Cutting Edge Collectif9 Connects Classical Music With New Audiences

Montreal's cutting-edge classical string band collectif9 has been gathering steam since its 2011 debut, attracting diverse audiences in varied spaces. Known for energized, innovative arrangements of classical repertoire, collectif9 employs lights, staging, and amplification to create genre-bending classical performances.

Founded out of a desire to reach a more diverse audience, collectif9 has sought to present classical works and ideas to a broader public, particularly by demonstrating the connection a listener immersed in the world of pop can feel with contemporary classical music. Playing short excerpts of works arranged for the group, collectif9 pays close attention to the energy, flow, and variety of each show as a whole, highlighting the use of familiar dance rhythms, developing transitions between pieces, talking to the audience, and using lighting effects to emphasize the character of each piece.

collectif9 comes to the Harris Center Monday, March 25, 2019 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $22-$38; Premium $42. Students with ID $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

The musicians and friends met as students at Université de Montréal and McGill University: they wanted to create something different yet complementary to traditional representations of classical music, more relatable to pop culture. Learning from the classical works that have influenced non-classical musicians and the structure of pop concerts, collectif9 looks for ways to break the stigma of inapproachability, searches for new ways of expression within the classical medium, and attempts to foster communication and collaboration between artists and within their community.

collectif9 already counts among its supporters everyone from classical music lovers to punk rockers and heavy metal bands.

collectif9's Folsom performance will be built around their brand new album No Time for Chamber Music. Expanding upon the folk melodies and rhythms audiences have come to expect in a collectif9 performance, the new show integrates an ironic flavor, presenting serious material in playful or sarcastic contexts. Works by Mahler, Ligeti, Gabriel Prokofiev, and others are transformed from their original form - often symphonic in nature - into chamber music for nine. These original arrangements feature textures and special instrumental effects that transport the listener out of the concert hall and into a world of fantasy and imagery. "Gustav Mahler wrote these symphonies for a 110-piece orchestra ... The idea that you could do it justice, let alone bring new, fresh beauty to it with just 9 people, is outrageous, and yet that is what collectif9 does" (CBC Radio).

collectif9 has already performed over 80 concerts across North America, Europe, and Asia-- from outdoor concerts at Canadian summer festivals, to winter tours in the north, to Christmas-time in China. The ensemble combines the power of an orchestra with the crispness of a chamber ensemble.

collectif9's debut album, Volksmobiles, was released in February 2016. Described as "dazzling" (The WholeNote), the album exudes "great brio and vitality" (Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review), capturing the brilliant color and driving energy of a collectif9 live performance.

Watch collectif9 in action at: www.collectif9.ca A list of the members of the group and their biographies are attached.

Great Shows. Up Close. In Folsom!

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting more than 150,000 annually.

Tickets are available online at www.HarrisCenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time.

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