Pianist Alex Peh to Play at National Sawdust with Special Guest

Pianist Alex Peh explores parallel piano worlds that unsettle boundaries of genre, tradition, and style. Peh collaborates with ethnographic videographers, Lauren Meeker, Alyson Hummer, and Madelyn Colonna to create a multi-modal experience revealing the process of intercultural collaboration, and the intimate bonds between musicians as they attune to one another to create new compositions.

The evening includes four world premieres. Composer Anna Clyne's new work Red Nines, is a collection of nine short movements in hybrid styles, composed as part of a "game music" series. Red Nines borrows its title from a simple card game played in south-west London during the 1950s. Ne Myo Aung's work, Padetha, which translates to "mixed" in Burmese, deconstructs genre within Burmese Sandaya piano traditions, mixing popular, classical and folk idioms to create a virtuosic piano piece. Greek composer-performer Nikos Ordoulidis' Piece of Minds questions identity, culture and traditional practice. Sounds from Ordoulidis' experience communicate with one another through which a (real) musical place is created. Pooyan Azadeh's, Ba Ya Dash, makes a North American premiere, paying homage to his teacher, the great Persian classical pianist, Javad Maroufi.

The evening will also feature new solo and duo arrangements of work by Hafez Modirzadeh and Susie Ibarra, who will be joining Peh onstage for select works. Hafez Modirzadeh's cycle of miniatures entitled "Facets" for re-tuned piano explores the work as a solo meditation. Susie Ibarra joins Peh in a duo performance of Talking Gong, a work originally for improvising piano trio, that explores the sonority of the Kulintang and piano in conversation.

Program:

• Oh Hnya Ni Lin - U Yee Nwe (North American Premiere)
• Facets - Hafez Modirzadeh
• Ba Ya Dash - Pooyan Azadeh (North American Premiere)
• Piece of Minds - Nikos Ordoulidis (World Premiere)
• Talking Gong - Susie Ibarra
• Red Nines - Anna Clyne (World Premiere)
• Padetha - Ne Myo Aung (World Premiere)

This concert is dedicated to the memory of Dr. U Yee Nwe, who passed away July 2020 in Yangon, Myanmar at age 78. Dr. U Yee Nwe was a master pianist and patala player (bamboo xylophone). He performed Burmese music on the western piano, a genre of music that the Burmese call Sandaya. He performed and taught the complete repertoire from the Mahagita - a compendium of Burmese royal classical songs dating back to the 16th century. His strict fidelity to his pedagogical and playing lineage influenced many generations of Burmese musicians.

• Learn more about Sandaya piano
• Listen to U Yee Nwe's album
• Learn more about Nikos Ordoulidis' Eastern Piano Project

This program is made possible by funding from Fulbright, Arts Mid-Hudson, New Music USA, SUNY New Paltz, Asian Cultural Council, and NYSCA.

National Sawdust In-person COVID-19 Policy

We welcome you back to National Sawdust! We're excited to host you in our performance home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn but remain vigilant and aware about the ongoing need for greater caution and safety during these difficult times. We ask that all staff, artists, and audiences entering National Sawdust's performance home are prepared to show proof of full vaccination and wear KF94, N95, or KN95 masks while on the premises. Complete details on National Sawdust's COVID pandemic protocols and updates to these policies are available online here.

About National Sawdust At National Sawdust, we believe that artistic expression empowers us all to create a more joyful and just world. We curate and produce music and artistic works rooted in curiosity, experimentation, innovation, and inclusivity. We present our work by engaging communities of artists and audiences at our state-of-the-art Williamsburg home and on our digital stage.

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Alex Peh with Special Guest Susie Ibarra

Saturday, June 18

i??7pm Doors / 7:30pm Show

$30 Advance, $35 Day of Show

Contemporary pianist Alex Peh presents the piano as a hybrid global instrument for a program of world premieres by Susie Ibarra, Ne Myo Aung, U Yee Nwe, Anna Clyne, Hafez Modirzadeh, Pooyan Azadeh and Nikos Ordoulidis.

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