New Composed Music: February 2017 Seattle * Eastside * Tacoma

Posted on February 1, 2017 by maestrobeats

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!

Keep an eye out for our this flyer in concert programs and coffee shops around town. Feel free to download, print, and distribute it yourself! If you’d like to be included on this list, submit your event to the Live Music Project at least 6 weeks prior to the event and be sure to tag it with “new music.”

Racer Sessions
A weekly showcase of original music with a jam session based on the concepts in the opening presentation.
Every Sunday, 8-10pm, Cafe Racer | FREE

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electronic/electroacoustic music, & more.
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15
waywardmusic.org (check website for complete listings)

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Ancora presents Wild! With Skyros Quartet
Aimee Mell leads a program of works by Randall Thompson, Ola Gjeilo, Sarah Quartel, Joan Szymko, Dan Forrest, and Jackson Berkey.
Sat, 2/4, 7:30pm, Trinity Lutheran Church | $11-$16

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Seattle Music Exchange
Pianist Angelo Rondello will perform works by Seattle composers Samuel Jones, Peter V. Stevens, Angelique Poteat, Adam Haws, & Benjamin Salman.
Sat, 2/4, 8pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $20-$42

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Seattle Rock Orchestra performs The Police
SRO shakes out hits like ‘Roxanne,’ ‘Message In A Bottle,’ ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me,’ and ‘Every Breath You Take.’
Sat, 2/4, 8pm, Kirkland Performance Center | $40

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Solaris Vocal Ensemble with Seattle Modern Orchestra
SMO collaborates with UW’s Solaris Vocal Ensemble in a unique performance of Julia Wolfe’s Thirst and works by Dempster and Erickson.
Fri, 2/10, 7:30pm, Meany Studio Theater | $10-$20

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Andrew Joslyn & the Passenger String Quartet
Violinist, composer, and arranger Andrew Joslyn presents an afternoon of music with The Passenger String Quartet.
Sun, 2/12, 4pm, Bainbridge Waterfront Community Center | $5-$20

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Adagio: The Music of Arvo Pärt
An evening of music from Estonian composer Arvo Pärt where the spirit of early music meets ultra-spare modern minimalism in a meditative, intimate setting.
Sun, 2/12, 7pm, On the Boards | $20

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Cornish Presents: Jesse Myers
Pianist Jesse Myers brings John Cage’s prepared piano music to the stage on which the instrument was born.
Fri, 2/17, 8pm, PONCHO Concert Hall | $10-$20

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Inverted Space: Composers Concert
Inverted Space presents a concert of new works featuring the music of Adrian Swan, Charles Corey, Anna Stachurska, & Jacob Sundstrom.
Fri, 2/17, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

18
Lake Union Civic Orchestra: Temptation
Baritone Charles Robert Stephens performs music by Seattle composer and pianist Jeffrey Moidel. Works by Milhaud and Shostakovich round out the program.
Sat, 2/18, 7:30pm, Center for Spiritual Living | $15-$20

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Wayward Music Series: Melanie Voytovich
Percussionist Melanie Voytovich and friends bring you a night of new work featuring Storm Benjamin, Scott Langdon, Maggie Brown, Brad Hawkins, and Ella Maher (dance).
Sat, 2/18, 7:30pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

18-19
NOCCO: Resonance: Celebrating Black American Composers
Hear a newly commissioned work by Hanna Benn & performance artist Davida Ingram and works by Scott Joplin & George Walker.
Sat, 2/18, 2pm, New Holly Gathering Hall | $15-$30 (under 18 FREE)
Sun, 2/19, 7:30pm, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute | $15-$30 (under 18 FREE)

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Melia Watras: 26 Album Release
UW faculty violist Melia Watras performs selections from 26, her newly released CD on Sono Luminus, with a video presentation and commentary.
Fri, 2/24, 7:30pm, Brechemin Auditorium | FREE

25-26
Seattle Pro Musica: Chichester Psalms
Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms is paired with James MacMillan’s Cantos sagrados, both exploring the desire of humankind to seek social justice and peace.
Sat, 2/25, 8pm, St. James Cathedral | $12-$38

NEW VIDEO: Passenger String Quartet’s Mozart/Nirvana Mashup

Posted on January 19, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Stapleton

Mozart and… Nirvana?? I might go so far to say it’s the epitome of Second Inversion’s “Rethink Classical” mantra – fusing genres, presenting classical mediums in non-traditional ways, and celebrating Northwest-based music, musicians, and venues. This arrangement was gracefully constructed by Andrew Joslyn and Seth May-Patterson and recorded at the Columbia City Theater.

The Passenger String Quartet is an avant-garde, experimental neo-classical group, formed by Northwest composer/violinist Andrew Joslyn. The group is in high demand as studio session musicians, tours & performs original compositions, as well as backs a wide variety of regional, and national touring groups from David Bazan, DJ Spooky, Suzanne Vega, to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Ivan and Alyosha, Kris Orlowski, Doug Martsche, and many more.

PSQ is:
Andrew Joslyn, violin
Alina To, violin
Seth May-Patterson, viola
Rebecca Chung Filice, cello

PassengerStringQuartet

Second Inversion’s Top 5 Moments of 2015

Posted on December 29, 2015 by maestrobeats

2015 has been a huge year for us! Besides filling the 24/7 stream with new music and insights, we kept busy out in the community, on the blog, and making videos! This is the final post in a series of “Top 5 of 2015” lists (check out our Top 5 Videos and Top 5 Albums) before we plunge into 2016. Here are our top 5 moments/events/milestones/projects/good times:

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#5: John Cage Diary Series

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Armed with high-quality headphones and book in hand, over the course of eight weeks, Second Inversion’s Maggie Molloy listened through each of the eight parts of Cage’s Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse), recently published by Siglio Press, and created her own personal diary tracking the experience.

She gracefully navigated through the zigzagging maze that is Cage’s musical mind and shed light on some fascinating aspects of Cage’s life: his love of mushrooms, cats, anechoic chambers, technology (it’s arguable to say Cage may have predicted the internet), dance, and so much more. Dive in from the beginning and let her guide you through this incredible series! Stay tuned for more great creative features and clever wit from Maggie M. in 2016!

#4: Live Broadcasts

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In 2015 we presented SEVEN live streaming broadcast concerts from Town Hall Seattle and Meany Hall, including Third Coast Percussion, Catalyst Quartet, Deviant Septet, SYSO Alums and Mentors, Johnny Gandlesman, ETHEL and Robert Mirabal, Ensemble Variances with Lisa Bielawa! These broadcasts allowed us to connect with concert-goers in the community while reaching audiences nation and world-wide on our 24/7 stream! Many of them are also available on our live concerts on-demand page Stay tuned for plenty more in 2016.

#3: Music Videos (& a New Music USA Grant)

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We’re grateful for all of the foundation support we’ve received for Second Inversion this year! Our grant from New Music USA was particularly exciting because it to helped fund our music videos. Our video stars include Joshua Roman, Turtle Island String Quartet, Jherek Bischoff, Ashley Bathgate, Danish String Quartet, musicians from OneBeat, Christopher O’Riley and Matt Haimovitz, and so many more. It’s been a wildly fun journey connecting with artists who are passionate about sharing new music with audiences. We’re incredibly grateful for the time they donated to be a part of this project! Check out the complete video collection on our video page.

#2: Northwest Folklife Festival

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In 2015 we had our first Northwest Folklife Showcase – really, our first public performance of any kind! The Passenger String Quartet and Seattle Cello eXperiment performed for an absolutely packed Center Theatre. It was an amazing opportunity for us to contribute to Folklife’s diverse music and cultural offerings and to connect with new audiences. Some showed up expecting a more traditional “classical” concert and instead were able to Rethink Classical. Needless to say, we’ll be back for a 2nd showcase in 2016!

#1: Joshua Roman named Artistic Advisor

In March of 2015, Second Inversion brought Joshua Roman on board as the Artistic Advisor! Joshua has helped us “Rethink Classical” with our Seattle community and our national and global audiences by posting to our blog, introducing music on our 24/7 stream, and collaborating on new ideas and initiatives. Stay tuned for more from Joshua in 2016!

Second Inversion at Folklife!

Posted on May 1, 2015 by maestrobeats

We are excited to announce our first Second Inversion Showcase at the 2015 Northwest Folklife Festival!

On Friday, May 22 from 8:45-10pm, come to the Center Theatre at Seattle Center for this FREE show, featuring the Passenger String Quartet and the Seattle Cello eXperiment. Both groups specialize in fun, genre-crossing arrangements of music today as well as original compositions by emerging composers.

Peter Williams founded the Seattle Cello eXpermient, or “Cello X” in 2010. It is an ensemble composed of his highest level cello students. Their mission is to push the boundaries of cello playing and to explore the sonic possibilities when eight or more cellos are brought together. Much of their music comes from original and unique arrangements of some of today’s most popular music. They span a wide range of genres, including rock, classical, movie, fiddling, video game, and pop.

We hope to see you there!

LIVE CONCERT SPOTLIGHT: November 21 & 23

Posted on November 20, 2014 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

David Bazan and the Passenger String Quartet

David Bazan is a Seattle singer-songwriter best known as the creative force behind Pedro the Lion, a local indie-rock band which broke up in 2006 when Bazan went solo. However, this weekend Bazan is joining forces with a new type of band: the Passenger String Quartet.

The Passenger String Quartet is a neoclassical Northwestern ensemble dedicated to playing avant-garde, experimental new works. The group recently collaborated with Bazan to create an album full of all new studio recordings of Pedro the Lion and Bazan solo songs. For the past couple months, Bazan and the quartet have been touring in support of the album, titled “David Bazan + Passenger String Quartet Volume 1.”

After a long series of sold-out shows across the U.S., this weekend Bazan and the Passenger String Quartet are bringing the tour back home with a performance at Seattle’s own Neptune Theatre. The show is this Friday, Nov. 21. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the performance begins at 9 p.m.

TangleTown Trio Presents “Night of the Living Composers”

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Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in a spooky, spoofy musical performance every once in a while. This weekend TangleTown Trio is presenting “Night of the Living Composers.” A most unusual performance, the concert features the works of several contemporary, living composers.

TangleTown Trio is a local ensemble composed of mezzo-soprano and composer Sarah Mattox, violinist and violist Jo Nardolillo, and pianist Judith Cohen. The group specializes in classical music inspired by different genres of American music, including jazz, folk, and theatre.

For this weekend’s performance, they are tackling the works of many local living composers, including Christophe Chagnard, Bern Herbolsheimer, Carol Sams, Randolph Hokanson, and several others. The concert features but one dead composer—see if you can tell which one is the ghost.

“Night of the Living Composers” is this Sunday, Nov. 23 at the Columbia City Theater. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the performance begins at 5:30 p.m.

The Piano Trio: Classic to Contemporary

Over the centuries, the piano trio has grown to include an extraordinarily large and diverse repertoire, securing a name for itself as a staple component of chamber music. This weekend, violinist Michael Jinsoo, cellist David Requiro, and pianist Christina Valdes are celebrating that vast and vibrant repertoire with a performance titled “The Piano Trio: Classic to Contemporary.”

The program features piano trios ranging from the passionate, poignant Beethoven to the experimental, aleatoric Ives. The concert will also feature trios by Brahms and Garcia, rounding out a program of exceptional chamber works from throughout history.

The concert is this Sunday, Nov. 23 at Cornish’s PONCHO Hall at 7 p.m.