Growing are a Durham, NC based collective featuring Kate’s husband, guitarist Keith Ganz,trumpeter Al Strong, with bassist Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco) and drummer Allison Miller (Natalie Merchant, Ani DiFranco) in collaboration with James Shipp on vibes, percussion, and arrangements.
Winterreise Festival: Theo Bleckmann
Dec 17, 2015 • 7pm
Five concerts, NS talk, community outreach on the theme of Schubert’s “Winterreise” (winter’s journey). NS approaches this seminal work by exploring the juxtaposition between isolation and community through 21st century sounds and visuals.
Theo Bleckmann and Uri Caine join forces in their own take of Winterreise featuring voice, toys, piano and electronica, along with new lyrics and harmonies in French, German, Yiddish, and English.
Five concerts, NS talk, community outreach on the theme of Schubert’s “Winterreise” (winter’s journey). NS approaches this seminal work by exploring the juxtaposition between isolation and community through 21st century sounds and visuals.
Theo Bleckmann and Uri Caine join forces in their own take of Winterreise featuring voice, toys, piano and electronica, along with new lyrics and harmonies in French, German, Yiddish, and English.
Curated by Theo Bleckmann: Lisa Bielawa with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME)
April 6, 2017 - 7:00pm Theo Bleckmann presents a collaboration between the American Contemporary Music Ensemble and celebrated composer and vocalist Lisa Bielawa to perform a selection of her works.
NS+ Talk: Meredith Monk + Yuval Sharon
May 08, 2016 - 4:00pm This NS+ Talk brings together two mavericks in the world of music and art. Meredith Monk, whom Björk calls “one of the most important composers alive,” has created enthralling opera, music-theater, film, and installations over more than five decades. Fluidly creating new vocabularies of contemporary performance, this singular composer, singer, and director/choreographer has “mapped a world that never quite existed in the history of the arts” (The New Yorker).
Opening Night: Discover The Space Vol. 1
At 7:30pm, members of the National Sawdust family of artists join forces for an evening that explores the acoustics of the new hall. Curator Theo Bleckmann will be joined by ACME, one of the venue’s groups-in-residence, in a new work commissioned by National Sawdust. Other collaborations will include National Sawdust curator Jeffrey Zeigler with Gyan Riley (guitar) and Eve Gigliotti (mezzo-soprano) performing Paola Prestini’s OLIVIA. Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly, a National Sawdust advisory board member, perform with Tanya Tagaq and Jeffrey Zeigler. Stephen Gosling will perform music by Paola Prestini. Chris Thile will perform solo.
Theo Bleckmann Presents: Ambrose Akinmusire, Shai Maestro, and Theo Bleckmann
May 21, 2017 - 7:00pm Theo Bleckmann, Ambrose Akinmusire and Shai Maestro are performing in trio for the first time ever in an evening of original material. All three, boundary-crossing musicians will fuse jazz with modern art song, improvisation with extended techniques and ambient choral spaces in a set of hitherto unheard music.
