World Premiere Of CULTIVAR And THE GARDEN By Composer Kamala Sankaram At Brooklyn Botanic Garden
BBG's 2023 Artist in Residence created two new unique pieces inspired by trees in the Garden's collection.
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 18, 2023
New Yorkers are invited to experience the live debut of two newly commissioned works by Brooklyn Botanic Garden's 2023 Artist in Residence, celebrated composer and vocalist Kamala Sankaram on September 30 and October 1 at 2 PM at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
As part of BBG's Power of Trees program series, throughout spring and summer Sankaram spent 200 hours in the Garden exploring its collection of trees, the way they are cared for, and their symbolism as places of gathering, shelter, and culture. Tickets are included with Garden admission and can be reserved at bbg.org. Performances will take place in the Plant Family Collection in the Garden.
An a cappella piece for six voices with body percussion, Cultivar is made up of five movements, each focused on a different tree found at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Highlighted trees include the Evamaria (Magnolia × brooklynensis), the cherry collection (Prunus), the weeping beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula'), the dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), and the mangrove trees (Rhizophora mangle). Performed by acclaimed vocal sextet The Western Wind.
A meditation on natural spaces in the city, the coevolving relationship between humans and trees, and the urban forest, The Garden features Kamala Sankaram on voice, electronics, and sitar and Drew Fleming (Bombay Rickey) on guitar and voice, accompanied by field recordings of the Garden itself and the voices of those who care for its trees. The Garden will use audio from Sankaram's interviews with BBG staff members and community members, collected on her quest to learn more about how the Garden's collection of trees is maintained and appreciated. Featured interviewees include William Lenihan, a BBG Native Flora Garden curator discussing the pitch pine (Pinus rigida); Shelley Worrell, founder of I AM caribBEING, reading her recipe for soursop punch; and Georgia Silvera Seamans, an urban and community forester.
Praised as “one of the most exciting opera composers in the country"” (Washington Post), composer Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music and contemporary opera. Recent commissions include works for the Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera, the PROTOTYPE Festival, and Creative Time, among others. Kamala is known for her operas fusing Indian classical music with the operatic form, including Thumbprint, A Rose, Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, and the forthcoming Jungle Book. Also known for her work pushing the boundaries of the operatic form, recent works include The Last Stand, a 10-hour opera created for the trees of Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Only You Will Recognize the Signal, a serial space opera performed live over the internet, Looking at You, a techno-noir featuring live datamining of the audience and a chorus of 25 singing tablet computers, all decisions will be made by consensus, a short absurdist opera performed live over Zoom, and The Parksville Murders, the world's first virtual reality opera.
As a performer, Kamala has been hailed as "an impassioned soprano with blazing high notes" (Wall Street Journal). A frequent collaborator with Anthony Braxton, she has premiered his operas Trillium E and Trillium J, as well as appearing on his 12-hour recording GTM (Syntax) 2017. Other notable collaborations include Meredith Monk's Atlas with the LA Philharmonic, The Wooster Group's LA DIDONE (Kaaitheater, Brussels, Edinburgh International Festival, Rotterdam Schouberg, Grand Théâtre de la Ville, Luxembourg, St. Anne's Warehouse, NY, REDCAT, Los Angeles),and the PROTOTYPE Festival's production of her composition THUMBPRINT (Baruch Performing Arts, NY, REDCAT, Los Angeles). Kamala is the leader of Bombay Rickey, an operatic Bollywood surf ensemble whose accolades include two awards for Best Eclectic Album from the Independent Music Awards, the 2018 Mid-Atlantic touring grant, and appearances on WFMU and NPR. Awards, grants and residencies: Jonathan Larson Award, NEA ArtWorks, MAP Fund, Opera America, HERE Artist Residency Program, the MacDowell Colony, and the Watermill Center.
Dr. Sankaram holds a PhD from the New School and is currently a member of the composition faculty at SUNY Purchase.
Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn and open year-round, the Garden is home to over 12,000 kinds of plants and more than 30 specialty gardens.
Garden entrances are at 990 Washington Avenue, 150 Eastern Parkway, and 455 Flatbush Avenue.
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