The SPCO Liquid Music Series Presents TU Dance and Bon Iver
By: A.A. Cristi Jan. 24, 2018
Electrifying contemporary dance company TU Dance, known for navigating complex themes of social change "with variety and innovation" (Star Tribune) and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, whose "rustic chamber pop with an experimental edge" (Pitchfork) and "hyper-modern balladeering" (The Guardian) has garnered Grammy Awards and significant international acclaim, come together in an unprecedented collaboration of local powerhouses. Taking place in the breathtaking and newly restored Palace Theatre in Saint Paul, Thursday-Saturday, April 19-21, 2018, this evening-length commission features new music from Vernon as well as new choreography from TU Dance's "incredible polyrhythmic genius" (Star Tribune) Uri Sands.
The artists have been developing the work together at the TU Dance Center in Saint Paul, April Base in Eau Claire, WI, and will be in residence at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, late March to prepare for the Liquid Music premiere.
Vernon expressed his excitement for the project stating, "I feel so inspired in collaborating with Uri on new work. I know that the experience will be both positively challenging and extremely rewarding for all involved."
"I've always found the music of Bon Iver and Uri's choreography to possess a unique sensibility," explained Toni Pierce-Sands (TU Dance). "Yet what is most compelling for me about this collaboration is how their artistry together-in the studio-seems to tap the emotional core of my existence. I can only imagine what the audience might experience."
"It was an honor to introduce these incredible artists, who clicked from the start," said the SPCO's Liquid Music curator Kate Nordstrum. "The possibilities continue to reveal themselves in their work together - it is a beautiful, transcendent thing to witness."
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Uri Sands
Toni Pierce-Sands
Justin Vernon
CONCERT DATES AND LOCATION:
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Doors at 6:30pm | Performance at 7:30pm
Friday, April 20, 2018
Doors at 7:00pm | Performance at 8:00pm
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Doors at 7:00pm | Performance at 8:00pm
Palace Theatre, Saint Paul
TICKETS: $45/$35/$25 ($38 for SPCO/Liquid Music subscribers)
liquidmusicseries.org | 651.291.1144
Please note: These performances are currently sold out. To be notified if additional tickets become available visit the etix website (links below) and enter your email.
April 19: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/7290362/tu-dance-and-bon-iver-stpaul-palace-theatre
April 20: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/4977997/tu-dance-and-bon-iver-stpaul-palace-theatre
April 21: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/5045528/tu-dance-and-bon-iver-stpaul-palace-theatre
ABOUT LIQUID MUSIC:
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's Liquid Music Series, named "Best of Classical" by The New York Times, develops innovative new projects with iconoclastic artists in unique presentation formats. Liquid Music performances invite adventurous audiences to discover the new and the fascinating within the flourishing landscape of contemporary chamber music.
ABOUT THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA:
Renowned for its artistic excellence, remarkable versatility of musical styles and adventurous programming, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is widely regarded as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world. Now in its 59th season, the SPCO has recently undergone transformational change with the opening of its new home, the Ordway Concert Hall, the addition of a new generation of players, and significant changes in its artistic vision. The SPCO is primarily an unconducted ensemble that performs a broad range of repertoire from Baroque to new music and works in close collaboration with a diverse series of artistic partners, including British Baroque specialist Jonathan Cohen, American pianist Jeremy Denk, Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst, Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto. Past Artistic Partners include Roberto Abbado, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Joshua Bell, Douglas Boyd, Nicholas McGegan, Stephen Prutsman, Dawn Upshaw and Christian Zacharias.
The virtuoso musicians of the SPCO present more than 130 concerts and educational programs in the Twin Cities each year. The orchestra also reaches more than 250,000 listeners annually through its free online Concert Library, and has recently begun offering both live and on-demand videos of concerts that can be viewed anytime, anywhere, on any device, completely free of charge. The SPCO is regularly heard on public radio programs that reach more than 2 million listeners each week on over 300 stations. Additionally, the SPCO has released 67 recordings, commissioned 148 new works, and tours nationally and internationally, including performances in premier venues in Europe, Asia and South America.
The SPCO is nationally recognized for its commitment to broad community accessibility, its innovative audience outreach efforts, and its educational and family programming. Regular subscription series are performed in a variety of different venues across the Twin Cities metropolitan area each season, a unique commitment to geographic accessibility for a major orchestra. The SPCO offers the most affordable tickets of any major orchestra in the United States, with over 50 percent of tickets available for $15 or less, and has expanded accessibility even further by offering free tickets for children and students starting in the 2016.17 season as a part of the New Generation Initiative. The orchestra also offers an innovative ticket membership model in which members pay $7 per month to attend unlimited concerts. The SPCO's award-winning CONNECT education program reaches over 5,000 students and teachers annually in 12 Minneapolis and Saint Paul public schools, and its Target Free Family Music program provides engaging and educational experiences for thousands of Twin Cities children and families each year. The SPCO's Liquid Music Series (named "Best of Classical" by The New York Times) develops innovative new projects with iconoclastic artists in unique presentation formats and invites adventurous audiences to discover the new and the fascinating within the flourishing landscape of contemporary chamber music.
ABOUT BON IVER
Formed in Fall Creek, Wisconsin by Justin Vernon, Bon Iver has achieved worldwide acclaim since the release of the band's debut album For Emma, Forever Ago in 2007. The debut generated word-of-mouth buzz and praise from critics and fans alike. After assembling a talented touring band and traveling across the world, Bon Iver released its highly anticipated 2011 follow-up album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver. Met with further critical acclaim, the release netted the songwriter Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist. After a hiatus in which Vernon collaborated with countless artists and toured with his own Volcano Choir, Bon Iver returned to the stage at Vernon's Eaux Claires Music Festival, later announcing the project's third album, 22, A Million, released on September 30, 2016. Further touring in 2017 and 2018 has found Bon Iver collaborating and touring with various musicians in both familiar and new venues in the US and Europe.
ABOUT TU DANCE
Founded in 2004 by Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands, TU Dance has garnered audience and critical acclaim for its diverse repertory, versatile artists, and for performances that are engaging, dynamic and generous. Modern dance, classical ballet, African based and urban vernacular movements are combined in inventive and unpredictable ways to provide opportunities to experience the connective power of dance.
In its 14-year history, TU Dance has consistently performed to enthusiastic and sold out audiences, including the 1,900-seat Ordway Performing Arts Center in Saint Paul. The company has also enjoyed local and national recognition, including StarTribune's Artists of the Year, the inaugural Princess Grace Award in Choreography, DANCE Magazine's "25 to Watch," City Pages' 2011 Artists of the Year, "Best Dance Company 2014" by Minnesota Monthly and multiple Sage awards for outstanding performance. TU Dance was awarded the 2011 Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Initiative and was recently named as "Best Dance Company of 2016" by the StarTribune.
2011 saw the opening of TU Dance Center, realizing a vital part of Toni and Uri's vision to establish a welcoming hub for rehearsals, dance education and training in Saint Paul. Now in its seventh year, TU Dance Center offers year-round educational programming for dance students of various ages and levels of experience.
Toni Pierce-Sands (Artistic Director) Prior to co-founding TU Dance, Minnesota native Toni Pierce-Sands performed with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Tanz Forum in Germany, Rick Odums in Paris and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where she was a featured soloist in such signature pieces as Revelations. Toni has also appeared in the Twin Cities as a guest performer with several companies. Her command of the Horton Technique has led to teaching posts throughout the United States and Europe. Toni directs programming and teaches classes at TU Dance Center in Saint Paul. She is a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, and was the Director of University Dance Theater for several years. Toni was awarded a 2004 McKnight Artist Fellowship in Dance, and was named the Sage Awards' "2011 Outstanding Dance Educator". Toni was recognized with a 2013 Links Emerald Service Award for service in the arts, and recently was awarded the 2015 USA Knight Fellowship in Dance.
Uri Sands (Artistic Director and Choreographer) has received national recognition for choreography that is notable for the fusion of classical elegance with edgy contemporary action, for pulsating intensity with poetic lyricism. A native of Miami, Uri performed as a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for five years, Philadanco, Minnesota Dance Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, as a guest artist with Complexions under the direction of Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, and as a principal dancer with North Carolina Dance Theatre. His recent choreographic commissions include, among others, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA at Dominican University of California, Ballet Memphis, Dance St. Louis, VocalEssence, Zenon Dance, Penumbra Theatre, North Carolina Dance Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Uri was named City Pages' 2011 Choreographer of the Year, and was awarded a Princess Grace Award in choreography, a Joyce Foundation Award, a McKnight Artist Fellowship in Choreography and recently the 2015 USA Knight Fellowship in Dance.
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