Synchronous & Emissary Quartet to Present UTILITY World Premiere At Blue Building

Synchronous, a movement collective, and Emissary Quartet, an all-female flute quartet, premiere their first collaborative work, UTILITY, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 7:30pm and Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 7:30pm at Blue Building, 222 E 46th Street, New York, NY 10017. Closest Subways: 7 Train at Grand Central, 4/5/6 Trains at Grand Central, E Train at Lexington Ave/53 Street.

UTILITY takes inspiration from a piece in EQ's repertory, "Utility Spaces", two movements of which will be premiered at this event. "Utility spaces like shipping containers, boiler rooms, patches of grass lining highways, and boat docks are spaces free from the pressures of observation, but aren't lonely because they have a function." - Owen Eddy, composer.

The evening will explore utility spaces as metaphors for interactions that create relationships in unexpected places. Although individuals are generally under the scrutiny of daily perception, small, momentary interactions are "free from the pressures of observation" and their function is to unite. Co-choreographers Emily Aslin and Stephanie Shin use shared choreographic themes of coinciding moments and partnerwork to magnify and analyze these seemingly mundane moments.

The score selections of the evening expand furthermore upon the overarching themes of the program, including pieces all by living composers - El Amolador by Venezuelan composer Adina Izarra, Alone, Dancing by Indian-American composer Asha Srinivasan, Thorn by NYC-based composer David Lang, and Rustling by Owen Eddy.

In addition to the movement exploration and musical repertory, the performance will invite audience members to be immersed throughout the space of the Blue Building. The performance will take place throughout three rooms in the gallery space. Throughout each vignette, attendees are invited to follow the performers as they move and lead you between spaces, involving a variety of instrumentalist and dancer combinations.

Local dance artists collaborating with Aslin and Shin in the movement include members of Synchronous - J Chen Project dancer Maya Lam, and NYU Tisch Dance alumna and five two Dance Company member Rachel Ha-Eun Lee. Members of Emissary Quartet include Cincinnati-based performer and educator Kari Boyer, Houston-based chamber artist and teacher Dr. Allison Asthana, Princeton flute professor and performer Dr. Sarah Shin, and LA-based performer and educator Dr. Chelsea Tanner.

"This will be the first unique performance of its kind, combining the music of flute quartet with dance," says Sarah Shin, member of Emissary Quartet. "We are looking forward to connecting through sound and movement with the members of Synchronous and the active audience members."

PERFORMANCE DETAILS: 

WHERE:

The Blue Building

222 E 46th St, New York, NY 10017

https://www.bluegallerynyc.com/

WHEN:

Wednesday, April 17th at 7:30pm

Thursday, April 18th at 7:30pm

TICKETS/MORE INFORMATION:

$30 General Admission

$20 Artist/Student/Musician

Tickets available at https://www.emissaryquartet.com/utility.