Kronos Quartet: Three Bones at Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall

Kronos Quartet gives the world premiere of its latest large-scale project: Three Bones, a multimedia theatrical experience that explores the histories of Indigenous, Gullah-Geechee, and Chinese American communities in the United States. More than three years in the making, Three Bones is a characteristically ambitious blend of live performance, video, visual art, recordings, and environmental sound. Featured in Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival, the three-act presentation celebrates the transmission and amplification of cultural histories through sound, as captured in vintage recordings and brought to life via performance.

Throughout its 52-year history, Kronos has pioneered the integration of visual and theatrical elements into the concert experience, as in A Thousand Thoughts (2018), which told Kronos’ story through documentary film, live narration, and performance. That spirit of exploration infuses Three Bones, enhancing the storytelling in all three panels through visual media.

Each segment features backing video by XUAN, a new media artist working at the intersection of music, visual art, and technology. Projected visuals by Cherokee/Choctaw sculptor Jeffrey Gibson and San Francisco-based fiber artist Wendy Chien accompany the first and third panels respectively.