Aboriginal Musicians Black Arm Band to Bring DIRTSONG to NYU's Skirball Center, 2/22

The Black Arm Band will present "dirtsong" at NYU's Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place, at Washington Square South, New York, NY) on February 22 at 8pm. Tickets are $30-$52. Visit nyuskirball.org or call 212.352.3101 for more information.

The Black Arm Band brings together many of Australia's premiere Aboriginal musicians. They hail from across the country and represent diverse musical, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Performed predominantly in Aboriginal languages, against a backdrop of evocative film imagery, the U.S. premiere of dirtsong comprises a series of musical "conversations" in which the artists reflect on their country. The result is a deeply moving show that conjures not only a sense of geographical place, but encounters, memories, obligations, community and nature. Combining traditional music and newly commissioned songs inspired by the beloved indigenous author Alexis Wright (Carpentaria), dirtsong offers a conceptual and emotional map of Australia's heartland.

Black Arm Band is a flexible ensemble of artists and a creative meeting place for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists and producers to develop, perform, promote and celebrate contemporary Australian Aboriginal music and to interrogate Australian culture. The company's repertoire includes murundak (2006), Hidden Republic (2008), which have toured extensively in Australia and internationally and the two major international collaborations Seven Songs To Leave Behind (2010) and Notes From the Hard Road and Beyond (2011). Visit blackarmband.com.au for more information on the company.

NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for New York University and lower Manhattan. Led by executive producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and senior director Michael Harrington, the programs of NYU Skirball reflect NYU's mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center's mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance.

One performance of dirtsong will take place February 22 at 8pm at the NYU Skirball Center. The NYU SKirball center is located at 566 LaGuardia Place in Manhattan. Tickets, which are $30-$52, are available online at nyuskirball.org or by phone at 212.352.3101.