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MIT's CAST Welcomes Cellist Maya Beiser as Inaugural Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 31, 2017
MIT has announced cellist Maya Beiser as the inaugural Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist, a new artist residency endowed by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that has supported MIT's Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) since its inception in 2012.
Key to Beiser's residency is the opportunity to explore MIT's unparalleled resources across disciplines and embrace its extensive creative community to push the boundaries of her artistic practice. As part of her residency, Beiser will conduct master classes with students, and collaborate with MIT's distinguished faculty on three original performances as part of MIT Sounding, a new concert series curated by CAST's Director Evan Ziporyn that integrates traditional instruments and sounds with pioneering technologies to present genre defying music.
Beiser's first concert on March 3 will feature a new arrangement of David Bowie's Blackstar by Evan Ziporyn composed specially for Beiser in harmony with the Ambient Orchestra.
Her second performance on April 22 will activate self-assembling structures by Skylar Tibbits, the Co-Director of MIT's Self Assembly Lab, and mark the conclusion of CAST's two-day symposium "Being Material." This performance will pay tribute to the late composer Pauline Oliveros, a central figure in experimental and post-war electronic art music, and innovator of "Deep Listening."
Beiser's residency will culminate in the fall with a performance celebrating the centennial of the composer Lou Harrison's birth. For this performance, Beiser will collaborate with Gamelan Galak Tika, Sarah Cahill and Evan Ziporyn on a composition to premiere at the concert.
"It is such a great honor to be coming to MIT, a remarkable institution where creativity and innovation are so vividly celebrated across all disciplines -- art, music, science, and technology -- in a way that aligns perfectly with my own artistic values and pursuit and with what I am exploring in my art," Beiser said. "I look forward to meaningful collaboration with MIT's faculty and students as we embark together on what I know will be a memorable and influential year. I am grateful to the Mellon Foundation for recognizing the importance of bringing independent artists, such as myself, into the academic environment."
"Maya's entire career has been about expanding the idea of what it means to be a 'classical' musician, and a cellist," said Evan Ziporyn Professor MIT Music Theater Arts and Faculty Director of CAST. "She approaches performance with rigor but also with risk, openness, and joy. She's not afraid of what she doesn't know, and she's not afraid to ask questions or approach absolutely anyone - exhibiting a vibrant intellectual curiosity that is fundamental to the character of MIT. So I think it's a perfect fit."
A key part of MIT CAST's artist residencies is the opportunity for artists to experiment and explore new technologies that stretch the boundaries of their respective practices. During her time at MIT, Beiser will research, exchange ideas and collaborate with Evan Ziporyn Professor MIT Music Theater Arts and Faculty Director of CAST, Skylar Tibbits co-director of the MIT Self-Assembly Lab and Assistant Professor in the department of Architecture, and Eran Egozy of the MIT Music Technology Lab, as well as with students in classes and workshops integrating music, technology, and film.Beiser is a classical cellist that reimagines the traditional concert experience and creates new music for the cello. She has collaborated with acclaimed composers including Louis Andrissen, Philip Glass, Osvaldo Golijov and Michael Gordon, among others.
Additional details on each of Besier's residency performances follow below.CONCERTS BY MAYA BEISER: INAUGURAL MELLON DISTINGUISHED VISITING
ARTIST AT THE MIT CENTER FOR ART, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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