Saturday, December 2, 7:30 pm - First Night pre-show talk, 6:30 pm
Tickets $24, MCA members $19, students $10
Sunday, December 3, 7:30 pm
Tickets $24, MCA members $19, students $10
Intense…rich…powerful… She throws down a gauntlet… Music gave Beiser the power to pluck the common utterance from regions thousands of miles apart. – Newsday
The mixed media realm in visual and performance art is constantly calling into question the relevance of contemporary and traditional forms in art. Cellist Maya Beiser presents the MCA commission, Almost Human, with both the old and the new in a musical multimedia production encompassing vocal samples, vivid lighting design, film, and text. With each upbow, downbow, and pizzicato, she delivers a unique sound. These pitches qualities are the product of when classical-meets-rock-and-electronic travels to all corners of the world.
The sound of the cello makes it seem the most “human” of instruments. The natural rapport of human voice and cello form the stage for celebrated artist Maya Beiser’s new program, Almost Human. Inspired by ancient vocal traditions — Renaissance madrigals, traditional Chinese and Taiwanese song, Moroccan chant, Jewish cantorial songs, and sacred Indian vocals — she takes her solo cello to fresh terrain with powerful sounds and haunting opportunities to “sing” the music. The program features a new multimedia cello opera created by three women of diverse Middle Eastern backgrounds and religions: Maya Beiser (Israel), composer Eve Beglarian (Armenia), and visual artist Shirin Neshat (Iran). The program also includes new works by acclaimed composers Michael Gordon (Bang on a Can) and Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), among others. Some of the most prominent contemporary composers have written works for Beiser over the past decade, including Philip Glass, Osvaldo Golijov, Louis Andriessen, and Brian Eno.
For more information about Maya Beiser
ARTISTS UP CLOSE
Pre-Concert Talk
Saturday, December 2, 6:30 pm
Cellist Cathy Kuna, music instructor at the College of DuPage and Wheaton College, discusses the influence of ancient vocal traditions in contemporary cello performance and the rich history of transferring religion and ethnic customs through music. Kuna is a founding member of the Kairos String Quartet.