MIT Presents Miguel Zenón's Boston Area Premiere Of GOLDEN CITY In March

MIT will present the Boston-area premiere of Golden City, Grammy Award-winning alto saxophonist/composer and MIT faculty member Miguel Zenón's powerful suite for large ensemble.

The sweeping extended composition is inspired by the demographic and political evolution of San Francisco, from the pre-colonial period to the contemporary tech-dominated era. The piece is performed by a world-class band featuring Zenón's unparalleled saxophone, a formidable trombone-centric horn section, guitar, piano, bass, and percussion.  
 
The event, which is part of MIT's Artfinity festival, takes place at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 14, 2025 in the Thomas Tull Concert Hall, Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building. It is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Click here for tickets.

Golden City was commissioned by SFJAZZ and the Hewlett Foundation. The inveterately curious Zenón embraced the assignment by delving into California's history, “all the way back to the beginning with Native communities,” he says. “All the way back to when it was Mexico, and the Gold Rush, and the waves of Asian migration. I talked to about 50 individuals and came out the other side with a lot more information to feed the creative process.”

While Golden City isn't programmatic, it's a body of music deeply informed by the places and people Zenón visited.  From the opening lines of “Sacred Land,” to the closing lines of “The Power of Community” and “Golden,” Zenón's music takes the listener on a deep and powerful journey. As Tom Conrad wrote in Stereophile Magazine about the Grammy-nominated album of the same name, “Golden City defies easy categorization. If it is an ‘ethnic'" record, its ethnicity is the human race.”

Joining Zenón for this performance are Matt Mitchell on piano, Chris Tordini on bass,
Dan Weiss on drums, Miles Okazaki on guitar, Samuel Torres on congas, tripandero and percussion, Diego Urcola on trumpet and valve trombone, Alan Ferber on trombone, and Jacob Garchik on tuba and trombone.

About Miguel Zenón

Grammy winner, Doris Duke Artist, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Zenón is one of a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, Zenón has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between jazz and his many influences. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has released seventeen albums as a leader. He has worked with luminaries and organizations such as The SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Perez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Joey Calderazzo, Steve Coleman, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band, and Bobby Hutcherson. Zenón has given hundreds of lectures and master classes at institutions all over the world and is a faculty member in the Music & Theater Arts Department at MIT, as well as the current Visiting Scholar for the Harmony and Jazz Composition Department at Berklee College of Music.
 
About Artfinity
Artfinity is a festival of the arts at MIT featuring 80 free events across the performing and visual arts, celebrating creativity and community at MIT. The festival launches with the opening of the new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building at MIT on February 15, 2025, continues with a concentration of events Feb 28-March 16, and culminates with the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts public lecture by 2025 recipient Es Devlin on May 1, 2025, and a concert by Grammy-winning rapper and Visiting Scholar Lupe Fiasco on May 2, 2025. 
 
Artfinity features the work of MIT faculty, students, staff, and alumni, alongside guest artists from the Greater Boston area and beyond. All 80 events are open to the public, including dozens of concerts and performances plus an array of visual arts such as projections, films, installations, exhibitions, and augmented reality experiences, as well as lectures and workshops for attendees to participate in. With a wide range of visual and performing arts events open to all, Artfinity embodies MIT's commitment to the arts and the intersection of art, science, and technology. Artfinity is an Institute-sponsored event, organized by the Office of the Arts at MIT, with faculty leads Institute Professor of Music Marcus Thompson and Professor of Art, Culture and Technology Azra Aksamija. 

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