Bowerbird Presents TAK Ensemble In New Work By Tyshawn Sorey

On Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 8:00pm, Bowerbird presents the TAK Ensemble at The Rotunda.

Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary as "one of the most prominent ensembles in the United States practicing truly experimental music" (I Care If You Listen), the contemporary classical quintet TAK performs the second performance of For jaimie branch (2022) by composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey, co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. TAK's 10th anniversary season continues this spring with a continuation of their academic residency at the University of Pennsylvania.

Before the premiere, TAK shares works the ensemble commissioned throughout their first decade, including Natacha Diels' Second Nightmare for KIKU (2014); Ashkan Behzadi's "Arqueros" from Love Crystal and Stone (2017); Erin Gee's Mouthpiece 28 (2015); and David Bird's Series Imposture (2013), a work TAK performed on its very first concert. Watch TAK perform David Bird's Series Imposture.

Sorey's For jaimie branch (2022) is the second piece he has composed for TAK in the last 10 years and received its world premiere in December 2022 presented by the New York Philharmonic's Kravis Nightcap Series. It is dedicated to Jaimie Branch, described by The New York Times as "one of the most dynamic trumpet players in contemporary music." An innovative avant-garde trumpet player and composer, Branch passed away in 2022 at her home in Brooklyn at only 39 years old.

Sorey's Ornations was written for TAK in 2014 and featured on their album Oor (TAK Editions, 2019) alongside David Bird's Series Imposture. Showcasing both the composer and ensemble's growth over the last 8 years, the new piece relishes in complex and delicately balanced textures that shift and evolve over time, in contrast to his highly technical and virtuosic Ornations. Listen to Sorey and TAK discuss Ornations in the TAK Podcast.

Program Details
Bowerbird Presents TAK Ensemble
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 8:00pm
The Rotunda | 4014 Walnut St. | Philadelphia PA 19104
Tickets: Pay what you can, $20 suggested donation.
Link: www.bowerbird.org/event/tak-ensemble/

Program:
Natacha Diels - Second Nightmare for KIKU (2014)
Ashkan Behzadi - "Arqueros" from Love Crystal and Stone (2017)
Erin Gee - Mouthpiece 28 (2015)
David Bird - Series Imposture (2013)
Tyshawn Sorey - For jaimie branch (2022) [Philadelphia Premiere]

Performers:
TAK Ensemble
Laura Cocks, flute
Madison Greenstone, clarinet
Charlotte Mundy, voice
Marina Kifferstein, violin
Ellery Trafford, percussion

About TAK Ensemble
Regarded as "one of the most prominent ensembles in the United States practicing truly experimental music" (I Care If You Listen), TAK delivers energetic performances "that combine crystalline clarity with the disorienting turbulence of a sonic vortex" (The WIRE), and "impresses with the organicity of their sound, their dynamism and virtuosity" (New Sounds, WQXR).

The quintet has released seven albums to critical acclaim; recent records have been described as "sublime art... a masterpiece," (AnEarful), and "one of the most distinct and eclectic releases of the year" (I Care If You Listen). Their recorded output fosters a "deep sense of connection and communication" (Bandcamp Daily), and features collaborations with Mario Diaz de Leon, Taylor Brook, Erin Gee, Brandon López, Ann Cleare, Tyshawn Sorey, Natacha Diels, Scott L. Miller, David Bird, and Ashkan Behzadi. Their most recent release - Love, Crystal and Stone - brought together composer Ashkan Behzadi, scholar Saharnaz Samaienejad, painter Mehrdad Jafari, and design-house Sonnenzimmer to fuse poetry, visual art, original essays, and music into an experience-based hybrid publication. The ensemble's 2019 album Oor launched their in-house media label, TAK editions, that aims to support recorded musical endeavors from across the experimental music communities, highlighting direct conversations with artists through the TAK editions Podcast. Recent TAK editions releases have included those of Ensemble Interactivo de La Habana, Ensemble Pamplemousse, Nina Dante + Bethany Younge, and several of TAK's own recordings.

Deeply committed to educational collaborations, TAK has conducted residencies at institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, Oberlin Conservatory, Cornell University, Wesleyan University, New York University, The Delian Academy for New Music, and many others. The ensemble has also collaborated with the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers Program and Juilliard's Music Advancement Program. TAK is currently the Long-term Visiting Ensemble in Residence at University of Pennsylvania.

TAK was formed in 2013 in Brooklyn. Learn more at www.TAKensemble.com.

*Photo Credit: Kaveh Kowsari

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