by Peter Tracy

PLEASE NOTE: Some performances may be cancelled or postponed due to community health concerns relating to COVID-19. Please double-check with the venue or performing organization before you head out to a show.

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project create a monthly calendar featuring contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in Seattle, the Eastside, Tacoma, and places in between! 

If you’d like to be included on this list, please submit your event to the Live Music Project at least six weeks prior to the event and tag it with “new music.”

March-2020-Concert-Flyer-1

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electroacoustic music, and sonic experiments. Coming up: tape manipulations, turntables, field recordings, and new music for novel instrumentations.
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Seattle Opera: Charlie Parker’s Yardbird
The life and times of Charlie Parker inspire a dreamlike exploration of the saxophonist’s struggle to write one final masterpiece. Scored for seven voices and small orchestra, this blending of jazz and classical idioms casts Parker as an operatic tenor amidst fluid, bebop-inspired accompaniment.
3/1-3/7, Various times, McCaw Hall | $64-$180

Bill Frisell: Harmony
Contemporary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell leads an ensemble of voice, cello, and baritone guitar in a concert that brings together three seemingly disparate American musical traditions: jazz, new music, and the Great American Songbook.
Thurs, 3/5, 7:30pm, The Moore Theatre | $32-$52

UW Modern Music Ensemble
This concert has been cancelled due to community health concerns.
From late 20th century classics like Gérard Grisey’s colorful and explosive Talea to more recent compositions by some of today’s leading composers, the UW Modern Music Ensemble presents a concert of chamber works featuring plenty of new and boundary-bursting sounds.
Fri, 3/6, 7:30pm, Meany Hall | $10

Conrad Tao: American Rage
Pianist Conrad Tao presents a program of music reflecting on moments of rebellion and political division in recent American history. He performs works by legendary American composers Frederic Rzewski, Julia Wolfe, and Aaron Copland alongside off-the-cuff improvisations for piano and electronics.
Fri, 3/6, 8pm, Octave 9 | $35

Seattle Pro Musica: Shall Not Be Denied
This concert has been postponed due to community health concerns.
In honor of the 100^th anniversary of women’s right to vote, Seattle Pro Musica presents a program of choral music by women whose voices have changed American music history—including the iconic vocal innovator Meredith Monk and Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw.
Sat, 3/7, 7:30pm, Trinity Lutheran Church | $21-$38
Sun, 3/8, 3pm, Seattle First Baptist Church | $21-$38

Seattle Symphony: Celebrate Asia
This year’s annual celebration highlights composer and pianist Conrad Tao, who will perform some of his own compositions as well as Gershwin’s ever-popular Rhapsody in Blue. Pre- and post-concert celebrations in the lobby highlight artistic contributions from a wide variety of Asian communities across Seattle.
Sun, 3/8, 4pm, Benaroya Hall | $29-$100

Keyboard Exchange: arx duo and Cristina Valdés
This concert has been postponed due to community health concerns.
The Seattle-based arx duo and contemporary pianist Cristina Valdés come together for an informal set at the Royal Room featuring innovative chamber works for piano and percussion and a new world premiere by Michael Laurello.
Sun, 3/8, 7:30 pm, The Royal Room | $10-$20

UW Guest Artist: Meridian
This concert has been cancelled due to community health concerns.
Explore acoustic phenomena free from conventions of rhythm or technique at this concert of groundbreaking new works. The ever-curious percussionists of Meridian will perform both improvised and composed music, plus collaborations with members of the UW Percussion Ensemble.
Wed, 3/11, 7:30 pm, Meany Studio Theatre | $10-$20

Seattle Improvised Music Festival
No scores, no rules: the Seattle Improvised Music Festival is back for another year of concerts featuring freely improvised music with wide-ranging instrumentations.
3/11-3/15, Various times and locations | $5-$20

Pacific Northwest Ballet: One Thousand Pieces
This performance has been cancelled due to community health concerns.
Sculpture, movement, and music come together in this double bill of contemporary ballet. One Thousand Pieces is a large scale work inspired by the stained glass of Marc Chagall and featuring the music of Philip Glass. It’s paired with a recent collaboration between composer Greg Haines and choreographer David Dawson titled Empire Noir.
3/13-2/20, Various times, McCaw Hall | $30-$190

Onomatopoeia Trio: Ides Away
Local faculty at Music Center of the Northwest present new music for saxophone, flute, and French horn, including a premiere of Seattle composer Jessi Harvey’s migration dances and even arrangements of tunes by the Punch Brothers.
Sun, 3/15, 2pm, Music Center of the Northwest | $5

Seattle Art Museum: Eurasia Consort
This concert has been cancelled due to community health concerns.
Western and non-Western instruments come together in this concert featuring world premieres by Alice Shields and former Cornish professor Bun-Ching Lam. Plus: a rare opportunity to hear music from the Tang Dynasty discovered in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
Sun, 3/22, 2 pm, Asian Art Museum | $10-$25

Emerald City Music: Evolution
This concert has been postponed due to community health concerns.
The history and versatility of the keyboard is in the spotlight at this concert of works for harpsichord, piano, and synthesizer. An all-star cast of keyboardists ranging from Henry Kramer to Vicky Chow performs music of Philip Glass, John Cage, Frédéric Chopin, and more.
Fri, 3/27, 8pm, 415 Westlake | $10-$45

Seattle Modern Orchestra: Celebrating 10 Years of SMO
Seattle Modern Orchestra revisits its most memorable performances, including ear-expanding works by John Cage, Kate Soper, Steve Reich, and the world premiere of a work by local composer Huck Hodge for percussion soloist and ensemble.
Fri, 3/27, 8pm, Town Hall Seattle | $10-$30

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project create a monthly calendar featuring contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in Seattle, the Eastside, Tacoma, and places in between! 

If you’d like to be included on this list, please submit your event to the Live Music Project at least six weeks prior to the event and tag it with “new music.”

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electroacoustic music, and sonic experiments. Coming up: minimalism, meditation, and sound mosaics.
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

PNB: ‘Carmina Burana’
A 2,500-pound golden wheel spins above 100 dancers, musicians, and singers in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana (with choreography by Kent Stowell). It’s paired with the equally epic Agon, a legendary collaboration between George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky.
10/3-10/6, Various times, McCaw Hall | $37-$190

Philharmonia Northwest: Songs of Life
An ensemble of Tibetan singing bowls and strings accompany Sheila Silver’s new concerto for French horn and Alpenhorn, performed by Ann Ellsworth with Philharmonia Northwest. Amy Beach’s magnificent “Gaelic” Symphony and Emily Doolittle’s majestic “Reedbird” complete the program.
Sun, 10/6, 2:30pm, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (Seattle) | $15-$25

Earshot Jazz Festival: The Westerlies
The Seattle-bred, New York-based brass quartet returns home to perform original tunes and eclectic arrangements in the Earshot Jazz Festival, opening for the Gerald Clayton Quartet.
Tues, 10/8, 7pm, The Triple Door | $10-$37

Bryce Dessner: ‘Triptych’ ft. Roomful of Teeth
Thirty years after Robert Mapplethorpe’s death, his controversial photographs remain radical and subversive. In this multimedia tribute featuring music by Bryce Dessner, poetry by Essex Hemphill and Patti Smith, and performances by the inimitable Roomful of Teeth, Mapplethorpe’s visceral images are displayed in unprecedented drama and scale. Click here for 15% off tickets.
Wed, 10/9, 8pm, The Moore Theatre | $42-$72

Seattle Symphony: Olga Neuwirth Premiere
Clattering typewriters and muted trumpets add texture to the backdrop of Olga Neuwirth’s kaleidoscopic new flute concerto Aello. It’s performed by Claire Chase with the Seattle Symphony alongside music of Mozart and Bach.
Thurs, 10/10, 7:30pm, Benaroya Hall | $24-$134
Sat, 10/12, 8pm, Benaroya Hall | $24-$134

Seattle Symphony: Density 2036
Claire Chase is working on a new body of repertoire for solo flute. In fact, she’s commissioning one new piece for her instrument every year until 2036, which marks the centennial of Edgard Varèse’s groundbreaking flute composition Density 21.5. Hear her perform selections from the project in the immersive new Octave 9 space.
Fri, 10/11, 7:30pm, Octave 9 | $25

Amy Denio: ‘Truth is Up for Grabs’
Current events, the politics of war, and the poetry of Pablo Neruda are among the inspirations behind composer and multi-instrumentalist Amy Denio’s chamber suite Truth is Up for Grabs. See it performed live alongside an expansive video production by James Drage.
Fri-Sat, 10/11-10/12, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$25

Ladies Musical Club: Contemporary Korean Composers
Two Korean artists, soprano Ki-Jung Jun and pianist Hannah Cho, breathe life into songs and piano solos celebrating the vibrant and diverse voices of contemporary Korean composers.
Mon, 10/14, 7:30pm, University House (Wallingford) | Free

Earshot Jazz Festival: Seattle Modern Orchestra
This ear-expanding collaboration brings together a cast of all-stars from Seattle’s jazz and classical scenes to perform sprawling works by Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, and more. Plus, new premieres by saxophonist Darius Jones and pianist Wayne Horvitz.
Tues, 10/15, 7:30pm, Town Hall | $10-$23

Max Richter ft. Grace Davidson and ACME
Hovering above a collection of keyboards and synthesizers, Max Richter builds electroacoustic sound worlds that are as introspective as they are immersive. For this concert, he performs them with soprano Grace Davidson and musicians of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. Click here for 15% off tickets.
Wed, 10/16, 7:30pm, The Moore Theatre | $26-$76

Earshot Jazz Festival: Clarice Assad
Drawing inspiration from classical, jazz, and Brazilian music, Clarice Assad performs original solo works for piano and voice, plus wide-ranging works for string quartet featuring local musicians.
Fri, 10/18, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$20

The Esoterics: Honesty
Truth, lies, and unanswered questions are among the themes tying together this concert of wide-ranging works by Ted Hearne, Julia Wolfe, and more. Four world premiere commissions by this year’s POLYPHONOS Competition winners round out the program.
10/18-10/20, Various times and locations | $15-$22

Seattle Symphony: [untitled] 1
Brass instruments sparkle and shine in this late-night concert featuring old and new works for french horn, trumpet, tuba, and timpani.
Fri, 10/18, 10pm, Benaroya Hall Lobby | $15

Jesse Myers: Feldman’s ‘Triadic Memories’
It’s easy to lose track of time amid the sparse tones of Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories. The 90-minute work lends itself well to meditation—which is exactly the idea behind pianist Jesse Myers’ upcoming performance. Grab a pillow and get lost in its softly sprawling sounds.
Fri, 10/25, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $10-$15

by Peter Tracy

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project create a monthly calendar featuring contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in Seattle, the Eastside, Tacoma, and places in between! 

If you’d like to be included on this list, please submit your event to the Live Music Project at least six weeks prior to the event and tag it with “new music.”

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electroacoustic music, and sonic experiments. Coming up: American song cycles, the art of sound healing, and new music from around the world.
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Songs from the Exotic
Emily Ostrom and Peter Nelson-King perform contemporary American compositions for voice and piano, including song cycles by Hale Smith, Judith Weir, and Aaron Kirschner, plus original compositions and rare works from the American song repertoire.
Fri, 8/2, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Northwest Film Forum: Puget Soundtrack
Archival footage of the Pacific Northwest forms the basis of Naer Vaer, a montage film accompanied by an original live score from local new music ensemble Postcard From the Badlands. Translating to “close-dwelling”, Naer Vaer explores our deep and often contradictory connections to each other and the natural world around us.
Sun, 8/4, 8pm, Northwest Film Forum | $13-$16

Live Music Project: A Trio of Trios
The Live Music Project connects you to classical concerts every day of the year—but this day is particularly special, because all proceeds from the concert (and the beer) benefit the important work of LMP in our community. Enjoy three trios for viola, double bass, and toy piano written specifically for LMP by Spencer Arias, Jessi Harvey, and Joyce Kwon and performed amid smiles and pizza at the Lagunitas Taproom.
Mon, 8/5, 5:30pm, Lagunitas Taproom | $5

East Coast Meets West
Two trumpet players from opposite coasts come together to present a concert of contemporary works for trumpet and piano, including two world premieres by Seattle-based composer Peter Nelson-King.
Thurs, 8/8, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Inverted Space Ensemble
Local new music collective Inverted Space presents a unique concert of atmospheric works for violin, piano, and percussion by Brian Banks, Lou Harrison, and Bun-Ching Lam.
Fri, 8/9, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Symphony for Climate Change
Music, film, and poetry come together in a screening of composer and conductor Christophe Chagnard’s multimedia symphonic work Terra Nostra (“Our Earth”). Presented at the scenic lakeside Discovery Park, the piece aims to engage, educate, and inspire policy change to protect our planet.
Sat, 8/17, 4pm, Discovery Park | Free

Beetle Box
Experimental composer and keyboardist Beetle Box comes to Substation in Fremont for an ear-expanding evening of piano and electronics.
Wed, 8/21, 8:15pm, Substation | Free

Aaron Butler + Bonnie Whiting
Two innovative percussionists, Aaron Butler and Bonnie Whiting, come together in a concert of newly composed solos and improvised duets. Wide-ranging percussion works by Nick Zammuto, Brian Harnetty, and Rob Funkhouser are programmed alongside a long-lost piece for vibraphone solo by David Gibson.
Fri, 8/23, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Nash Naubert: Music of Now
Originally from Seattle, Nash Naubert has spent the past two decades in India studying the bansuri (a bamboo flute used in Hindustani classical music). For this concert, he returns home to perform a collection of entrancing ragas with Aditya Kalyanpur on tabla.
Sat, 8/24, 8pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $24-$30

Good Vibes Only
An all-star lineup of local percussionists tackle a variety of groove-driven tunes for marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone, including works by Steve Reich, Ivan Trevino, and Marc Mellits.
Fri, 8/30, 8pm, Washington Hall | $25

Emerald City Music: Tale Retold
The real-life stories of women battling to enlist in the U.S. military are retold in a world premiere by Seattle-based composer Angelique Poteat. Plus, a reimagining of Stravinsky’s iconic The Soldier’s Tale in a cross-disciplinary performance bringing together dance, drama, and music.
Fri, 9/13, 8pm, 415 Westlake | $45
Sat, 9/14 7:30pm, The Minnaert Center (Olympia) | $10-$43

Janaka Stucky and Lori Goldston: Ascend Ascend
Poet and performer Janaka Stucky spent 20 days secluded in the tower of a 100-year-old church, drifting in and out of a state of trance and writing a book of mystic poetry in the process. In this immersive, multidisciplinary performance, he presents his new work alongside Seattle cellist and composer Lori Goldston.
Fri, 9/20, 7:30pm, All Pilgrims Church (Seattle) | $18-$45

The Sound Ensemble: Reflections
The Sound Ensemble meditates on some big questions in this concert of works reflecting on who we are as a community and where we go from here. Structured as an introspective journey of sorts, the program includes a world premiere performance of Jerry Mader’s Zodiac for violin and chamber ensemble featuring violinist Marley Erickson.
Sat, 9/28, 7pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $15-$20