BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//104.168.145.88//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.26.9// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-FROM-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Chicago BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Chicago BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20211107T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 RDATE:20221106T020000 TZNAME:CST END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20210314T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20220313T020000 TZNAME:CDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46041@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION: DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20181029 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20181104 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:University of Richmond Residency URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/university-of-richmond-residency- 5/ X-COST-TYPE:free END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46079@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Festivals\,Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Click here for a full schedule of the festival\, and for more i nformation. DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20181102 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20181104 GEO:+37.574386;-77.542125 LOCATION:Camp Concert Hall @ 455 Westhampton Way\, Richmond\, VA 23173\, US A SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/third-practice-electroacoustic-mu sic-festival/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

Cl ick here for a full schedule of the festival\, and for more informatio n.

END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46548@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Residencies CONTACT:https://eugenesymphony.org/events/special-events/artist-residency DESCRIPTION:We’ll be participating in a number of residency activities duri ng our time in Eugene. For a full list of activities\, click here. DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20181112 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20181115 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Eugene Residency Activities URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/eugene-residency-activities/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

We’ll be part icipating in a number of residency activities during our time in Eugene. F or a full list of activities\, click here .

END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46045@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION: DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190131 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190203 LOCATION:UNCSA - Winston Salem\, NC @ 1533 S Main St\, Winston-Salem\, NC 2 7127 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:UNCSA Residency URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/uncsa-residency/ X-COST-TYPE:free END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46046@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION: DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190204 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190208 LOCATION:Modlin Center for the Arts - Richmond\, VA @ 28 Westhampton Way\, Richmond\, VA 23173 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:University of Richmond Residency URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/university-of-richmond-residency- 6/ X-COST-TYPE:free END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46047@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Tickets: https://www.jeffco.edu/community-outreach/performing-a rts/pace/upcoming-pace-event. DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190214 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190215 LOCATION:Jefferson College - Hillsboro\, MO @ 1000 Viking Drive Hillsboro\, MO 63050 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Jefferson College Residency URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/jefferson-college-residency/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

Tickets: https://www.jeffco.edu/co mmunity-outreach/performing-arts/pace/upcoming-pace-event.

< /HTML> X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.jeffco.edu/community-outreach/performing-arts/pac e/upcoming-pace-event END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46053@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION: DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190304 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190308 LOCATION:Modlin Center for the Arts - Richmond\, VA @ 28 Westhampton Way\, Richmond\, VA 23173 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:University of Richmond Residency URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/university-of-richmond-residency- 7/ X-COST-TYPE:free END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46054@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Concerts\,Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Program\nNina Shekhar: ice ‘n’ SPICE\nAlex Mills: Four Rain-Beg ging Songs – World Premiere\nFjola Evans: Eroding\nViet Cuong: Electric Ar oma\n-intermission-\nNathalie Joachim: Madam Bellegarde\nAngélica Negrón: Quimbombó\nJonathan Bailey Holland: The Clarity of Cold Air\nJulius Eastma n: Stay On It DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190307 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190308 LOCATION:Modlin Center for the Arts - Richmond\, VA @ 28 Westhampton Way\, Richmond VA 23173 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Tucker-Boatwright Festival URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/tucker-boatwright-festival/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

Progr am

Nina Shekhar: ice ‘n’ SPICE
\nAlex Mills : Four Rain-Begging Songs – World Premiere
\nFjola Evans: Eroding
\nViet Cuong: Electric Aroma
\n-intermis sion-
\nNathalie Joachim: Madam Bellegarde
\nAngélica N egrón: Quimbombó
\nJonathan Bailey Holland: The Clarity of Cold Air
\nJulius Eastman: Stay On It

END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-46056@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Residencies CONTACT: DESCRIPTION: DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190402 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190407 LOCATION:Modlin Center for the Arts - Richmond\, VA @ 28 Westhampton Way\, Richmond\, VA 23173 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:University of Richmond Residency URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/university-of-richmond-residency- 8/ X-COST-TYPE:free END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-70254@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:The Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:\nKarim Sulayman\, tenor \nLebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman has garnered international attent ion as a sophisticated and versatile artist\, consistently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship\, riveting stage presence\, and be autiful voice. A 2019 GRAMMY® Award-winner\, he regularly performs on the world’s stages in orchestral concerts and opera\, as well as in recital an d chamber music.\nHis diverse performing career has included roles with th e Drottningholms Slottsteater in Stockholm\, Houston Grand Opera\, Florent ine Opera\, Boston Lyric Opera\, Chicago Opera Theater and New York City O pera\; orchestral appearances with the Chicago\, Pittsburgh\, and National Symphony Orchestras and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra\; and engage ments at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie\, Carnegie Hall\, Lincoln Center\, the Kennedy Center\, International Bach Festival\, the Aspen Music Festival\, the Aldeburgh Festival\, and the Marlboro Music Festival.\nHis growing dis cography includes his debut solo album\, Songs of Orpheus\, which was rele ased in April\n2018 to international acclaim on the AVIE label. Named “Cri tic’s Choice” by Opera News\, and praised for his “lucid\, velvety tenor a nd pop-star charisma” by BBC Music Magazine\, the album debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart and number 3 on the iTunes Classical Chart\, and was honored with the GRAMMY® Award for Best Classica l Solo Vocal Album in 2019. His sophomore solo recording project\, an albu m of Schubert songs with fortepianist Yi-heng Yang\, Where Only Stars Can Hear Us\, will be released in March 2020\, also on the AVIE label. He is a lso featured in the ARTE documentary Leonard Bernstein – A Genius Divided\ , which premiered throughout Europe in the summer of 2018 and was subseque ntly released on DVD. His performance of Bernstein’s Mass with the CSO was recorded live and is slated for national broadcast on PBS Great Performan ces in 2020.\nAdditionally\, Karim created a social experiment/performance art piece called I Trust You\, designed to build bridges in a divided pol itical climate. A video version of this experiment went “viral” on the int ernet\, and was honored as a prizewinner in the My Hero Film Festival. He has been invited to give talks and hold open forums with student and adult groups about inclusion\, empathy\, healing from racism\, and activism thr ough the arts.\n—\nPROGRAM\nNous Voulons un Petit Soeur (1934) – Poulenc\n Lune d’Avril (1960) – Poulenc\nLost and Lookin’ – Sam Cooke\nBleuet (1939) – Poulenc\nSuéltate las cintas (2004)- Gustavo Santaolalla\nC. (1943) – P oulenc\nFêtes Galantes (1943) – Poulenc\nLi Beirut (1984) – Fairouz\nMy De arest Ruth (2013) – Stacy Garrop\nPiano Piece #4 (1977) – Frederic Rzewksi \nTomorrow’s Gonna Be A Better Day (2013) – Billy Bragg\nProgram repertoir e is subject to change.\nClick here for program notes\, texts\, and transl ations.Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-wo rkshop-karim-sulayman-tenor-october-20-2020/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20201020T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Karim Sulayman\, tenor URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/karim-sulayman-tenor/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2020/09/Sulaymanctbd06-1.jpg?resize=462%2C308&ssl=1\;462\;308 \,medium\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/202 0/09/Sulaymanctbd06-1.jpg?resize=462%2C308&ssl=1\;462\;308\,large\;https:/ /i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Sulaymanctbd 06-1.jpg?resize=462%2C308&ssl=1\;462\;308\,full\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eig hthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Sulaymanctbd06-1.jpg?resize=46 2%2C308&ssl=1\;462\;308 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

T he Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:

Karim Sulayman\ , tenor

Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman has garner ed international attention as a sophisticated and versatile artist\, consi stently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship\, riveting stage presence\, and beautiful voice. A 2019 GRAMMY® Award-winner\, he reg ularly performs on the world’s stages in orchestral concerts and opera\, a s well as in recital and chamber music.

His diverse performing career has include d roles with the Drottningholms Slottsteater in Stockholm\, Houston Grand Opera\, Florentine Opera\, Boston Lyric Opera\, Chicago Opera Theater and New York City Opera\; orchestral appearances with the Chicago\, Pittsburgh \, and National Symphony Orchestras and the Australian Brandenburg Orchest ra\; and engagements at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie\, Carnegie Hall\, Lincol n Center\, the Kennedy Center\, International Bach Festival\, the Aspen Mu sic Festival\, the Aldeburgh Festival\, and the Marlboro Music Festival.\n

His growing discography includes his debut solo album\, Songs of Or pheus\, which was released in April
\n2018 to international acclaim o n the AVIE label. Named “Critic’s Choice” by Opera News\, and praised for his “lucid\, velvety tenor and pop-star charisma” by BBC Music Magazine\, the album debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart and number 3 on the iTunes Classical Chart\, and was honored with the GRA MMY® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album in 2019. His sophomore solo recording project\, an album of Schubert songs with fortepianist Yi-heng Yang\, Where Only Stars Can Hear Us\, will be released in March 2020\, als o on the AVIE label. He is also featured in the ARTE documentary Leonard B ernstein – A Genius Divided\, which premiered throughout Europe in the sum mer of 2018 and was subsequently released on DVD. His performance of Berns tein’s Mass with the CSO was recorded live and is slated for national broa dcast on PBS Great Performances in 2020.

Additionally\, Karim crea ted a social experiment/performance art piece called I Trust You\, designe d to build bridges in a divided political climate. A video version of this experiment went “viral” on the internet\, and was honored as a prizewinne r in the My Hero Film Festival. He has been invited to give talks and hold open forums with student and adult groups about inclusion\, empathy\, hea ling from racism\, and activism through the arts.

—

PROGRA M

Nous Voulons un Petit Soeur (1934) – Poulenc
\nLune d’Avril (1960) – Poulenc
\nLost and Lookin’ – Sam Cooke
\nBleuet (1939) – Poulenc
\nSuéltate las cintas (2004)- Gustavo Santaolalla
\nC . (1943) – Poulenc
\nFêtes Galantes (1943) – Poulenc
\nLi Beirut (1984) – Fairouz
\nMy Dearest Ruth (2013) – Stacy Garrop
\nPian o Piece #4 (1977) – Frederic Rzewksi
\nTomorrow’s Gonna Be A Better D ay (2013) – Billy Bragg

Program repertoire is subject to chang e.

Click here for pr ogram notes\, texts\, and translations.

Tickets: https://www.eigh thblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-karim-sulayman-tenor-octo ber-20-2020/.

X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-karim-sulayman-tenor-october-20-2020/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-70147@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:The Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:\nRebecca Rego featuring Leah Casey – Songs for Cleaning Women\nRebecca Rego has been a Midwest sin ger-songwriter\, recording artist\, and producer for over 15 years. She ha s written and recorded eight albums and toured the country many times over \, solo and with her Chicago-based band The Trainmen.\nRebecca Rego. Photo by Chet White\nIn 2014\, a mysterious package arrived on her doorstep.In it was Lucia Berlin’s short story collection\, “A Manual For Cleaning Wome n.” The note simply said: “I think you’ll love this.” As Rego began pickin g through the dark\, witty\, romantic prose\, the stories slowly began to seep into her consciousness and affect her songwriting. After a few years\ , she realized she had created a unique set of songs based on Berlin’s boo k.\nIn the fall of 2019\, Rego traveled to Northern California\, where a h andful of Berlin’s stories take place\, and recorded six of these songs at Panoramic Studio in Stinson Beach with engineer Beau Sorenson (Death Cab For Cutie\, tUnE-yArDs\,) backed by multi-instrumentalist J. Tom Hnatow (H orse Feathers\, Ringo Starr\,) and Alysia Kraft\, Staci Foster\, and Tobia s Bank of Fort Collins\, CO based band Whippoorwill. The resulting album “ Songs For Cleaning Women Pt. 1” will be released November 11\, 2020. The r elease will be celebrated with a livestreaming performance during Grammy A ward-winning music ensemble Eighth Blackbird’s “Chicago Artists Workshop” series.\nAs an independent female artist\, Rego is influenced by the unfli nching\, raw honesty found in Berlin’s art. Many of Berlin’s stories are s emi-autobiographical accounts of her time working blue-collar jobs\, raisi ng four children as a single mother\, and dealing with her own alcoholism. Berlin died in 2004\, never receiving critical acclaim in her own lifetim e. Rego’s goal with this release is to pay homage to Berlin’s stories and introduce new audiences to her work.\nRebecca will be joined by Leah Casey \, a Chicago-based actress\, writer\, and dancer with a love for fictional podcasts.\n\nSome of her previous credits include Frankenstein with Manua l Cinema\, For Colored Girls at Court Theatre\, and Romeo and Juliet with Teatro Vista. When not onstage\, she can be found behind the mic as Rebecc a Neil\, a reporter for The Onion’s daily news podcast\, The Topical\, or working with the cast of Project STELLAR\, a science fiction podcast about a group of crazy kids who have close encounters of the awesome kind.Ticke ts: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-rebec ca-rego-november-11-2020/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20201111T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Rebecca Rego featuring Leah Casey – Songs for Cleaning Women URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/rebecca-rego-songs-for-cleaning-w omen/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2020/08/Pressphoto-1.jpg?resize=471%2C315&ssl=1\;471\;315\,me dium\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08 /Pressphoto-1.jpg?resize=471%2C315&ssl=1\;471\;315\,large\;https://i0.wp.c om/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pressphoto-1.jpg?res ize=471%2C315&ssl=1\;471\;315\,full\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird .org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pressphoto-1.jpg?resize=471%2C315&ssl=1\;4 71\;315 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

T he Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:

Rebecca Rego fe aturing Leah Casey – Songs for Cleaning Women

Rebecca Reg o has been a Midwest singer-songwriter\, recording artist\, and producer f or over 15 years. She has written and recorded eight albums and toured the country many times over\, solo and with her Chicago-based band The Trainm en.

In 201 4\, a mysterious package arrived on her doorstep.In it was Lucia Berlin’s short story collection\, “A Manual For Cleaning Women.” The note simply sa id: “I think you’ll love this.” As Rego began picking through the dark\, w itty\, romantic prose\, the stories slowly began to seep into her consciou sness and affect her songwriting. After a few years\, she realized she had created a unique set of songs based on Berlin’s book.

In the fall of 2019\, Rego traveled to Northern California\, where a handful of Berli n’s stories take place\, and recorded six of these songs at Panoramic Stud io in Stinson Beach with engineer Beau Sorenson (Death Cab For Cutie\, tUn E-yArDs\,) backed by multi-instrumentalist J. Tom Hnatow (Horse Feathers\, Ringo Starr\,) and Alysia Kraft\, Staci Foster\, and Tobias Bank of Fort Collins\, CO based band Whippoorwill. The resulting album “Songs For Clean ing Women Pt. 1” will be released November 11\, 2020. The release will be celebrated with a livestreaming performance during Grammy Award-winning mu sic ensemble Eighth Blackbird’s “Chicago Artists Workshop” series.

As an independent female artist\, Rego is influenced by the unflinching\, raw honesty found in Berlin’s art. Many of Berlin’s stories are semi-auto biographical accounts of her time working blue-collar jobs\, raising four children as a single mother\, and dealing with her own alcoholism. Berlin died in 2004\, never receiving critical acclaim in her own lifetime. Rego’ s goal with this release is to pay homage to Berlin’s stories and introduc e new audiences to her work.

Rebecca will be joined by Lea h Casey\, a Chicago-based actress\, writer\, and dancer with a lo ve for fictional podcasts.

Some of her previous credits include Frankenstein with Manual Cinema\, For Colored Girls at Court Theatre\, and Romeo and Ju liet with Teatro Vista. When not onstage\, she can be found behind the mic as Rebecca Neil\, a reporter for The Onion’s daily news podcast\, The Top ical\, or working with the cast of Project STELLAR\, a science fiction pod cast about a group of crazy kids who have close encounters of the awesome kind.

Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-rebecca-rego-november-11-2020/.

X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-rebecca-rego-november-11-2020/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-70255@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:The Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:\nJustin Roberts and Anna Steinhoff\nFor nearly 20 years\, Justin Roberts has been creating the sou ndtrack to families’ lives\, helping kids navigate the joys and sorrows of growing up while allowing parents to remember their own childhoods. Along with his band\, The Not Ready for Naptime Players\, Justin has travelled the globe from Hong Kong to New York\, and Miami to Seattle\, performing a t venues and festivals such as LEGO land\, Ravinia\, Lollapolooza and Aust in City Limits festival. Justin has performed in front of millions of peop le on The Today Show\, he’s been featured on Nick Jr. TV\, and has receive d three GRAMMY nominations for his work.\nOn the other end of the musical spectrum\, Anna Steinhoff specializes in baroque cello and viola da gamba\ , in addition to the modern cello. She is principal cellist of the Indiana polis Baroque Orchestra\, and is a member of the Haymarket Opera Company\, Third Coast Baroque\, Wayward Sisters and Second City Musick.\nJustin’s l atest album\, Wild Life\, is his 14th album for families and his most pers onal project yet. Inspired by the birth of their first child\, Justin wrot e cello parts for Anna into almost every track. They were joined by an ecl ectic group of instrumentalists including pianist Lisa Kaplan (Eighth Blac kbird)\, percussionist Gerald Dowd (Robbie Fulks)\, and vocalist Nora O’Co nnor (Flat Five\, the Decemberists). Wild Life includes songs about antici pation\, uncertainty\, unconditional love and advice for a life well-lived \, and aims to evoke the wonder of what poet Mary Oliver called this “one wild and precious life.”Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/c hicago-artists-workshop-justin-roberts-and-anna-steinhoff-november-18-2020 /. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20201118T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Justin Roberts and Anna Steinhoff URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/justin-roberts-and-anna-steinhoff / X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?resize=422%2C417&ssl=1\;422\;417\,medium\ ;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/imag e4.jpeg?resize=422%2C417&ssl=1\;422\;417\,large\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eig hthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?resize=422%2C417&s sl=1\;422\;417\,full\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content /uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?resize=422%2C417&ssl=1\;422\;417 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

T he Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:

Justin Roberts and Anna Steinhoff

For nearly 20 years\, Justin Roberts h as been creating the soundtrack to families’ lives\, helping kids navigate the joys and sorrows of growing up while allowing parents to remember the ir own childhoods. Along with his band\, The Not Ready for Naptime Players \, Justin has travelled the globe from Hong Kong to New York\, and Miami t o Seattle\, performing at venues and festivals such as LEGO land\, Ravinia \, Lollapolooza and Austin City Limits festival. Justin has performed in f ront of millions of people on The Today Show\, he’s been featured on Nick Jr. TV\, and has received three GRAMMY nominations for his work.

< img data-attachment-id='70250' data-permalink='https://www.eighthblackbird .org/?attachment_id=70250' data-orig-file='https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthbla ckbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?fit=640%2C632&ssl=1' dat a-orig-size='640\,632' data-comments-opened='0' data-image-meta='{'apertur e':'1.8'\,'credit':''\,'camera':'iPhone 11 Pro'\,'caption':''\,'created_ti mestamp':'1582043068'\,'copyright':''\,'focal_length':'4.25'\,'iso':'500'\ ,'shutter_speed':'0.016666666666667'\,'title':''\,'orientation':'0'}' data -image-title='image4' data-image-description='' data-medium-file='https:// i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?f it=486%2C480&ssl=1' data-large-file='https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird .org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?fit=640%2C632&ssl=1' loading=' lazy' class=' wp-image-70250 alignleft' src='https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthb lackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?resize=422%2C417&ssl=1 ' alt='' width='422' height='417' srcset='https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblac kbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?resize=486%2C480&ssl=1 48 6w\, https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ image4.jpeg?resize=32%2C32&ssl=1 32w\, https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbi rd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?resize=45%2C45&ssl=1 45w\, h ttps://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4 .jpeg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 100w\, https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jpeg?resize=50%2C50&ssl=1 50w\, http s://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image4.jp eg?w=640&ssl=1 640w' sizes='(max-width: 422px) 100vw\, 422px' data-recalc- dims='1' />On the other end of the musical spectrum\, Anna Steinhoff speci alizes in baroque cello and viola da gamba\, in addition to the modern cel lo. She is principal cellist of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra\, and i s a member of the Haymarket Opera Company\, Third Coast Baroque\, Wayward Sisters and Second City Musick.

Justin’s latest album\, Wild Life\ , is his 14th album for families and his most personal project yet. Inspir ed by the birth of their first child\, Justin wrote cello parts for Anna i nto almost every track. They were joined by an eclectic group of instrumen talists including pianist Lisa Kaplan (Eighth Blackbird)\, percussionist G erald Dowd (Robbie Fulks)\, and vocalist Nora O’Connor (Flat Five\, the De cemberists). Wild Life includes songs about anticipation\, uncertainty\, u nconditional love and advice for a life well-lived\, and aims to evoke the wonder of what poet Mary Oliver called this “one wild and precious life.”

Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chica go-artists-workshop-justin-roberts-and-anna-steinhoff-november-18-2020/.

X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-justin-roberts-and-anna-steinhoff-november-18-2020/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-70256@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:The Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:\nXuan\nXuan is a new med ia artist\, filmmaker\, and pianist working at the intersection of music\, visual art\, and technology.\nPhoto by: Nadine Sherman\nHer work focuses on the distinct interconnectivity between sound and image\, and encompasse s experimental animation\, narrative documentary shorts\, music videos\, a bstract scenography\, interactive installations and real time audio-visual programming. With a background as a contemporary classical pianist\, she actively develops innovative\, cross-disciplinary projects that broaden th e immersive scope of new music through technology.\nShe has collaborated w ith artists such as Glenn Kotche\, Pierre Jodlowski\, Michael Burritt\, Ge mma Peacocke\, Annika Socolofsky\, Third Coast Percussion\, Nois Quartet\, Parhelion Trio\, Rubiks Collective\, and Ensemble Garage\, which have led to performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art\, the MCA Chicago\, the Smithsonian Institution\, University of South Carolina\, Carnegie Mellon University\, Constellation\, SF Jazz\, Le Poisson Rouge\, and the Indie Gr its Film Festival. Recent projects in interactive design have been exhibit ed at the ErsterErster Gallery in Berlin\, DE\, the ibug Urban Art Festiva l in Reinchenbach\, DE\, and Design Biennale 2019 in Zürich\, CH.\nXuan is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and has studied Media Spaces at the BTK University of Art and Design in Berlin.Tickets: https://www.eight hblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-xuan-december-1-2020/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20201201T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Xuan URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/xuan/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2020/01/Zhang_Amy-headshot-scaled-e1579637552623-480x480.jpg? resize=392%2C392&ssl=1\;392\;392\,medium\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblac kbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Zhang_Amy-headshot-scaled-e1579637552 623-480x480.jpg?resize=392%2C392&ssl=1\;392\;392\,large\;https://i0.wp.com /www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Zhang_Amy-headshot-sca led-e1579637552623-480x480.jpg?resize=392%2C392&ssl=1\;392\;392\,full\;htt ps://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Zhang_Am y-headshot-scaled-e1579637552623-480x480.jpg?resize=392%2C392&ssl=1\;392\; 392 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

T he Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:

Xuan\n

Xuan is a new media artist\, filmmaker\, and pianist working at the intersection of music\, visual art\, and technology.

Photo by: Nadine Sherman

Her work focuses on the distinct interconnectivity between sound and image\, and encompasses experimental animation\, narrative documentary sho rts\, music videos\, abstract scenography\, interactive installations and real time audio-visual programming. With a background as a contemporary cl assical pianist\, she actively develops innovative\, cross-disciplinary pr ojects that broaden the immersive scope of new music through technology.\n

She has collaborated with artists such as Glenn Kotche\, Pierre Jod lowski\, Michael Burritt\, Gemma Peacocke\, Annika Socolofsky\, Third Coas t Percussion\, Nois Quartet\, Parhelion Trio\, Rubiks Collective\, and Ens emble Garage\, which have led to performances at the Metropolitan Museum o f Art\, the MCA Chicago\, the Smithsonian Institution\, University of Sout h Carolina\, Carnegie Mellon University\, Constellation\, SF Jazz\, Le Poi sson Rouge\, and the Indie Grits Film Festival. Recent projects in interac tive design have been exhibited at the ErsterErster Gallery in Berlin\, DE \, the ibug Urban Art Festival in Reinchenbach\, DE\, and Design Biennale 2019 in Zürich\, CH.

Xuan is a graduate of the Eastman School of M usic and has studied Media Spaces at the BTK University of Art and Design in Berlin.

Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop- xuan-december-1-2020/.

X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-xuan-december-1-2020/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71031@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:The Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:\nJ. Ivy\nJ. Ivy is an Aw ard Winning Performance Poet\, Recording Artist\, Song Writer\, Author and Actor. Over the years his work has earned him a Peabody\, Clio\, Telly\, and NAACP Image Award and he is widely known for being the “Poet” featured on Kanye West’s Grammy Winning Album\, “The College Dropout\,” on the cla ssic song “Never Let Me Down\,” along with Hip-Hop icon Jay-Z.\nEarly in h is career Ivy was featured on three seasons of HBO’s Russell Simmons prese nts Def Poetry. From there his work has been featured everywhere from comm ercials to classrooms. From hosting and performing at conferences for Deep ak Chopra to penning and performing a poem for the NBA Hall of Fame Legend Michael Jordan\, J. Ivy has used his unique style of poetry to navigate t he art form to arenas of all facets. He has poetically narrated\, acted\, and starred in two B.E.T. documentaries\, “Muhammad Ali: The People’s Cham p” and “Martin: The Legacy of a King\,” which paid homage to two of the wo rld’s most iconic voices. He has done voice-over work for dozens of commer cials\, starred as the spokesperson in AARP’s national ad\, and can be hea rd on Coca-Cola’s new History Shakers commercial. The author of three book s\, his latest being “Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain\,” has inspi red many to pick up the pen and write their own Dear Father Letter in hope s to promote the Power of Forgiveness. After the world shut down due to Co vid-19\, in July of 2020\, J. Ivy wrote and narrated Beyoncé’s Black Is Ki ng promo for the Return of the NBA.\nNot only has he collaborated with cou ntless musical artist\, J.Ivy has recently released his 4th studio album\, “Catching Dreams\,” which is a beautiful blend of poetry and music. He al so recently finished co-writing and co-producing\, singer-song-writer\, Ta rrey Torae’s upcoming album\, “Thanks for the Love\,” and co-wrote the new song\, “Freedom Ride” with Grammy Nominated House Music Legend\, DJ Terry Hunter\, which is also by Ms. Torae. He is the Poet Laureate for the fame d visual artist Ernie Barnes’ Foundation.\nA fun fact for many\, is J. Ivy is the man who gave Emmy\, Oscar\, Grammy\, and Tony Award-Winning singer \, songwriter\, actor\, and activist John Stephens the stage name John Leg end\, as told by John himself on Oprah’s Next Chapter. In 2019 J. Ivy beca me the first Spoken Word Artist to hold a Chapter President’s seat (Chicag o Chapter) in the history of the Recording Academy.\nThis program is parti ally supported by a grant from Illinois Arts Council Agency. Tickets: http s://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-j-ivy-decembe r-8-2020/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20201208T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:J. Ivy URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/j-ivy-2/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2020/09/J.-Ivy-headshot.jpg?resize=448%2C358&ssl=1\;448\;358\ ,medium\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020 /09/J.-Ivy-headshot.jpg?resize=448%2C358&ssl=1\;448\;358\,large\;https://i 2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/J.-Ivy-headsho t.jpg?resize=448%2C358&ssl=1\;448\;358\,full\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighth blackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/J.-Ivy-headshot.jpg?resize=448%2C 358&ssl=1\;448\;358 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

T he Chicago Artists Workshop Presents:

J. Ivy

J. Ivy is an Award Winning Performance Poet\, Recording Artist\, Song Writer\, Author and Actor. Over the years his work has earned him a P eabody\, Clio\, Telly\, and NAACP Image Award and he is widely known for b eing the “Poet” featured on Kanye West’s Grammy Winning Album\, “The Colle ge Dropout\,” on the classic song “Never Let Me Down\,” along with Hip-Hop icon Jay-Z.

Early in his career Ivy was featured on three seasons of HBO’s Russell Simmons presents Def P oetry. From there his work has been featured everywhere from commercials t o classrooms. From hosting and performing at conferences for Deepak Chopra to penning and performing a poem for the NBA Hall of Fame Legend Michael Jordan\, J. Ivy has used his unique style of poetry to navigate the art fo rm to arenas of all facets. He has poetically narrated\, acted\, and starr ed in two B.E.T. documentaries\, “Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ” and “M artin: The Legacy of a King\,” which paid homage to two of the world’s mos t iconic voices. He has done voice-over work for dozens of commercials\, s tarred as the spokesperson in AARP’s national ad\, and can be heard on Coc a-Cola’s new History Shakers commercial. The author of three books\, his l atest being “Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain\,” has inspired many to pick up the pen and write their own Dear Father Letter in hopes to prom ote the Power of Forgiveness. After the world shut down due to Covid-19\, in July of 2020\, J. Ivy wrote and narrated Beyoncé’s Black Is King promo for the Return of the NBA.

Not only has he collaborated with count less musical artist\, J.Ivy has recently released his 4th studio album\, “ Catching Dreams\,” which is a beautiful blend of poetry and music. He also recently finished co-writing and co-producing\, singer-song-writer\, Tarr ey Torae’s upcoming album\, “Thanks for the Love\,” and co-wrote the new s ong\, “Freedom Ride” with Grammy Nominated House Music Legend\, DJ Terry H unter\, which is also by Ms. Torae. He is the Poet Laureate for the famed visual artist Ernie Barnes’ Foundation.

A fun fact for many\, is J . Ivy is the man who gave Emmy\, Oscar\, Grammy\, and Tony Award-Winning s inger\, songwriter\, actor\, and activist John Stephens the stage name Joh n Legend\, as told by John himself on Oprah’s Next Chapter. In 2019 J. Ivy became the first Spoken Word Artist to hold a Chapter President’s seat (C hicago Chapter) in the history of the Recording Academy.

This program is partially supported by a grant from Illinois Arts Council Agen cy.

Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop -j-ivy-december-8-2020/.

X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-j-ivy-december-8-2020/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-70257@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents: Tarrey Torae\n\nChicago bred \, but southern at heart\, Tarrey Torae’s melodic presence springs from th e crossroads of city living\, southern geniality\, essential womanhood\, a nd passionate soul. No amateur to music\, Tarrey is a 6x Apollo Winner and has appeared on 2 GRAMMY Award Winning Albums for her work with Kanye Wes t on The College Drop Out and John Legend’s\, Get Lifted.\nThis musical po werhouse has performed on stages with The Roots\, Common\, Talib Kweli\, P atti Labelle and Stevie Wonder and has shared stages with the likes of Jil l Scott\, Mos Def\, Nas\, Usher\, Anthony Hamilton\, Faith Evans\, Dave Ch appelle\, Lupe Fiasco\, Cee Lo Green\, Little Brother\, El Debarge\, Lyfe Jennings\, Eric Roberson\, India.Arie\, Amel Larrieux\, Erykah Badu\, Migu el\, Marsha Ambrosius\, Roy Ayers\, Snoop Dogg\, the late great Gil‐Scott Heron\, Will.I.Am\, and many more.\nAlong with her audacious voice\, her s ongwriting skills have been featured on Platinum & Gold records with Kanye West\, John Legend\, & Freeway. She’s also been on records with Talib Kwe li\, DMX\, J. Ivy\, Pete Rock\, and The Last Poets\, and has been commissi oned to do work in the advertisement world for brands such as All State\, General Mills\, Ford\, and Toyota.\nBeyond singing and writing\, her actin g background has extended to theater\, film and television\, where she lan ded the lead role on the Off‐Broadway play “Me and My Shadow.” She also ap peared on an episode of the Emmy Award Winning Drama Series “ER\,” and in an independent comedy called “Not Another Black Film” (Amazon 2017). Recen tly she has taken on a new role in the upcoming film “Hal King” and is pla ying the character named Madame Quickly\, which is set to release in the s ummer of 2018.\nSome of Torae’s other endeavors include the release of her album\, The Sweetest Survivor\, her House Music singles\, Marching On\, L et It Go\, and most recently\, Freedom Ride. Freedom Ride was produced by Grammy Nominated House Legend\, DJ Terry Hunter. Tarrey is currently prepa ring for the release of her upcoming R&B Soul album\, as she continues to tour with the Iconic Hip-Hop Legend Slick Rick the Ruler\, and Internation al Award-winning Poet\, J. Ivy.\nFurther\, Tarrey works in the community w ith children and young adults giving self‐esteem and creative workshops. A n example of this can be seen in her music video titled\, Little Girl. Wit h Tarrey Torae’s talent and creative fervor\, she is bound to leave a time less mark on music and art.\nTickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/prod uct/chicago-artists-workshop-tarrey-torae/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210213T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Tarrey Torae URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/tarrey-torae/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i1.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2020/08/474A9031-scaled.jpg?resize=507%2C338&ssl=1\;507\;338\ ,medium\;https://i1.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020 /08/474A9031-scaled.jpg?resize=507%2C338&ssl=1\;507\;338\,large\;https://i 1.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/474A9031-scale d.jpg?resize=507%2C338&ssl=1\;507\;338\,full\;https://i1.wp.com/www.eighth blackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/474A9031-scaled.jpg?resize=507%2C 338&ssl=1\;507\;338 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

C hicago Artists Workshop Presents: Tarrey Torae

Chicago bred\, but southern at heart\ , Tarrey Torae’s melodic presence springs from the crossroads of city livi ng\, southern geniality\, essential womanhood\, and passionate soul. No am ateur to music\, Tarrey is a 6x Apollo Winner and has appeared on 2 GRAMMY Award Winning Albums for her work with Kanye West on The College Drop Out and John Legend’s\, Get Lifted.

This musical po werhouse has performed on stages with The Roots\, Common\, Talib Kweli\, P atti Labelle and Stevie Wonder and has shared stages with the likes of Jil l Scott\, Mos Def\, Nas\, Usher\, Anthony Hamilton\, Faith Evans\, Dave Ch appelle\, Lupe Fiasco\, Cee Lo Green\, Little Brother\, El Debarge\, Lyfe Jennings\, Eric Roberson\, India.Arie\, Amel Larrieux\, Erykah Badu\, Migu el\, Marsha Ambrosius\, Roy Ayers\, Snoop Dogg\, the late great Gil‐Scott Heron\, Will.I.Am\, and many more.

Along with her audacious voice\ , her songwriting skills have been featured on Platinum & Gold records wit h Kanye West\, John Legend\, & Freeway. She’s also been on records with Ta lib Kweli\, DMX\, J. Ivy\, Pete Rock\, and The Last Poets\, and has been c ommissioned to do work in the advertisement world for brands such as All S tate\, General Mills\, Ford\, and Toyota.

Beyond singing and writi ng\, her acting background has extended to theater\, film and television\, where she landed the lead role on the Off‐Broadway play “Me and My Shadow .” She also appeared on an episode of the Emmy Award Winning Drama Series “ER\,” and in an independent comedy called “Not Another Black Film” (Amazo n 2017). Recently she has taken on a new role in the upcoming film “Hal Ki ng” and is playing the character named Madame Quickly\, which is set to re lease in the summer of 2018.

Some of Torae’s other endeavors inclu de the release of her album\, The Sweetest Survivor\, her House Music sing les\, Marching On\, Let It Go\, and most recently\, Freedom Ride. Freedom Ride was produced by Grammy Nominated House Legend\, DJ Terry Hunter. Tarr ey is currently preparing for the release of her upcoming R&B Soul album\, as she continues to tour with the Iconic Hip-Hop Legend Slick Rick the Ru ler\, and International Award-winning Poet\, J. Ivy.

Further\, Tar rey works in the community with children and young adults giving self‐este em and creative workshops. An example of this can be seen in her music vid eo titled\, Little Girl. With Tarrey Torae’s talent and creative fervor\, she is bound to leave a timeless mark on music and art.

Tick ets: https://www.eighthbl ackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-tarrey-torae/.

X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-tarrey-torae/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71048@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents: Tom Lee\n\nThe Great Zodiac Animal Race\nGrowing up in Hawai’i\, Tom Lee’s memories of Lunar New Year included narcissus blooms\, tasty dim sum dishes and bowing to your elders before running off to your room to open your lucky red envelope with mone y in it! Tom Lee retells the classic Lunar New Year zodiac tale with shado w puppet animals inspired by Asian languages and pictograms. Suitable for all ages.\nStream begins 6pm CT/7pm ET/4pm PT.\nA recorded version of the show will be available at the same link starting at 12:00am CT on 2/28 unt il 11:59pm CT on 3/1.\n—\nBorn in Seoul\, Korea and raised in Mililani\, H awai’i\, Tom Lee is a director\, designer and puppet artist based in New Y ork & Chicago. Mr. Lee began his career at La MaMa Experimental Theater in New York with the encouragement of Ellen Stewart and\, later\, the St. An n’s Warehouse Puppet Lab. His original puppet theater work includes Shank’ s Mare (La MaMa\, International Tours)\, Hoplite Diary (St. Ann’s\, La MaM a)\, Tomte (Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival)\, Odysseus and Ajax (La MaMa) and Ko’olau (La MaMa/Hawai’i tour). Mr. Lee directed & desi gned puppetry for Pinocchio with the House Theater of Chicago\, The Scarle t Ibis by Stefan Weisman and David Cote at the Prototype New Opera Festiva l and for the National Asian American Theatre Company\, among others. Mr. Lee collaborated with director Stephen Earnhart on a multimedia staging of Haruki Murakami’s The Wind Up Bird Chronicle\, for which he designed the scenery\, puppetry and projected puppet miniatures at the Edinburgh Intern ational Festival in 2011 and the Singapore Arts Festival in 2012.\nMr. Lee has performed extensively as a puppeteer\, including the Tony Award-winni ng War Horse at Lincoln Center Theater with puppetry by Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa. He is a principal puppeteer of Cio-Cio-san’s chil d in the late Anthony Minghella’s production of Madama Butterfly at the Me tropolitan Opera with puppetry by Blind Summit Theatre. Tom directed the p uppetry for the Giants Are Small production of Petrushka with the New York Philharmonic on tour at London’s Barbican Centre and was a puppeteer in L e Grand Macabre at Avery Fisher Hall directed by Doug Fitch and conducted by Alan Gilbert. He has performed in Dan Hurlin’s Obie-award winning puppe t work Hiroshima Maiden and Disfarmer\, on tour and at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. Tom recently performed in Lee Breuer’s epic puppet opera La Divina Caricatura at La MaMa.\nTom’s theater design work includes puppets\ , projections and sets for Lookingglass Theater\, Yoshiko Chuma\, Bora Yoo n\, Tom O’Horgan\, Czechoslovak American Marionette Theatre\, Paper Canoe Company\, The Georgia Shakespeare Festival\, Christopher Williams\, The Sw edish Marionette Cottage\, The Stonington Opera House\, Lone Wolf Tribe an d Ellen Stewart\, among others. In 2013\, he designed the Korean pop music al The Lost Garden\, directed by June-Young Soh and premiered at the Shang hai Mercedes Benz Arena in China.\nIn 2005\, supported by the NEA/TCG Care er Development Program for Designers\, Tom spent two months studying tradi tional and contemporary puppetry throughout Japan. He studied with Koryu N ishikawa V\, headmaster of Hachioji Kuruma Ningyō (cart puppet theatre com pany) with whom he has maintained an ongoing creative relationship. Tom Le e and Koryu Nishikawa V developed Shank’s Mare\, a collaborative puppet th eatre work using the kuruma ningyō style. Mr. Lee’s work has received supp ort from The Jim Henson Foundation\, The Japan Foundation NY\, The TCG/And rew W. Mellon In the Lab Program\, The TCG/ITI Travel Grant Program\, The Trust for Mutual Understanding\, The Pennsylvania Council for the Arts\, T he NYC Department of Cultural Affairs\, Japan Foundation\, Asian Cultural Council\, The Puppet Lab at St. Ann’s Warehouse and artist residences at H igh Concept Labs at Mana Contemporary Chicago\, Sarah Lawrence College\, T he Rhodophi International Theater Laboratory (Bulgaria)\, The Ringling Mus eum of Art\, The Jim Henson Carriage House and Hachioji Kuruma Ningyō.\nTo m was a guest faculty member at Sarah Lawrence College for ten years and w as co-director of the St. Ann’s Puppet Lab from 2009-2011. Eileen Blumenth al\, author of Puppetry: A World History\, wrote of Hoplite Diary\, “An ex traordinary piece of theater–huge in scope and filled with exquisite detai l and emotion. Tom Lee is an exciting new talent.”Tickets: https://www.eig hthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-tom-lee/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210226T180000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Tom Lee URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/tom-lee/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/01/Tom_Lee_SM_CreditAyumiSakamoto.jpg?resize=408%2C408&s sl=1\;408\;408\,medium\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-conte nt/uploads/2021/01/Tom_Lee_SM_CreditAyumiSakamoto.jpg?resize=408%2C408&ssl =1\;408\;408\,large\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/01/Tom_Lee_SM_CreditAyumiSakamoto.jpg?resize=408%2C408&ssl=1\ ;408\;408\,full\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uplo ads/2021/01/Tom_Lee_SM_CreditAyumiSakamoto.jpg?resize=408%2C408&ssl=1\;408 \;408 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n

Chicago Artists Workshop Presents: Tom Lee

The Great Zodiac Animal Race
\nGrowing up in Hawai’i\, Tom Lee’s memories of Lunar New Year i ncluded narcissus blooms\, tasty dim sum dishes and bowing to your elders before running off to your room to open your lucky red envelope with money in it! Tom Lee retells the classic Lunar New Year zodiac tale with shadow puppet animals inspired by Asian languages and pictograms. Suitable for a ll ages.

\n
Stream begins 6pm CT/7pm ET/4pm PT.
\n
A recorded ve rsion of the show will be available at the same link starting at 12:00am C T on 2/28 until 11:59pm CT on 3/1.
\n
—
\n
Born in Seoul\, Korea and raised in Mililani\, Hawai’i\, Tom L ee is a director\, designer and pu ppet artist based in New York & Chicago. Mr. Lee began his career at La Ma Ma Experimental Theater in New Yor k with the encouragement of Ellen Stewart and\, later\, the St. Ann’s Warehouse Puppet Lab. His original pup pet theater work includes Shank’s Mare (La MaMa\, International Tours)\, Hoplite Diary (St. Ann’s\, La MaMa) \, Tomte (Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival)\, Odysseus and Ajax (La MaMa) and Ko’olau (La MaMa/ Hawai’i tour). Mr. Lee directed & designed puppetry for Pinocchio with the House Theater of Chicago\, The Sc arlet Ibis by Stefan Weisman and D avid Cote at the Prototype New Opera Festival and for the National Asian American Theatre Company\, among ot hers. Mr. Lee collaborated with director Stephen Earnhart on a multimedia staging of Haruki Murakami’s The W ind Up Bird Chronicle\, for which he designed the scenery\, puppetry and projected puppet miniatures at the Edinburgh International Festival i n 2011 and the Singapore Arts Festival in 2012.
\n
Mr. Lee has performed extensively as a puppeteer\, i ncluding the Tony Award-winning Wa r Horse at Lincoln Center Theater with puppetry by Handspring Puppet Compa ny of South Africa. He is a princi pal puppeteer of Cio-Cio-san’s child in the late Anthony Minghella’s production of Madama Butterfly at the M etropolitan Opera with puppetry by Blind Summit Theatre. Tom directed the puppetry for the Giants Are Small production of Petrushka with the N ew York Philharmonic on tour at London’s Barbican Centre and was a puppete er in Le Grand Macabre at Avery Fi sher Hall directed by Doug Fitch and conducted by Alan Gilbert. He has performed in Dan Hurlin’s Obie-award winning puppet work Hiroshima Maiden and Disfarmer\, on tour and at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. Tom rec ently performed in Lee Breuer’s epic puppet opera La Divina Caricatura at La MaMa.
\n
Tom’s theater design work includes puppets\, projec tions and sets for Lookingglass Th eater\, Yoshiko Chuma\, Bora Yoon\, Tom O’Horgan\, Czechoslovak American M arionette Theatre\, Paper Canoe Co mpany\, The Georgia Shakespeare Festival\, Christopher Williams\, The Swedish Marionette Cottage\, The Stoni ngton Opera House\, Lone Wolf Tribe and Ellen Stewart\, among others. In 2013\, he designed the Korean pop m usical The Lost Garden\, directed by June-Young Soh and premiered at the Shanghai Mercedes Benz Arena in Chi na.
\n
In 2005\, supported by the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers\, Tom spent two months studying traditional and contem porary puppetry throughout Japan. He studied with Koryu Nishikawa V\, headmaster of Hachioji Kuruma Ningyō ( cart puppet theatre company) with whom he has maintained an ongoing creative relationship. Tom Lee and Koryu Nishikawa V developed Shank’s Mar e\, a collaborative puppet theatre work using the kuruma ningyō style. Mr. Lee’s work has received support f rom The Jim Henson Foundation\, The Japan Foundation NY\, The TCG/Andrew W. Mellon In the Lab Program\, The TCG/ITI Travel Grant Program\, The Trust for Mutual Understanding\, The Pennsylvania Council for the Arts\, The NYC Department of Cultural Aff airs\, Japan Foundation\, Asian Cultural Council\, The Puppet Lab at St. Ann’s Warehouse and artist residenc es at High Concept Labs at Mana Contemporary Chicago\, Sarah Lawrence College\, The Rhodophi International T heater Laboratory (Bulgaria)\, The Ringling Museum of Art\, The Jim Henson Carriage House and Hachioji Kurum a Ningyō.
\n
Tom was a guest faculty member at Sarah Lawrence College for ten years and was co-director of the St. Ann’s Puppet Lab from 2009-2011. Eileen Blumenthal\, author of Puppetry: A World History\, wrote of Hoplite Diary\, “An extraordinary piece of theater–huge in scope and filled with exquisite detail and em otion. Tom Lee is an exciting new talent.”
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product /chicago-artists-workshop-tom-lee/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-tom-lee/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71057@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents: Nick Zoulek\n“…Zoulek’s perf ormance\, on saxophones in every range\, is stunningly virtuosic\, whateve r the genre.” -The Wall Street Journal\nA modern saxophonist of “pure mind fulness and talent” (PopMatters)\, Nick Zoulek’s focus on performance\, co llaboration\, multimedia\, and improvisation\, has led to a diverse portfo lio of distinctive artistic ventures\, performing across France\, the Unit ed Kingdom\, Canada\, and the United States.\nAs a soloist\, Nick’s craft has been lauded as “wickedly contagious” (The Huffington Post) with the ca pacity to “[take] you to other worlds” (Milwaukee Magazine). The versatili ty Nick displays on the saxophone has been praised as “[b]eautiful harmoni es [singing] in contrast to mysterious knockings and hums\, and finally to ungodly\, soul-shattering blasts” (Shepherd Express). Bringing together d iverse musical landscapes\, Nick’s performances traverse genre\, bringing together classical\, jazz\, experimental\, and rock idioms. He has garnere d numerous awards as a classical soloist\, and has been featured in concer ti with the University of Wisconsin Whitewater Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra\, the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Wind Ensemble \, and the Boulogne Ensemble du Vent. Committed to advancing the classical saxophone\, Nick performs frequently as a visiting guest artist at univer sities across the United States\, most recently as the featured artist of the Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival and as the year-long Artist in Re sidence for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee SENSORIA series.\nAs an interdisciplinary artist\, Nick is “a no-holds-barred engine of avant-gard e exploration\,” (Portland Press Herald). Currently\, Nick is working on h is second album project\, Enter Branch\, which will combine his performanc e and compositions with members of Bon Iver\, Eighth Blackbird\, Field Rep ort\, the Tontine Ensemble\, ~nois saxophone quartet\, and many more. He h as served as music director with Wild Space Dance Company\, and has scored and performed dance works with the Madison Ballet\, HYPERlocal\, and with members of Zenon and Like You Mean It dance companies. Nick often works with film and animation\, experimenting with the expressive potential of v isual media. His films center on self-composed scores\, and have been scre ened at festivals in England\, Canada\, Serbia\, Africa\, and around the U nited States. Nick’s media works have garnered numerous awards\, including Best Experimental Film from the London Modcon International Film Festival and Largo Film Festival. Nick’s music can be heard on Rushing Past Willow (INNOVA Records)\, which fuses all of facets of his work through self-com posed pieces for alto\, tenor\, and bass saxophone.\nNick maintains an act ive profile researching the saxophone’s role in contemporary classical mus ic\, presenting on contemporary aesthetics and saxophone performance. He h as served on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (sabbatical replacement)\, teaching saxophone and jazz studies courses. He holds a Do ctor of Musical Arts degree in Contemporary Music Performance with a cogna te in Digital Media from Bowling Green State University. Additionally\, Ni ck holds a Master of Music Performance from BGSU\, a Certificat des Études Musicales from the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régionale de Boulogne-Bill ancourt\, and a Bachelor of Music Performance with Magna Cum Laude honors from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has previously learned wit h Dr. John Sampen\, Jean-Michel Goury\, Dr. Matthew Sintchak\, and Dr. Jon Amon.Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-wor kshop-nick-zoulek/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210310T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Nick Zoulek URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/nick-zoulek/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/01/NZ.jpg?resize=457%2C305&ssl=1\;457\;305\,medium\;http s://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/NZ.jpg?re size=457%2C305&ssl=1\;457\;305\,large\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbi rd.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/NZ.jpg?resize=457%2C305&ssl=1\;457\;305\ ,full\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/0 1/NZ.jpg?resize=457%2C305&ssl=1\;457\;305 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago A rtists Workshop Presents: Nick Zoulek
\n
“…Zoulek’s performance\, on saxophones in every range\, is stunningly virt uosic\, whatever the genre.” -The Wall Street Journal
\n
A modern saxophonist of “pure mindfulness and talent” (PopMatte rs)\, Nick Zoulek’s focus on performance\, collaboration\, multimedia\, an d improvisation\, has led to a diverse portfolio of distinctive artistic v entures\, performing across France\, the United Kingdom\, Canada\, and the United States.
\n
As a soloist\, Nick’s craft has been laud ed as “wickedly contagious” (The Huffington Post) with the capaci ty to “[take] you to other worlds” (Milwaukee Magazine). The vers atility Nick displays on the saxophone has been praised as “[b]eautifu l harmonies [singing] in contrast to mysterious knockings and hums\, and f inally to ungodly\, soul-shattering blasts” (Shepherd Express). Bring ing together diverse musical landscapes\, Nick’s performances traverse gen re\, bringing together classical\, jazz\, experimental\, and rock idioms. He has garnered numerous awards as a classical soloist\, and has been feat ured in concerti with the University of Wisconsin Whitewater Symphonic Win d Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra\, the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Wind Ensemble\, and the Boulogne Ensemble du Vent. Committed to advancing the classical saxophone\, Nick performs frequently as a visiting guest ar tist at universities across the United States\, most recently as the featu red artist of the Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival and as the year-lon g Artist in Residence for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee SENSORIA s eries.
\n
As an interdisciplinary artist\, Nick is “a no -holds-barred engine of avant-garde exploration\,” (Portland Press He rald). Currently\, Nick is working on his second album project\, E nter Branch\, which will combine his performance and compositions with members of Bon Iver\, Eighth Blackbird\, Field Report\, the Tontine Ensemble\, ~nois saxophone quartet\, and many more. He has served as music director with Wild Space Dance Company\, and has scored and performed dan ce works with the Madison Ballet\, HYPERlocal\, and with members of Zenon and Like You Mean It dance companies. Nick often works with film and anim ation\, experimenting with the expressive potential of visual media. His f ilms center on self-composed scores\, and have been screened at festivals in England\, Canada\, Serbia\, Africa\, and around the United States. Nick ’s media works have garnered numerous awards\, including Best Experimental Film from the London Modcon International Film Festival and Largo Film Fe stival. Nick’s music can be heard on Rushing Past Willow (INNOVA Records)\, which fuses all of facets of his work through self-comp osed pieces for alto\, tenor\, and bass saxophone.
\n
Nick m aintains an active profile researching the saxophone’s role in contemporar y classical music\, presenting on contemporary aesthetics and saxophone pe rformance. He has served on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewa ter (sabbatical replacement)\, teaching saxophone and jazz studies courses . He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Contemporary Music Performan ce with a cognate in Digital Media from Bowling Green State University. Ad ditionally\, Nick holds a Master of Music Performance from BGSU\, a Certif icat des Études Musicales from the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régionale d e Boulogne-Billancourt\, and a Bachelor of Music Performance with Magna Cu m Laude honors from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has previou sly learned with Dr. John Sampen\, Jean-Michel Goury\, Dr. Matthew Sintcha k\, and Dr. Jon Amon.
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-worksho p-nick-zoulek/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-nick-zoulek/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71065@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents\nSusy Bielak & Fred Schmalz: The World Inside This One\n\nJoin us for an evening of music\, poetry\, im age\, and imagination. In this program\, Eighth Blackbird founding members Matthew Duvall and Lisa Kaplan partner with artist/writers Susy Bielak an d Fred Schmalz for a brand-new multimedia collaboration.\nEqual parts medi tation and evocation\, The World Inside This One invites us to consider th e past\, present\, and future lives of our homes and the relationships amo ng the objects within them.\nThe evening includes a new long poem by Biela k and Schmalz\, inspired by works of Ceslaw Milosz and Jean Valentine\, wh ose poem inspired the title of this work.\nVideos by Bielak and Schmalz pr esent tableaus of domestic daily life and ritualistic acts in home and nat ure.\nThe musical score by Duvall and Kaplan—weaving through the entire pi ece—references works by Aphex Twin\, John Cage\, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèb rou\, and Hiroshi Yoshimura\, among others.\nAbout the artists:\nSusy Biel ak and Fred Schmalz are artists and writers who frequently collaborate wit h each other\, as well as with choreographers\, engineers\, historians\, m usicians\, and others. Their ongoing collective\, Balas & Wax\, mines soci al histories\, texts\, and archives to create multimedia works that reflec t the gravity and strangeness of daily life and contemporary cities.\nCrit ic\, poet\, and translator Gabriela Jauregi wrote that Balas & Wax’s work expands:\n“the practice of artmaking to embrace walks around the city\, ar chival work\, music\, poetry\, monument and anti-monument… often joined by multiple accomplices\, who make the urban landscape theirs by questioning what’s there\, by excavating what they encounter\, thereby effectively tr ansforming the city\, rendering it strange (as in the Russian concept of o stranenie\, or defamiliarization) through the process of paying attention to the inner lives of certain objects and places.\n‘Most people don’t see what’s going on around them. That’s my principal message…For Godssake keep your eyes open. Notice what’s going on around you\,’ William Burroughs co unsels in The Third Mind. And indeed Balas & Wax elevate this act of notic ing the everyday into an art form.”\nBalas & Wax’s work has manifested in exhibitions\, performances\, and publications including EXPO CHICAGO\, the Hyde Park Art Center\, Lit & Luz Festival\, Museo Tamayo\, and Poetry Mag azine.\nBielak’s work has been collected and exhibited widely\, including by the International Print Center\, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art\, and Walker Art Center. Her artwork and writing have been published in Art Papers and New American Paintings\, among others. Bielak received her MFA from the University of California San Diego. She is a 2020-21 BOLT artist in residence at Chicago Artists Coalition.\nFred Schmalz’s debut poetry c ollection\, Action in the Orchards (Nightboat Books)\, responds to encount ers with dance\, music\, and visual art. He was poet-in-residence for the LA Philharmonic’s 2018 FluxConcert in its season-long fluxus festival. His recent writing has appeared in Conduit and Oversound and is forthcoming i n The Canary. He currently co-curates the Poetry & Biscuits reading series .\nwww.susybielak.com\nwww.fredschmalz.com\nwww.balasandwax.comTickets: ht tps://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-susy-bielak -fred-schmalz/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210423T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Susy Bielak & Fred Schmalz: The World Inside This One URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/susy-bielak-fred-schmalz/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/01/image-asset.jpeg?resize=379%2C569&ssl=1\;379\;569\,me dium\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01 /image-asset.jpeg?resize=379%2C569&ssl=1\;379\;569\,large\;https://i0.wp.c om/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-asset.jpeg?res ize=379%2C569&ssl=1\;379\;569\,full\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird .org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-asset.jpeg?resize=379%2C569&ssl=1\;3 79\;569 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago Arti sts Workshop Presents
\n
Susy Bielak & Fred Schmalz: The World Inside This One
\n
\n
Join us for an evening of music\, poetry\, image\, and imagination. In this program\, Eighth Blackb ird founding members Matthew Duvall and Lisa Kaplan partner with artist/wr iters Susy Bielak and Fred Schmalz for a brand-new multimedia collaboratio n.
\n
Equal parts meditation and evocation\, The World Inside Thi s One invites us to consider the past\, present\, and future lives of our homes and the relationships among the objects within them.
\n
Th e evening includes a new long poem by Bielak and Schmalz\, inspired by wor ks of Ceslaw Milosz and Jean Valentine\, whose poem inspired the title of this work.
\n
Videos by Bielak and Schmalz present tableaus of domest ic daily life and ritualistic acts in home and nature.
\n
The musical score by Duvall and Kaplan—weaving through the entire piece—references wo rks by Aphex Twin\, John Cage\, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou\, and Hiroshi Yoshimura\, among others.
\n
About the artists:
\n
Susy Bielak and Fred Schmalz are artists and writers who frequently c ollaborate with each other\, as well as with choreographers\, engineers\, historians\, musicians\, and others. Their ongoing collective\, Balas & Wa x\, mines social histories\, texts\, and archives to create multimedia wor ks that reflect the gravity and strangeness of daily life and contemporary cities.
\n
Critic\, poet\, and translator Gabriela Jauregi wrote tha t Balas & Wax’s work expands:
\n
“the practice of artmaking to embrac e walks around the city\, archival work\, music\, poetry\, monument and an ti-monument… often joined by multiple accomplices\, who make the urban lan dscape theirs by questioning what’s there\, by excavating what they encoun ter\, thereby effectively transforming the city\, rendering it strange (as in the Russian concept of ostranenie\, or defamiliarization) thr ough the process of paying attention to the inner lives of certain objects and places.
\n
‘Most people don’t see what’s going on around them. T hat’s my principal message…For Godssake keep your eyes open. Notice what’s going on around you\,’ William Burroughs counsels in The Third Mind. And indeed Balas & Wax elevate this act of noticing the everyday into an art f orm.”
\n
Balas & Wax’s work has manifested in exhibitions\, performan ces\, and publications including EXPO CHICAGO\, the Hyde Park Art Center\, Lit & Luz Festival\, Museo Tamayo\, and Poetry Magazine.
\n
Bielak’s work has been collected and exhibited widely\, including by the Internati onal Print Center\, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art\, and Walker Art Center. Her artwork and writing have been published in Art Papers and New American Paintings\, among others. Bielak received her MFA from the Univer sity of California San Diego. She is a 2020-21 BOLT artist in residence at Chicago Artists Coalition.
\n
Fred Schmalz’s debut poetry collection \, Action in the Orchards (Nightboat Books)\, responds to encount ers with dance\, music\, and visual art. He was poet-in-residence for the LA Philharmonic’s 2018 FluxConcert in its season-long fluxus festival. His recent writing has appeared in Conduit and Oversound an d is forthcoming in The Canary. He currently co-curates the Poetr y & Biscuits reading series.
\n
www.susybielak.com
\nwww.fredschmalz.com
\nwww.balasandwax.com
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chica go-artists-workshop-susy-bielak-fred-schmalz/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-susy-bielak-fred-schmalz/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71508@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents\n5th Wave collective\n5th Wav e Collective is a Chicago-based classical music ensemble dedicated to perf orming and promoting music by womxn and gender-nonconforming composers. De monstrating their commitment to composers throughout classical music’s his tory\, the Collective performs repertoire by composers such as Teresa Carr eño\, Clara Schumann\, Florence Price\, Augusta Read Thomas\, and Aftab Da rvishi. With a roster of over 110 musicians\, 5th Wave curates concerts wi th configurations ranging from solo instruments to symphony orchestra\, an d performs in venues across Chicago\, including recital halls\, art galler ies\, community centers and restaurants. Learn more at 5thwavecollective.c om\, or by following 5th Wave on Facebook\, Instagram\, and YouTube at @5t hWaveCollective.Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-a rtists-workshop-5th-wave-collective-may-5/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210505T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:5th Wave Collective URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/5th-wave-collective/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/04/shortfinal-scaled.jpeg?resize=341%2C341&ssl=1\;341\;3 41\,medium\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2 021/04/shortfinal-scaled.jpeg?resize=341%2C341&ssl=1\;341\;341\,large\;htt ps://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/shortfin al-scaled.jpeg?resize=341%2C341&ssl=1\;341\;341\,full\;https://i2.wp.com/w ww.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/shortfinal-scaled.jpeg?r esize=341%2C341&ssl=1\;341\;341 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago Arti sts Workshop Presents
\n
5th Wave collective
\n
5 th Wave Collective is a Chicago-based classical music ensemble dedicated t o performing and promoting music by womxn and gender-nonconforming compose rs. Demonstrating their commitment to composers throughout classical music ’s history\, the Collective performs repertoire by composers such as Teres a Carreño\, Clara Schumann\, Florence Price\, Augusta Read Thomas\, and Af tab Darvishi. With a roster of over 110 musicians\, 5th Wave curates conce rts with configurations ranging from solo instruments to symphony orchestr a\, and performs in venues across Chicago\, including recital halls\, art galleries\, community centers and restaurants. Learn more at 5thwavecol lective.com\, or by following 5th Wave on Facebook\, Instagram\, and Y ouTube at @5thWaveCollective.
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/c hicago-artists-workshop-5th-wave-collective-may-5/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-5th-wave-collective-may-5/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71475@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents\nHalf Gringa\n\nHalf Gringa ( Isabel Olive) is joined by her guitarist Sam Cantor for duo arrangements o f songs from her most recent release\, Force to Reckon\, as well as new\, unreleased material.\nEmerging from Chicago’s flourishing indie music scen e\, Half Gringa blends contemporary indie-rock and Latinx pop with midwest ern folk. “When you grew up in the Midwest really into alternative rock\, but heard a lot of country music in the supermarket\,” offers Isabel Olive \, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist at the core of Half Gringa\, w hen asked to place her music in a specific genre. “Or when your mom loved Bruce Springsteen and Maná and sometimes your brain starts playing them at the same time.” The name Half Gringa is both a tribute to and study of he r legacy\, stemming from a childhood term of endearment as “la Gringa” in her Venezuelan family and her bicultural experience growing up in the Unit ed States. Olive’s work seeks to narrate her tireless pursuit as a pupil o f both her origins and her experiences.\nForce to Reckon is the Chicago-ba sed artist’s second full-length album\, following her locally acclaimed de but\, Gruñona\, which landed on Chicago Magazine’s “10 Best Chicago Albums of 2017” and Chicago Reader’s “Best Chicago Albums of the Decade.” On the self-produced 9-song set\, Olive is joined by her full-time band members — Nathan Bojko (drums)\, Sam Cantor (guitar)\, Andres Fonseca (bass)\, Luc y Little (violin) — as well as Ivan Pyzow on trumpet\, with occasional har monies and piano from fellow Chicago singer/songwriter Gia Margaret. But F orce to Reckon has the intimacy of a solo project\, and engaged listening feels like a glimpse into Olive’s journals of the last three years.\n“I’m very goal-oriented\, but I’m also a very anxious person\,” she says. “And I always need to have a plan or a process and try to predict every outcome so I’m prepared with my next move. When I started writing these songs I w as feeling emotionally upended\, a bunch of things came at me that I did n ot predict\, and instead of feeling and responding in the moment\, I swall owed all of it. These songs feel like little eruptions as a result\, they’ re all trying to reach a point of catharsis\, but you can’t force catharsi s.”\nVocally forward and instrumentally full\, the songs on Force to Recko n have a quality that feels personal\, yet meant to be shared. Olive’s poe try background is prominently displayed\, with carefully selected words us ed to craft narratives grounded in various different textures\, and each p art feels intentional and precise. It’s meticulously composed but not caut ious. “I was trying to figure out how to express my own vulnerability\, my love towards other people\, in a way that felt like I was giving myself p ermission to do so\, while accepting that loss and estrangement are inevit able\,” she goes on to say.\nEach song reaches a climactic peak in its own way and even slower tracks on the album capture something that feels expa nsive\, both sonically and emotionally. “I don’t know your feelings by the ir first name\,” Olive sings emphatically on “Afraid of Horses\,” an apolo gy punctuated by a pizzicato violin echo and soft harmonies from Gia Marga ret. And although the record is steeped in heavy-hearted themes\, Olive of ten dissects those subjects using tongue-in-cheek humor: “1991 was good to you and I\,” the 28-year-old deadpans at the start of upbeat opener “1990 \,” which traces the anxieties of adulthood back to oft-forgotten childhoo d memories.\nElsewhere\, on “Transitive Property\,” Olive explores grief a nd loss\, over a bed of bittersweet fingerpicked guitar\, by expertly plac ing the abstract concepts into the context of everyday change rather than mortality. “I’ve realized that bereavement is about more than a person dyi ng\,” she explains. “It’s an absence that you can’t control.” After her gr andmother passed away while Olive was on tour\, she tried to bury her grie f in productivity but eventually realized she needed to set aside time to process. On “Forty\,” the album’s string-heavy closer\, she finally allows herself long-overdue space to mourn.\nForce to Reckon is\, as the title s uggests\, an album with a powerful presence. Though deeply personal\, Oliv e leaves listeners space to relate and experience their own catharsis. “No ne of the songs on this record resolve\, really\,” she explains. “Many end in the middle of a thought\, because this record is about how much I’m st ill in the middle of my grieving process. Lines like ‘Time will tell if no thing else’ and ‘I will mourn you in advance\, but I never really get the chance’ sound like hindsight\, but they were more like predictions when I wrote them. I spend a lot of time looking away from things I don’t want to deal with\, but I know they’re still there. And my eyes are getting tired \, I guess.”\n Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-ar tists-workshop-half-gringa-may-13/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210513T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Half Gringa URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/half-gringa/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/01/MG_4933.jpeg?resize=470%2C314&ssl=1\;470\;314\,medium \;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MG_ 4933.jpeg?resize=470%2C314&ssl=1\;470\;314\,large\;https://i0.wp.com/www.e ighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MG_4933.jpeg?resize=470%2C31 4&ssl=1\;470\;314\,full\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-cont ent/uploads/2021/01/MG_4933.jpeg?resize=470%2C314&ssl=1\;470\;314 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago Arti sts Workshop Presents
\n
Half Gringa
\n
\n
Half Gringa (Isabel Olive) is joined by her guit arist Sam Cantor for duo arrangements of songs from her most recent release\, Force to Reckon\, as well as new\, unreleased material.
\n
Emerging from Chicago’s flourishing indie music scene \, Half Gringa blends contemporary indie-rock and Latinx pop with midweste rn folk. “When you grew up in the Midwest really into alternative rock\, b ut heard a lot of country music in the supermarket\,” offers Isabel Olive\ , the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist at the core of Half Gringa\, wh en asked to place her music in a specific genre. “Or when your mom loved B ruce Springsteen and Maná and sometimes your brain starts playing them at the same time.” The name Half Gringa is both a tribute to and study of her legacy\, stemming from a childhood term of endearment as “la Gringa” in h er Venezuelan family and her bicultural experience growing up in the Unite d States. Olive’s work seeks to narrate her tireless pursuit as a pupil of both her origins and her experiences.
\n
Force to Recko n is the Chicago-based artist’s second full-length album\, following her locally acclaimed debut\, Gruñona\, which landed on Chicago M agazine’s “10 Best Chicago Albums of 2017” and Chicago Reader’s “Best Chic ago Albums of the Decade.” On the self-produced 9-song set\, Olive is join ed by her full-time band members — Nathan Bojko (drums)\, Sam Cantor (guit ar)\, Andres Fonseca (bass)\, Lucy Little (violin) — as well as Ivan Pyzow on trumpet\, with occasional harmonies and piano from fellow Chicago sing er/songwriter Gia Margaret. But Force to Reckon has the intimacy of a solo project\, and engaged listening feels like a glimpse into Olive’ s journals of the last three years.
\n
“I’m very goal-orient ed\, but I’m also a very anxious person\,” she says. “And I always need to have a plan or a process and try to predict every outcome so I’m prepared with my next move. When I started writing these songs I was feeling emoti onally upended\, a bunch of things came at me that I did not predict\, and instead of feeling and responding in the moment\, I swallowed all of it. These songs feel like little eruptions as a result\, they’re all trying to reach a point of catharsis\, but you can’t force catharsis.”
\n
Vocally forward and instrumentally full\, the songs on Force to R eckon have a quality that feels personal\, yet meant to be shared. Ol ive’s poetry background is prominently displayed\, with carefully selected words used to craft narratives grounded in various different textures\, a nd each part feels intentional and precise. It’s meticulously composed but not cautious. “I was trying to figure out how to express my own vulnerabi lity\, my love towards other people\, in a way that felt like I was giving myself permission to do so\, while accepting that loss and estrangement a re inevitable\,” she goes on to say.
\n
Each song reaches a climactic peak in its own way and even slower tracks on the album capture something that feels expansive\, both sonically and emotionally. “I do n’t know your feelings by their first name\,” Olive sings emphaticall y on “Afraid of Horses\,” an apology punctuated by a pizzicato violin echo and soft harmonies from Gia Margaret. And although the record is steeped in heavy-hearted themes\, Olive often dissects those subjects using tongue -in-cheek humor: “1991 was good to you and I\,” the 28-year-old d eadpans at the start of upbeat opener “1990\,” which traces the anxieties of adulthood back to oft-forgotten childhood memories.
\n
El sewhere\, on “Transitive Property\,” Olive explores grief and loss\, over a bed of bittersweet fingerpicked guitar\, by expertly placing the abstrac t concepts into the context of everyday change rather than mortality. “I’v e realized that bereavement is about more than a person dying\,” she expla ins. “It’s an absence that you can’t control.” After her grandmother passe d away while Olive was on tour\, she tried to bury her grief in productivi ty but eventually realized she needed to set aside time to process. On “Fo rty\,” the album’s string-heavy closer\, she finally allows herself long-o verdue space to mourn.
\n
Force to Reckon is\, as t he title suggests\, an album with a powerful presence. Though deeply perso nal\, Olive leaves listeners space to relate and experience their own cath arsis. “None of the songs on this record resolve\, really\,” she explains. “Many end in the middle of a thought\, because this record is about how m uch I’m still in the middle of my grieving process. Lines like ‘Time w ill tell if nothing else’ and ‘I will mourn you in advance\, but I never really get the chance’ sound like hindsight\, but they were m ore like predictions when I wrote them. I spend a lot of time looking away from things I don’t want to deal with\, but I know they’re still there. A nd my eyes are getting tired\, I guess.”
\n

Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-half-gringa-may-13/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-half-gringa-may-13/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71072@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents\nMolly Joyce\n\nMolly Joyce c omes to the Chicago Artists Workshop to perform songs that “explore disabi lity as a creative source\, including those centered on my direct embodime nt of disability as well as from Perspective\, an ongoing communally-engag ed project featuring disabled interviewees. The songs will be complemented with visual footage including open captions of the lyrics sung\, as well as sound descriptions by Chicago-based sound artist Andy Slater\, in order to emphasize access as aesthetic.”\nMolly Joyce’s music has been describe d as “serene power” (New York Times)\, written to “superb effect” (The Wir e)\, and “impassioned” (The Washington Post). Her work is primarily concer ned with disability as a creative source. She has an impaired left hand fr om a previous car accident\, and the primary vehicle in her pursuit is her electric vintage toy organ\, an instrument she bought on eBay which suits her body and engages her disability on a compositional and performative l evel. Her creative projects have been presented at TEDxMidAtlantic\, Bang on a Can Marathon\, Danspace Project\, Gaudeamus Muziekweek\, National Gal lery of Art\, Classical:NEXT\, National Sawdust\, and featured in outlets such as Pitchfork\, Red Bull Radio\, and WNYC’s New Sounds. Molly is a gra duate of The Juilliard School\, Royal Conservatory in The Hague\, Yale Sch ool of Music\, alumnus of the YoungArts Foundation\, and currently serves on the composition faculty at New York University Steinhardt.\nhttps://www .mollyjoyce.com/\nAndy Slater is a Chicago-based media artist\, sound desi gner\, teaching artist\, and disability advocate.\nHe is the founder of th e Society of Visually Impaired Sound Artists and director of the Sound As Sight accessible field recording project.\nAndy holds a Masters in Sound A rts and Industries from Northwestern University and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was a 3Arts/Bodies of Work fellow at t he University of Illinois Chicago in 2018 and an Institutional Incubator r esident at High Concept Labs 2016-2020. Last year Andy was acknowledged fo r his art by the New York Times in their article\, “28 Ways To Learn About Disability Culture.”\nAndy is a teaching artist with the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology and is a member of the Atlantic Center for the Arts’ Young Sound Seekers advisory board.\nHe has exhibited and performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago\, the Contemporary Jewish Museum San F rancisco\, Ian Potter Museum of Art Melbourne\, Critical Distance Toronto\ , Experimental Sound Studios Chicago\, the Art Institute of Chicago\, Flux Factory New York\, and the City Gallery Wellington New Zealand.\nAndy’s c urrent work focuses on advocacy for accessible art and technology\, Alt-Te xt for sound and image\, documentary film\, spacial audio for extended rea lity\, and sound design for sci-fi film and video games. He has created a large catalog of compositions featuring the sounds of the blind body navig atingdifferemt acoustic spaces. These pieces include the bangs and swipes of his white cane and echo location clicks interrupting and disrupting nat ural and built environments. His recent album\, Unseen Reheard (No Index r ecords)\, epitomizes this tangent of his artistic practice.\nhttp://www.th isisandyslater.net/Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicag o-artists-workshop-molly-joyce/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210603T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Molly Joyce URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/molly-joyce/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/01/Molly-Joyce-photo-by-Shervin-Lainez-scaled.jpg?resize =446%2C298&ssl=1\;446\;298\,medium\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird. org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Molly-Joyce-photo-by-Shervin-Lainez-scaled. jpg?resize=446%2C298&ssl=1\;446\;298\,large\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthb lackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Molly-Joyce-photo-by-Shervin-Laine z-scaled.jpg?resize=446%2C298&ssl=1\;446\;298\,full\;https://i2.wp.com/www .eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Molly-Joyce-photo-by-Sherv in-Lainez-scaled.jpg?resize=446%2C298&ssl=1\;446\;298 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago Arti sts Workshop Presents
\n
Molly Joyce
\n
\n
Molly Joyce comes to the Chicago Artist s Workshop to perform songs that “explore disability as a creative source\ , including those centered on my direct embodiment of disability as well a s from Perspective\, an ongoing communally-engaged project featuring disab led interviewees. The songs will be complemented with visual footage inclu ding open captions of the lyrics sung\, as well as sound descriptions by C hicago-based sound artist Andy Slater\, in order to emphasize access as ae sthetic.”
\n
Molly Joyce’s music has been described as “serene power” (New York Times)\, written to “superb effect” (The Wire)\, and “impassioned” ( The Washington Post). Her work is primarily concerned with disability a s a creative source. She has an impaired left hand from a previous car acc ident\, and the primary vehicle in her pursuit is her electric vintage toy organ\, an instrument she bought on eBay which suits her body and engages her disability on a compositional and performative level. Her creative pr ojects have been presented at TEDxMidAtlantic\, Bang on a Can Marathon\, D anspace Project\, Gaudeamus Muziekweek\, National Gallery of Art\, Classic al:NEXT\, National Sawdust\, and featured in outlets such as Pitchfork\, Red Bull Radio\, and WNYC’s New Sounds. Molly is a graduate of The Juilliard School\, Royal Conservatory in The Hague\, Yale School of M usic\, alumnus of the YoungArts Foundation\, and currently serves on the c omposition faculty at New York University Steinhardt.
\n
https://www.mollyjoyce.com/
\n
< img data-attachment-id='71776' data-permalink='https://www.eighthblackbird .org/event/molly-joyce/andy-microphone/' data-orig-file='https://i0.wp.com /www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?f it=676%2C675&ssl=1' data-orig-size='676\,675' data-comments-opened='0' dat a-image-meta='{'aperture':'0'\,'credit':''\,'camera':''\,'caption':''\,'cr eated_timestamp':'0'\,'copyright':''\,'focal_length':'0'\,'iso':'0'\,'shut ter_speed':'0'\,'title':''\,'orientation':'1'}' data-image-title='andy-mic rophone' data-image-description='' data-medium-file='https://i0.wp.com/www .eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?fit=4 81%2C480&ssl=1' data-large-file='https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?fit=676%2C675&ssl=1' load ing='lazy' class='wp-image-71776 alignleft' src='https://i0.wp.com/www.eig hthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?resize=35 6%2C356&ssl=1' alt='' width='356' height='356' srcset='https://i0.wp.com/w ww.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?w=6 76&ssl=1 676w\, https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploa ds/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?resize=481%2C480&ssl=1 481w\, https://i0.w p.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.j peg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w\, https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.or g/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?resize=32%2C32&ssl=1 32w \, https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/an dy-microphone.jpeg?resize=640%2C640&ssl=1 640w\, https://i0.wp.com/www.eig hthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?resize=44 0%2C440&ssl=1 440w\, https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?resize=45%2C45&ssl=1 45w\, https://i0 .wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone .jpeg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w\, https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird. org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/andy-microphone.jpeg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 100w' sizes='(max-width: 356px) 100vw\, 356px' data-recalc-dims='1' />And y Slater is a Chicago-based media artist\, sound designer\, teaching artis t\, and disability advocate.
\n
He is the founder of the Society of V isually Impaired Sound Artists and director of the Sound As Sight accessib le field recording project.
\n
Andy holds a Masters in Sound Arts and Industries from Northwestern University and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was a 3Arts/Bodies of Work fellow at the Univ ersity of Illinois Chicago in 2018 and an Institutional Incubator resident at High Concept Labs 2016-2020. Last year Andy was acknowledged for his a rt by the New York Times in their article\, “28 Ways To Learn About Disabi lity Culture.”
\n
Andy is a teaching artist with the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology and is a member of the Atlantic Center for the Arts’ Young Sound Seekers advisory board.
\n
He has exhibited and performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago\, the Contemporary Jewish Museu m San Francisco\, Ian Potter Museum of Art Melbourne\, Critical Distance T oronto\, Experimental Sound Studios Chicago\, the Art Institute of Chicago \, Flux Factory New York\, and the City Gallery Wellington New Zealand.
\n
Andy’s current work focuses on advocacy for accessible art and techn ology\, Alt-Text for sound and image\, documentary film\, spacial audio fo r extended reality\, and sound design for sci-fi film and video games. He has created a large catalog of compositions featuring the sounds of the bl ind body navigatingdifferemt acoustic spaces. These pieces include the ban gs and swipes of his white cane and echo location clicks interrupting and disrupting natural and built environments. His recent album\, Unseen Rehea rd (No Index records)\, epitomizes this tangent of his artistic practice.\n
http://www.thisisandysl ater.net/
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-molly- joyce/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-molly-joyce/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71477@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents\nMatthew Burtner composer por trait\, feat. Jocelyn Zelasko\, soprano\nEighth Blackbird’s Matthew Duvall is joined by soprano Jocelyn Zelasko for an evening devoted to the work o f Matthew Burtner.\n\nMatthew Burtner (http://www.matthewburtner.com) is a n Alaskan-born composer\, sound artist and eco-acoustician whose music and research explores embodiment\, ecology\, polytemporality and noise. First Prize Winner of the Musica Nova International Electroacoustic Music Compe tition (Czech Republic)\, a 2011 IDEA Award Winner\, and a recipient of th e Howard Brown Foundation Fellowship\, Burtner’s music has also received h onors and awards from Bourges (France)\, Gaudeamus (Netherlands)\, Darmsta dt (Germany) and The Russolo (Italy) international competitions. He is the Eleanor Shea Chaired Professor of Music in Composition and Computer Techn ologies (CCT) at the University of Virginia where he Co-Directs the Coasta l Futures Conservatory. He is also Director of the Alaskan-based environme ntal arts non-profit organization\, EcoSono (www.ecosono.org).\nBurtner’s works have been performed in festivals and venues throughout the world\, a nd commissioned by ensembles such as NOISE (USA)\, Integrales (Germany)\, Peak FreQuency (USA)\, MiN (Norway)\, Musikene (Spain)\, Spiza (Greece)\, CrossSound (Alaska)\, and others. His work has been supported by major gra nts from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Science Foun dation\, and he created ecoacoustic music for a number of organizations in cluding President Obama’s US State Department. His research in ecoacoustic s has been featured by NASA’s Goddard Space Center\, the American Geophysi cal Union\, The Atlantic\, Earther and the Center for Energy Studies in th e Humanities (CENHS) at Rice University.\nHe is the composer of three even ing-length intermedia environmental opera/theater works — Ukiuq Tulugaq (W inter Raven)\, Kuik\, and Auksalaq\, the first climate change opera. A 201 0/2011 Provost Fellow at the Center for 21st Century Studies at UWM\, Burt ner has also conducted long-term residencies at the Banff Centre for the A rts (Canada)\, Phonos Foundation/Pompeu Fabra Universidad (Spain)\, Musike ne (Spain)\, Cite des Arts (France)\, IRCAM/Centre Pompidou (France)\, and the University of Missouri Kansas City (USA). He studied composition\, co mputer music\, saxophone and philosophy at St. Johns College\, Tulane Univ ersity (BFA)\, Iannis Xenakis’s UPIC-Studios\, the Peabody Institute/Johns Hopkins (MM)\, and Stanford University/CCRMA (DMA). Among published recor dings for Parma/Ravello (US)\, DACO (Germany)\, The WIRE (UK)\, Innova (US )\, Summit (US) Centaur (US)\, EcoSono (US) and Euridice (Norway)\, his mu sic is available on several solo albums: That which is bodiless is reflect ed in bodies\, The Ceiling Floats Away\, Glacier Music\, NOISE plays Burtn er\, Auksalaq Live at the Philips Collection\, MICE World Tour\, Signal Ru ins\, Metasaxophone Colossus and Portals of Distortion.\nBurtner’s creativ e musical work is closely intertwined with the sciences\, particularly env ironmental science and engineering. He develops systems for human-computer -environment interaction featured in his music. He invented the NOMADS tel ematic system\, the MICE human-computer ensemble and orchestra\, the Metas axophone augmented instrument\, and a number of ecoacoustic approaches.\n \nDetroit-based soprano\, Jocelyn Zelasko\, is a versatile musician who is celebrated as an insightful performer with a captivating stage presence. She has performed chamber music\, opera\, and art song in festivals and co ncerts throughout Europe\, the Caribbean\, and North America. She is the v ocalist for Detroit’s premiere ensemble\, New Music Detroit\, and a foundi ng member of ensembles Juxtatonal and Whoopknox. Her career began in the c lassical realm\, but a passion for making complex vocal music accessible t o audiences through character development and authentic storytelling led h er to pursue new music.\nShe has performed with the GRAMMY award-winning e nsemble Eighth Blackbird\, Eastman Broadband Ensemble\, Matt Ulery Trio\, and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. She has also sung with many outstandin g performers including Tony Arnold (International Contemporary Ensemble)\, Vicky Chow (Bang on a Can All-Stars)\, and Miles Brown (Alarm Will Sound) \, among many others. She has performed at the Great Lakes Chamber Music F estival (GLCMF)\, held residencies at the Wholehearted Musician and the Mi llay Colony for the Arts\, was a fellow at [R]evolution Resonant Bodies an d Eighth Blackbird’s Creative Lab\, and was a featured performer at soundS CAPE and the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP) .\nAs an advocate for the creation of new works\, Zelasko has commissioned a vast number of composers including Michelle McQuade Dewhirst\, Marti Ep stein\, David Smooke\, Daniel Felsenfeld\, Leaha Maria Villarreal\, Danny Clay\, Griffin Candey\, Emily Millard\, and more. Her voice and cello duo\ , Juxtatonal (JUX)\, embarked on a large-scale commissioning project askin g 14 composers for new works addressing relevance. The compositions deal w ith issues of vulnerability\, self\, privilege\, gender\, age\, and cultur e\, and include elements ranging from co-composition with 5th graders\, ne w forms of musical notation\, and choreography inspired by pop culture.\nA dditionally\, she originated the title role of 100 year-old photographer\, Pat Sturn\, in the new-mixed media chamber opera\, Pat & Emilia (Smallman / Gervais/Sievers-Hunt) which toured extensively in Canada and the Great L akes region from 2015 – 2018. Michigan Opera Theatre’s (MOT) principal cel list\, Nadine Deleury\, commissioned the opera and hand-selected the chamb er ensemble utilizing talented colleagues of the MOT orchestra. Jeff Small man composed the music specifically for Zelasko and Deleury’s chamber ense mble using lyrics by Windsor’s poet laureate\, Marty Gervais\, with Canadi an-American writer\, Tara Sievers-Hunt. While being interviewed for the Ca nadian Arts Productions documentary\, Imagining Angels\, Zelasko discussed her inspirations to play Pat Sturn feeling connected to Pat’s fierce inde pendence\, quest for perfection\, and unwavering passion for art.\nZelask o’s scholarly pursuits focus on fostering musical identity and embodying e mpathy through song. After her riveting lecture performance on Eleanor Smi th’s social protest songs\, she was invited to contribute a book chapter o n her research\, development\, and embodiment of the social protestors in Smith’s Hull House Songs. The book and accompanied recordings were publish ed in early 2019.\nZelasko received bachelor’s degrees in vocal performan ce and economics from Oakland University where she was also a scholarship athlete. Furthering her education\, she received a master’s degree in musi c from the University of Iowa. She studied with acclaimed voice professors Dr. Edith Diggory and Dr. John Muriello\, and voice scientist Dr. Ingo Ti tze. In addition to her work as a performer\, Zelasko is a grant-award pan elist for New Music USA\, conducts master classes\, lectures\, maintains a thriving private voice studio\, and enjoys paddle boarding\, surfing\, an d golfing.Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists -workshop-matthew-burtner-composer-portrait-ft-jocelyn-zelasko-soprano-jun e-17/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210617T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Matthew Burtner composer portrait\, ft. Jocelyn Zelasko\, soprano URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/matthew-burtner-composer-portrait -ft-jocelyn-zelasko-soprano/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/01/MatthewPlayingIceArctic_sm.jpeg?resize=425%2C283&ssl= 1\;425\;283\,medium\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/01/MatthewPlayingIceArctic_sm.jpeg?resize=425%2C283&ssl=1\;42 5\;283\,large\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/upload s/2021/01/MatthewPlayingIceArctic_sm.jpeg?resize=425%2C283&ssl=1\;425\;283 \,full\;https://i0.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/ 01/MatthewPlayingIceArctic_sm.jpeg?resize=425%2C283&ssl=1\;425\;283 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago Arti sts Workshop Presents
\n
Matthew Burtner composer portrait\, feat. Jocelyn Zelasko\, soprano
\n
Eighth Blackbird’s Matthew Duvall is jo ined by soprano Jocelyn Zelasko for an evening devoted to the work of Matt hew Burtner.
\n
\n
Matthew Burtner (http://www.matthewburtner.com) is an Alaskan-born composer\, sound artist and eco-acoustician whose music and research explores embodiment\, ecology\, polytemporality and noise. First Prize Winner of the Musica Nova International Electroacoustic Music Compet ition (Czech Republic)\, a 2011 IDEA Award Winner\, and a recipient of the Howard Brown Foundation Fellowship\, Burtner’s music has also received ho nors and awards from Bourges (France)\, Gaudeamus (Netherlands)\, Darmstad t (Germany) and The Russolo (Italy) international competitions. He is the Eleanor Shea Chaired Professor of Music in Composition and Computer Techno logies (CCT) at the University of Virginia where he Co-Directs the Coastal Futures Conservatory. He is also Director of the Alaskan-based environmen tal arts non-profit organization\, EcoSono (www.ecosono.org).
\n
Burt ner’s works have been performed in festivals and venues throughout the wor ld\, and commissioned by ensembles such as NOISE (USA)\, Integrales (Germa ny)\, Peak FreQuency (USA)\, MiN (Norway)\, Musikene (Spain)\, Spiza (Gree ce)\, CrossSound (Alaska)\, and others. His work has been supported by maj or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Scienc e Foundation\, and he created ecoacoustic music for a number of organizati ons including President Obama’s US State Department. His research in ecoac oustics has been featured by NASA’s Goddard Space Center\, the American Ge ophysical Union\, The Atlantic\, Earther and the Center for Energy Studies in the Humanities (CENHS) at Rice University.
\n
He is the composer of three evening-length intermedia environmental opera/theater works — Uki uq Tulugaq (Winter Raven)\, Kuik\, and Auksalaq\, the first climate change opera. A 2010/2011 Provost Fellow at the Center for 21st Century Studies at UWM\, Burtner has also conducted long-term residencies at the Banff Cen tre for the Arts (Canada)\, Phonos Foundation/Pompeu Fabra Universidad (Sp ain)\, Musikene (Spain)\, Cite des Arts (France)\, IRCAM/Centre Pompidou ( France)\, and the University of Missouri Kansas City (USA). He studied com position\, computer music\, saxophone and philosophy at St. Johns College\ , Tulane University (BFA)\, Iannis Xenakis’s UPIC-Studios\, the Peabody In stitute/Johns Hopkins (MM)\, and Stanford University/CCRMA (DMA). Among pu blished recordings for Parma/Ravello (US)\, DACO (Germany)\, The WIRE (UK) \, Innova (US)\, Summit (US) Centaur (US)\, EcoSono (US) and Euridice (Nor way)\, his music is available on several solo albums: That which is bodile ss is reflected in bodies\, The Ceiling Floats Away\, Glacier Music\, NOIS E plays Burtner\, Auksalaq Live at the Philips Collection\, MICE World Tou r\, Signal Ruins\, Metasaxophone Colossus and Portals of Distortion.
\n
Burtner’s creative musical work is closely intertwined with the science s\, particularly environmental science and engineering. He develops system s for human-computer-environment interaction featured in his music. He inv ented the NOMADS telematic system\, the MICE human-computer ensemble and o rchestra\, the Metasaxophone augmented instrument\, and a number of ecoaco ustic approaches.
\n

\n
Detroit-based soprano\, Jocelyn Zelasko\, i s a versatile musician who is celebrated as an insightful performer with a captivating stage presence. She has performed chamber music\, opera\, and art song in festivals and concerts throughout Europe\, the Caribbean\, an d North America. She is the vocalist for Detroit’s premiere ensemble\, New Music Detroit\, and a founding member of ensembles Juxtatonal and Whoopkn ox. Her career began in the classical realm\, but a passion for making com plex vocal music accessible to audiences through character development and authentic storytelling led her to pursue new music.
\n
She has performed with the GRAMMY award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbir d\, Eastman Broadband Ensemble\, Matt Ulery Trio\, and the Windsor Symphon y Orchestra. She has also sung with many outstanding performers including Tony Arnold (International Contemporary Ensemble)\, Vicky Chow (Bang on a Can All-Stars)\, and Miles Brown (Alarm Will Sound)\, among many others. S he has performed at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival (GLCMF)\, held residencies at the Wholehearted Musician and the Millay Colony for the Art s\, was a fellow at [R]evolution Resonant Bodies and Eighth Blackbird’s Cr eative Lab\, and was a featured performer at soundSCAPE and the Summer Ins titute of Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP).
\n
As an advocate for the creation of new works\, Zelasko has commissioned a vast number of composers including Michelle McQuade Dewhirst\, Marti Eps tein\, David Smooke\, Daniel Felsenfeld\, Leaha Maria Villarreal\, Danny C lay\, Griffin Candey\, Emily Millard\, and more. Her voice and cello duo\, Juxtatonal (JUX)\, embarked on a large-scale commissioning project asking 14 composers for new works addressing relevance. The compositions deal wi th issues of vulnerability\, self\, privilege\, gender\, age\, and culture \, and include elements ranging from co-composition with 5th graders\, new forms of musical notation\, and choreography inspired by pop culture.
\n
Additionally\, she originated the title role of 100 ye ar-old photographer\, Pat Sturn\, in the new-mixed media chamber opera\, P at & Emilia (Smallman/ Gervais/Sievers-Hunt) which toured extensively in C anada and the Great Lakes region from 2015 – 2018. Michigan Opera Theatre’ s (MOT) principal cellist\, Nadine Deleury\, commissioned the opera and ha nd-selected the chamber ensemble utilizing talented colleagues of the MOT orchestra. Jeff Smallman composed the music specifically for Zelasko and D eleury’s chamber ensemble using lyrics by Windsor’s poet laureate\, Marty Gervais\, with Canadian-American writer\, Tara Sievers-Hunt. While being i nterviewed for the Canadian Arts Productions documentary\, Imagining Angel s\, Zelasko discussed her inspirations to play Pat Sturn feeling connected to Pat’s fierce independence\, quest for perfection\, and unwavering pass ion for art.
\n
Zelasko’s scholarly pursuits focus on fostering musical identity and embodying empathy through song. After her riveting lecture performance on Eleanor Smith’s social protest songs\, she was invited to contribute a book chapter on her research\, development\, and embodiment of the social protestors in Smith’s Hull House Songs. The b ook and accompanied recordings were published in early 2019.
\n
Zelasko received bachelor’s degrees in vocal performance and ec onomics from Oakland University where she was also a scholarship athlete. Furthering her education\, she received a master’s degree in music from th e University of Iowa. She studied with acclaimed voice professors Dr. Edit h Diggory and Dr. John Muriello\, and voice scientist Dr. Ingo Titze. In a ddition to her work as a performer\, Zelasko is a grant-award panelist for New Music USA\, conducts master classes\, lectures\, maintains a thriving private voice studio\, and enjoys paddle boarding\, surfing\, and golfing .
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbir d.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-matthew-burtner-composer-portrait-f t-jocelyn-zelasko-soprano-june-17/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-matthew-burtner-composer-portrait-ft-jocelyn-zelasko-soprano-june-17/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71481@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents\nchaos hands\nSpecial time – 2:00pm CT / 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT\nChaos Hands is a genre-bending\, cross -media\, improv trio comprising of: Allison Wright (electronics\, AU)\, Ni cole Patrick (drums\, USA) & Xuan (visuals\, USA). Their work meets at the intersection of acoustic drums\, synthesizers and visual projections whic h interweave the worlds of techno\, visual story-telling\, and improvisati on. There are sometimes tender moments of soothing color and sounds which transform into abrasive strobe-like musical and visual explorations. They lean in to the inherent infiniteness of their mediums and continue to trav erse new territories with each work they produce.\n—\nSometimes it’s nice to lean on “How To” guides to trust we will learn necessary coping skills. \nFor instance\,\nHow To Know How Tall You Are:\n\n Do you look up to peop le?\n Can you hear others when they share?\n Have you noticed the sun toda y?\n\nOr\nHow To Know What Kind of Fish You Are:\n\n When swimming upstrea m\, what speed do you swim in relation to your other fish friends?\n Do yo u move closer or farther from the surface when a wave comes your way?\n Ca n you recall where you found food yesterday?\n\nIf we had a “How To” guide for this last year\, we may have learned how to capture\, how to acknowle dge\, how to process what’s been going on. We sometimes wish that was the case. We’ve come together as Chaos Hands\, guide-less\, to create a work that exposes our isolation so we can acknowledge where we are.\nWe invite you to join our sharing of a new concept we are working on: a film driven by a long form poem\, written by Nicole Patrick. The film depicts our curr ent separation and isolation. It is accompanied by music that recalls earl y synthesizer aesthetics of the late 80s and 90s.\nThis is the world premi ere of this exclusive preview.\nhttps://www.xuanfilms.com/work#/chaoshands /Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop -chaos-hands-june-26/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210626T140000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Chaos Hands URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/chaos-hands/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/01/Chaos-Hands-CAW-pic.png?resize=425%2C425&ssl=1\;425\; 425\,medium\;https://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/01/Chaos-Hands-CAW-pic.png?resize=425%2C425&ssl=1\;425\;425\,large\;h ttps://i2.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Chaos- Hands-CAW-pic.png?resize=425%2C425&ssl=1\;425\;425\,full\;https://i2.wp.co m/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Chaos-Hands-CAW-pic.p ng?resize=425%2C425&ssl=1\;425\;425 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago Arti sts Workshop Presents
\n
chaos hands
\n
Special time – 2:00pm CT / 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT
\n
Chaos Hands is a genre-bending\, cross-media\, improv trio comprisin g of: Allison Wright (electronics\, AU)\, Nicole Patrick (drums\, USA) & X uan (visuals\, USA). Their work meets at the intersection of acoustic drum s\, synthesizers and visual projections which interweave the worlds of tec hno\, visual story-telling\, and improvisation. There are sometimes tender moments of soothing color and sounds which transform into abrasive strobe -like musical and visual explorations. They lean in to the inherent infini teness of their mediums and continue to traverse new territories with each work they produce.
\n
—
\n
Som etimes it’s nice to lean on “How To” guides to trust we will learn necessa ry coping skills.
\n
For inst ance\,
\n
How To Know How Tal l You Are:
\n
\n
Do you look up to people?
\n
Can you hear others when they share?
\n
Have you noticed the sun today?
\n
\n
Or
\n
How To Know What Kind of Fish You Are:
\n
\n
When swimming upstream\, what speed do you swim in r elation to your other fish friends?
\n
Do you move closer or farther from the surface when a wave co mes your way?
\n
Can you r ecall where you found food yesterday?
\n
\n
If we had a “How To” guide for this last year\, we may have learned how to capture\, how to acknowledge\, how to process what’s been going on. We sometimes wish that was the case. We’ve come together a s Chaos Hands\, guide-less\, to create a work that exposes our isolation s o we can acknowledge where we are.
\n
We invite you to join our sharing of a new concept we are working on: a film driven by a long form poem\, written by Nicole Patrick. The fi lm depicts our current separation and isolation. It is accompanied by musi c that recalls early synthesizer aesthetics of the late 80s and 90s.
\n
This is the world premiere of t his exclusive preview.
\n
https://www.xuanfilms.com /work#/chaoshands/
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artist s-workshop-chaos-hands-june-26/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-chaos-hands-june-26/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-71367@www.eighthblackbird.org DTSTAMP:20210612T234300Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:CAW CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:Chicago Artists Workshop Presents\nAyanna Woods\nAYANNA WOODS i s a composer\, performer and bandleader from Chicago. Her music explores t he spaces between acoustic and electronic\, traditional and esoteric\, wil dly improvisational and mathematically rigorous. A collaborator across gen res and forms\, her work spans new music\, theater\, film scoring\, arrang ing\, songwriting\, and improvisation. She earned her B.A. in music from Y ale University.\nWoods’ chamber works have been performed by Third Coast P ercussion\, Wet Ink Ensemble\, Fifth House Ensemble\, among others. Her wo rk has premiered at Fresh Inc. Festival\, Walden CMR\, the Loretto Project \, and Close to TherePerto de Lá\, a cross-cultural residency in Salvador\ , Brazil.\nShe is a frequent collaborator with the Chicago Children’s Choi r\, of which she’s an alumna. Her arrangements for the choir have been per formed all over Chicago\, notably at CCC’s Paint the Town Red in Millenium Park (2016)\, Chance the Rapper’s Magnificent Coloring Day at Guaranteed Rate Field (2016)\, and Jamila Woods’ Heavn Here at Harold Washington Cult ural Center (2018).\nIn 2018\, she originated her role as a vocalist in Pl ace\,a new oratorio about gentrification and displacement co-conceived by Pulitzer finalist Ted Hearne\, director Patricia McGregor and poet/librett ist Saul Williams.\nHer music appears in a range of film and theater proje cts. Two of her songs are featured in the Emmy-nominated web series Brown Girls. In 2017\, she composed the score for No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks\, a live film created by writers Eve Ewing\, Nate Marshal l\, and Emmy-winning performance collective Manual Cinema. She continues t o tour the U.S. and Canada with Manual Cinema as a bassist and music direc tor.\nAs a gigging musician\, she is a sought-after bassist and improvisor in Chicago. As the bassist for TASHA\, she toured the west coast and perf ormed at Pitchfork Music Festival in 2019. Woods is currently recording a debut solo album with her own band\, Yadda Yadda.\nWoods is a recipient of Third Coast Percussion’s 2017 Emerging Composers Partnership\, a 2017 3Ar ts Make A Wave grant\, and a 2020 DCASE Individual Artist Program grantTic kets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-workshop-aya nna-woods-april-15/. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210630T190000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Ayanna Woods URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/event/ayanna-woods/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://i1.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-con tent/uploads/2021/03/yy-2020-10.jpg?resize=414%2C518&ssl=1\;414\;518\,medi um\;https://i1.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/y y-2020-10.jpg?resize=414%2C518&ssl=1\;414\;518\,large\;https://i1.wp.com/w ww.eighthblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/yy-2020-10.jpg?resize=41 4%2C518&ssl=1\;414\;518\,full\;https://i1.wp.com/www.eighthblackbird.org/w p-content/uploads/2021/03/yy-2020-10.jpg?resize=414%2C518&ssl=1\;414\;518 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n
Chicago Arti sts Workshop Presents
\n
Ayanna Woods
\n
AYANNA WOODS is a composer\, perfo rmer and bandleader from Chicago. Her music explores the spaces between ac oustic and electronic\, traditional and esoteric\, wildly improvisational and mathematically rigorous. A collaborator across genres and forms\, her work spans new music\, theater\, film scoring\, arranging\, songwriting\, and improvisation. She earned her B.A. in music from Yale University.
\n
Woods’ chamber works have been performed by Third Coast Percussion\, Wet Ink Ensemble\, Fifth House Ense mble\, among others. Her work has premiered at Fresh Inc. Festival\, Walde n CMR\, the Loretto Project\, and Close to There<>Perto de Lá\, a cross-cu ltural residency in Salvador\, Brazil.
\n
She is a frequent collaborator with the Chicago Children’s Ch oir\, of which she’s an alumna. Her arrangements for the choir have been p erformed all over Chicago\, notably at CCC’s Paint the Town Red in Millenium Park (2016)\, Chance the Rapper’s Magnificent Coloring Day at Guaranteed Rate Field (2016)\, and Jamila Woods’ Heavn Here at Harold Washington Cultural Center (2018).
\nIn 2018\, she originated her role as a vocalist in Place\,a new oratorio about gentrification and di splacement co-conceived by Pulitzer finalist Ted Hearne\, director Patrici a McGregor and poet/librettist Saul Williams.
\n
Her music appears in a range of film and theater proje cts. Two of her songs are featured in the Emmy-nominated web series Brown Girls. In 2017\, she composed the score for No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks\, a live film created by writer s Eve Ewing\, Nate Marshall\, and Emmy-winning performance collective Manu al Cinema. She continues to tour the U.S. and Canada with Manual Cinema as a bassist and music director.
\n
As a gigging musician\, she i s a sought-after bassist and improvisor in Chicago. As the bassist for TAS HA\, she toured the west coast and performed at Pitchfork Music Festival i n 2019. Woods is currently recording a debut solo album with her own band\ , Yadda Yadda.
\n
Woods is a recipient of Third Coast Percussion’s 2017 Emerging Composers Partnership\ , a 2017 3Arts Make A Wave grant\, and a 2020 DCASE Individual Artist Prog ram grant
Tickets: https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-wo rkshop-ayanna-woods-april-15/.
X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product/chicago-artists-works hop-ayanna-woods-april-15/ X-INSTANT-EVENT:1 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR