Southern Theater Welcomes Brooklyn RIder and 2 Foot Yard, 8/24

The genre-bending New York string quartet Brooklyn Rider illuminates music through adventurous programming, exploring new sound worlds with fresh insight and unusual collaborations. They are joined by the bold and hard-grooving 2 Foot Yard, a trio that merges the visceral power of rock with the intimacy of chamber music. Comprised of violinist/vocalist Carla Kihlstedt, cellist/vocalist Marika Hughes, and guitarist/percussionist Shahzad Ismaily, 2 Foot Yard is a group of kindred musical adventurers who write original songs that "inventively straddle the classical and vernacular worlds without compromise to either side" (Stereophile Magazine). The two ensembles perform selections from their signature repertoires and come together for the Minnesota premiere of a jointly written composition entitled A Blue Hat Washed Up On Shore, loosely based on the Alan Lightman international bestselling novella Einstein's Dreams about the many natures of time.

Brooklyn Rider will be joined by the great shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo-flute) player Kojiro Umezaki. Kojiro is a member of the Silk Road Ensemble and seamlessly integrates his traditional instrument into a wide variety of situations, ranging from his jazz group Beat In Fractions to technology-based music to the traditional repertoire of Japan.

"The Stillwater Music Festival is so excited to team up with the Southern Theater in presenting an evening of illuminating collaborations," said Stillwater Music Festival co-founder and Brooklyn Rider violinist Colin Jacobsen. "With The Combined forces of Brooklyn Rider, 2 Foot Yard alongside traditional and technology-based shakuhachi player Kojiro Umezaki, audiences have an incredible sound palette at their disposal. This includes original music by all the performers, touching upon classical, jazz, world and indie-rock worlds."

"A concert centerpiece will be the Twin Cities premiere of A Blue Hat Washed Up On Shore," Jacobsen explained. "A collection of poetic vignettes on the nature of time, the book really caught our collective imagination and was a great focal point for group composition. We can't wait to share it with the Southern Theater audience, which seems to be constantly thirsty for this kind of creative journey."

Performance: August 24, 2010
Tuesday at 7:30pm
Tickets: $25
Southern Theater box office: 612.340.1725
1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55454
http://www.southerntheater.org/2010_08-24_brooklyn_rider.htm

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