Eighth Blackbird Announces New flutist Nathalie Joachim

After nine years, flutist Tim Munro is leaving eighth blackbird at the end of the 2014-15 season and New York based flutist Nathalie Joachim will begin as the new permanent flutist with the ensemble in August, for the 2015-16 Season and beyond.

Recognized for her versatile and innovative performing and composing, Nathalie Joachim has become a notable figure in the international music community. Critics hail the New York City based artist for creating "a unique blend of classical music, hip-hop, electronic programming and soulful vocals reminiscent of neo-R&B stars like Erykah Badu." (The Wall Street Journal) Ms. Joachim is co-founder of the critically acclaimed urban art pop duo, Flutronix, known for bringing their ingenious stagecraft and technical prowess to stages world-wide. Other performance experience consists of an impressive range including Miguel Zenón, Vampire Weekend, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Richard Reed Parry and Dan Deacon. Here's a DL link the Flutronix's version of "Crazy," live at the Attucks Theater which I hope you'll enjoy. Feel free to post for free download in you'd like:

https://soundcloud.com/flutronix/crazy-live-at-the-attucks-theatre

Ms. Joachim is a faculty member at The Juilliard School's Music Advancement Program (MAP) and is regularly engaged by elite educational institutions nationwide. Upcoming 2015-16 projects include commissions from Helen Simoneau Danse and Park Avenue Armory's Under Construction Series, as well as the release of a new Flutronix EP. Ms. Joachim is the only person to have successfully completed the MAP, Pre-College, and College Division programs at The Juilliard School. She completed her graduate degree studies at The New School in audio production and sound design.

Nathalie's first public appearances with the ensemble will be at the Wratislavia Cantans Festival in Wroclaw Poland in early September, 2015.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Tim Munro's work as a flutist, speaker, writer and teacher is united by a single goal: to draw audiences into an engrossing, whimsical and mischievous musical world. According to Chicago Tribune, "the fierce virtuosity of Munro was worth the price of admission." Munro recently released his debut solo record, "one two three" (Parlour Tapes+), an album in which he is cast as flutist, singer, amateur mathematician and supervillian.

Says Munro, "The 2014/15 season will be my last as a member of eighth blackbird. I feel honored to be a part of a truly exceptional ensemble, one that consistently operates at the highest international level, and one that has inspired and encouraged me to play, speak, write, compose and teach at a higher level than I knew possible. eighth blackbird's mission remains close to my heart, but after nine years I want the freedom to have greater autonomy in my professional life, the time to wander more diverse creative avenues, and the ability to spend more time at home in Chicago."

Munro's final public performances with the ensemble will be at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in late June, 2015.

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ABOUT eighth blackbird (www.eighthblackbird.org): eighth blackbird combines the finesse of a string quartet, the energy of a rock band and the audacity of a storefront theater company. The Chicago-based, three-time Grammy-winning "super-musicians" (LA Times) entertain and provoke audiences across the country and around the world. Colombine's Paradise Theatre is eighth blackbird's new staged, memorized production hailed as a "tour de force" by The Washington Post. Composer Amy Beth Kirsten challenges the sextet to play, speak, sing, whisper, growl and mime, breathing life into this tale of dream and delusioon. The season kicks off with a performance at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art followed by a season-opening performance at The Miller Theater in New York. The 2014/15 season's acoustic program, Still in Motion, features new works by The National's Bryce Dessner (the folk-inspired Murder Ballades), Lee Hyla, Sean Griffin and rising star Gabriella Smith. eighth blackbird brings this show to Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Washington, and sunny Hawaii.

Other highlights include the premiere of Hand Eye, a new work for eighth blackbird by the superstar composer collective Sleeping Giant, our debut at Brooklyn Academy of Music in collaboration with LA Dance Project, and a New Orleans-inspired romp with special guest singer-songwriter-accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman at Symphony Space in New York. To top it off, the group will conduct guest residencies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and a multi-visit residency at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.

eighth blackbird holds ongoing Ensemble in Residence positions at the Curtis Institute of Music, University of Richmond, and University of Chicago. A decade-long relationship with Chicago's Cedille Records has produced six acclaimed recordings. The ensemble has won three Grammy Awards, for the recordings strange imaginary animals, Lonely Motel: Music from Slide and Meanwhile.

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