Baryshnikov Arts Center Presents The Westerlies – Taking Shape
$20
Traditional — Weeping Mary (shape note song)
William Walker — Louisiana (shape note song)
Traditional — Parting Friends (shape note song; arr. John G. McCurry)
Various — Selected works (4 original compositions by The Westerlies; world premieres)
Caroline Shaw — Entr'acte
Traditional — Saro
Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) presents New York-based brass quartet The Westerlies in a program entitled Taking Shape at BAC’s Howard Gilman Performance Space on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 7:30pm and Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 7:30pm.
Deeply influenced by American folk and jazz traditions while incorporating the intimacy and precision of chamber music, The Westerlies' brand-new program highlights the style of shape-note music—a body of work written with a notation system designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The program includes four world premieres commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts Center, one by each of the quartet members and inspired by shape-note music, which showcase the group's talent for improvisation while cutting new trails across the vast expanse of the American musical landscape.
About The Westerlies
The Westerlies, "an arty quartet...mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk" (The New York Times) are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of childhood friends from Seattle: Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch on trombone. From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues and projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along.
Formed in 2011, the self-described "accidental brass quartet" takes its name from the prevailing winds that travel from the West to the East. "Skilled interpreters who are also adept improvisers" (NPR's Fresh Air), The Westerlies explore jazz, roots, and chamber music influences to create the rarest of hybrids: music that is both "folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous" (NPR Music).
http://www.westerliesmusic.com