Chanticleer Performs One Night Only At The Kennedy Center On April 2, 2019

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Composer in Residence Mason Bates continue the 2018-2019 season of their immersive new-music series, KC Jukebox, with the renowned male a cappella groupChanticleer on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. in the Family Theater. The penultimate program of the KC Jukebox season will feature the music by Robert Shaw, Kurt Weill, Steven Stucky, Ned Rorem, and Queen's Freddie Mercury-all anchored by Bates's 30-minute song cycle, Sirens.

Bates composed the 12-part a cappella work, Sirens, for Chanticleer in 2009 and noted "this cycle casts a wide net in exploring seduction music." Separated into five movements, the text is based on Book XII of the Odyssey, poems by Heinrich Heine and Pietro Aretino, and a sacred prayer of the Quechua Indians in South America. Sirens explores the notion that sirens are not only a sign of danger, but perhaps a symbol of purity and harmony. Part of DIRECT CURRENT, the Kennedy Center's two-week celebration of contemporary culture, Chanticleer's program features new vocal music from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Continuing to reinvent the traditional concert experience, each KC Jukebox event connects audiences directly to the music through a sight and surround-sound experience-projected program notes, contemporary-classical fusion concert, a free after-party featuring guest DJs, and a cash bar.

Three-time Grammy®-winning male vocal group returns with a program of 20th and 21st century choral music, featuring Mason Bates's 12-part a cappella song cycle,Sirens.

Tickets are $39 and information is available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, online at www.kennedy-center.org, or by calling (202) 467-4600. For all other ticket-related customer service inquires, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.

Mason Bates's KC Jukebox is the Kennedy Center's innovative contemporary music series, which spotlights the works of living composers as filtered through Bates's signature re-imagining of the classical music experience. The series has featured music from luminaries including Mercury Soul, Missy Mazzoli, Mouse on Mars, Newspeak, Steve Reich, Nathaniel Stookey, Thievery Corporation, among others.

Using a mix of cutting-edge technology and dynamic electro-acoustic palettes-and bringing together forward-thinking instrumentalists, vocalists, and DJs from Washington and beyond-KC Jukebox fuses new music and new audiences for a new kind of classical music performance. Each KC Jukebox event is followed by a free after-party featuring guest DJs and a cash bar to keep the vibe flowing well into the night.