Esperanza Spalding News

The guest lineups for the upcoming episodes of Live from Here with Chris Thile in Dallas onApril 6, New York on April 13 & 20 and Nashville on April 27 are set, featuring The Head and The Heart, Sara Bareilles, The Milk Carton Kids, Josh Ritter, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Esperanza Spalding, Del McCoury Band and more. See below for full details on this season's schedule.

As the countdown begins for the kickoff of A2IM's Indie Week, A2IM is announcing the list of nominees for the 2019 Libera Awards presented by SoundExchange. The Awards recognize a wide range of musicians and visionaries and offer the independent music community the opportunity to honor the hard work and accomplishments of their peers.

Today, the Philadelphia-based hip-hop/R&B duo &More comprised of singer Donn T and rapper Chill Moody released their new single 'Future Come Around' from their forthcoming debut album Ethel Bobcat out April 5 via D-tone Victorious/nicethingsMUSIC. FLOOD Magazine said &More '...embody the very essence of Philadelphia: low, rumbling rhythms, high-minded and thoughtful lyricism, all sprinkled with an ethereal, otherworldly quality linking them with the city's rich and storied musical history.'

Today, NPR Music released a Tiny Desk Concert of the Philadelphia-based hip-hop/R&B duo &More comprised of singer Donn T and rapper Chill Moody. The group, who will release their debut album Ethel Bobcat on April 5 via D-tone Victorious/nicethingsMUSIC, performed “My Own Light,” “Future Come Around” and “WHOA.”

Carnegie Hall today announced the names of the 80 young musicians selected from across the country for NYO2, a three-week, intensive summer orchestral training program for outstanding American instrumentalists ages 14-17. The members of NYO2 2019-coming from 30 US states plus Puerto Rico-have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as exceptionally talented musicians who not only embody a very high level of artistry, but who also come from a wide range of backgrounds, representing a future for American orchestral music that includes communities which have often been underserved by and underrepresented in the field. 20 musicians are returning to NYO2 from previous seasons. In addition, 22 musicians who previously took part in NYO2 have been accepted to the 2019 edition of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA; ages 16-19) this summer.

The Orchard Project is proud to announce its 2019 Gala, A TASTE OF SOMETHING NEW, occurring Monday, April 15, 2019 at the Prince George Ballroom and honoring the work of TONY-Award winning producers Avram Freedberg and Eva Price (Co-Founders, Maximum Entertainment) and Emmy Award-winning writers Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden.

Ford Theatres presents The Spring Quartet -- Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding and Leo Genovese -- on Saturday, April 27 at 8:00 pm as part of its IGNITE @ the FORD! series.  The Arts Desk said, "An expansive, freewheeling rampage, ideas flying out like sparks from a roaring fire, as Spalding, Lovano and Genovese all charmed the room with their gregarious solo work, all held together by DeJohnette's deliciously light touch."  The Boston Globe said, "This is one supergroup that adds up to more than the sum of its chops."

Berklee President Roger H. Brown will present three-time Tony and Grammy-Award winning Alex Lacamoire (B.M. '95,), award-winning actor and 10-time Grammy-Award winning musician Justin Timberlake, and five-time Grammy-Award winning Missy Elliott with honorary Doctor of Music degrees at Berklee College of Music's commencement ceremony, Saturday, May 11, at the 7,000-seat Agganis Arena at Boston University.

On March 22 Eme Alfonso will re-release her new album VOY with digital CD distribution in the U.S. Chosen by the Cuban critics as one of the best albums of 2018, Eme will bring her unique mix of Cuban island sounds with soulful genres to the U.S.

The Ford Theatres today announced the 2019 season of events at the John Anson Ford Theatres. The 2019 season will open on Saturday, April 27 with The Spring Quartet: Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding and Leo Genovese, who The Arts Desk described as "an expansive, freewheeling rampage, ideas flying out like sparks from a roaring fire," and will conclude on October 19 and 20 with a Dia de los Muertos Concert and Community Celebration. These bookend performances are both part of the third season of the IGNITE @ the FORD! series. Tickets can be purchased at FordTheatres.org or by calling (323) 461-3673.

Continuing McCarter's tradition of producing timely, socially relevant work that engages with the central questions of our culture, McCarter has partnered with Princeton University's Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) on The Migration Plays: a new initiative focusing on the nature of migration, how it is represented culturally, and the ways in which it shapes the world around us.

Simply stated, Zakir Hussain is one of the greatest musicians of our time. A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his consistently brilliant and exciting performances have led to historic collaborations with Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar; Planet Drum with Mickey Hart; Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Yo-Yo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Mark Morris and Pharoah Sanders.

Brooklyn Music School (BMS) presents the 6th Annual Middle School Jazz Festival today, March 2, 2019 from 12pm to 6:30pm, with a concert at 4:30pm, followed by a jam session with students, faculty, and guest artist. BMS is located at 126 Saint Felix Street, Brooklyn. Concert tickets are a $10 suggested donation.

Live from Here with Chris Thile confirms the guest lineup for its performances in Detroit, MI on February 23, Minneapolis, MN on March 2 and Dallas, TX on April 6. The shows feature special guests Broken Social Scene, Esperanza Spalding, Amanda Palmer, Lord Huron, Vijay Iyer Trio, Mike Yard and more. Additionally, Jon Batiste will guest hostLive from Here's show in St. Paul, MN on March 16.

Brooklyn Music School (BMS) presents the 6th Annual Middle School Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 2, 2019 from 12pm to 6:30pm, with a concert at 4:30pm, followed by a jam session with students, faculty, and guest artist. BMS is located at 126 Saint Felix Street, Brooklyn. Concert tickets are a $10 suggested donation.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel and CEO Simon Woods today announced the 2019/20 Walt Disney Concert Hall season.

Milford Arts Council (the MAC) announces their next "MAC live" performance sponsored by Berchem Moses, PC. Elizabeth and the Catapult will arrive in downtown Milford, CT on February 22nd for an 8pm performance at The MAC, located at 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford CT.

Vangeline Theater and the New York Butoh Institute present, in association with Triskelion Arts, performance Hitohana Hitosekai (One Flower One World) and workshop Make Visible by Butoh dancer Moeno Wakamatsu. The performance will be held on April 9, 2019 at 8pm at Triskelion Arts, 106 Calyer St, Brooklyn, NY 11222, and the workshop will run from April 11-14, 2019 at varying times and locations. Tickets for the performance are $18 General Admission and can be purchased at https://www.vangeline.com/calendar-of-upcoming-events/2019/4/9/moenowakamatsu-performance.

Blockchain Theater Project (BTP), founded by Sofia Alvarez and Nicola Korzenko, is a new theater company that empowers artists to produce the work they create, funded in part by cryptocurrency donations. Like Bitcoin and other blockchains, BTP eliminates the institutional gatekeeper, creating a peer-to-peer model of support where the next play to be produced will be nominated by the playwright of the current production. Alvarez's NYLON will start this chain.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents The Empress Arias: songs from the ICONS/IDOLS plays, on February 8. ICONS/IDOLS is a tetralogy of choral plays for over a dozen women+ singers. Mixing music, movement and text, the four plays recover the secret history of Byzantine Purple Empresses as they ascend in a society with deep animosity towards female rule. Deeply committed to religious icons, these powerful empresses sacrifice personal relationships in an attempt to gain enough power to re-introduce them into an empire that fiercely and violently opposes iconography. The Empress Arias pair powerful multi-part harmonies with glittering ballads, commanding chants and soaring operatic solos to form a unique and beautiful evening of song. The development of ICONS/IDOLS received funding from OPERA America's Opera Grants for Female Composers program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and has been developed in The Jam, New Georges' performance lab for early career female artists, as well as The Tank, a home for emerging artists. The project is currently supported by the IRT/New Ohio Archive Residency for its 2018-2020 cycle.