Distinguished Artist Series Presents Contemporary Sextet

April 2, 2008

by Katie Brooks, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

Baylor University's School of Music will welcome the contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird in its Distinguished Artist Series at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in Roxy Grove Hall.

The sextet is comprised of flutist Tim Munro, clarinetist Michael J. Maccaferri, violinist and violist Matt Albert, cellist Nicholas Photinos, percussionist Matthew Duvall and pianist Lisa Kaplan. The musicians all hold degrees in music performance from Oberlin Conservatory and the group is currently in residence at the University of Richmond and University of Chicago.

"They are one of the world's most exciting and innovative chamber-music groups, and one of a very few to specialize in the performance of modern music," said Richard Veit, School of Music concert and promotion manager.

The Washington Post hailed the group as "intensely innovative" in their music and performing style. They have recorded four albums and their CD "Strange Imaginary Animals" won the chamber-music Grammy this year.

Veit said the group has won accolades for their dynamic performances. "The group members move freely about the stage in casual dress, perform choreographed movements, engage in spoken narration and incorporate elements of rock and jazz improvisation," he said.

"Unlike most classical concerts, this particular program gives students an opportunity to hear serious music that is of their own time. Students also will be treated to performances by six of the most virtuosic musicians they are ever likely to encounter. One critic called eighth blackbird's music 'fresh, vibrant, exciting and slightly addictive,'" he said.

According to their web site, the group's name is derived from the Wallace Stevens poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." The eighth stanza reads, "I know noble accents/And lucid, inescapable rhythms;/But I know, too,/That the blackbird is involved/In what I know."

General admission is $15. Tickets for Baylor students, faculty and staff are $10. For ticket information on this concert, call the School of Music box office at (254) 710-3571, or you may purchase tickets online at www.baylor.edu/music.

For more information, contact Richard Veit at (254) 710-3991.