Screening of JACKIE With Live Score Leads National Sawdust's 2017 Fall Season

National Sawdust, the unparalleled artist-led incubator in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, announces its 2017 fall season opening program, which will span two evenings and celebrates two points of emphasis this season: achievements in female composition and outstanding multicultural artistry.

On Friday, September 22, Wordless Music Orchestra and National Sawdust co-present a film screening of JACKIE with exhilarating live score accompaniment by the Wordless Music Orchestra, and on Saturday, September 23, National Sawdust Curators and Artists-in-Residence will guide the audience through the indigenous music of the Origins season to come.

Paola Prestini, Composer and National Sawdust Artistic Director, says: "I've always believed that empowering the marginalized makes us all stronger. With the upcoming season, Origins, I'm channeling the National Sawdust mission - empowering high-level artistry, regardless of training, genre, or fame - through multicultural and feminist artists who tell their stories in their music. This opening weekend vividly illustrates that mission. In these tumultuous times, I want to amplify the voices of these artists to reach the ears and hearts of as many people as possible. I look forward to sharing their tremendous work throughout our third season."

Courtenay Casey, Executive Director, National Sawdust, comments: "Our opening weekend is a celebration and guide for the National Sawdust season. We're celebrating diversity and discovery-important to National Sawdust and a reflection of the city we live in and are inspired from. We felt that a screening of JACKIE-a film wherein an accomplished woman composer frames the story of another accomplished woman-serves as a powerful illustration of the season to come: iconic women and their stories illuminated by the music of women. In JACKIE, you watch a woman's journey to find her voice to create a legacy larger than herself. This urgent portrayal is a loud reminder that we must serve as cultural citizens in order to create a world of equality and diversity. For our second night, we illustrate this cultural stewardship through our incredible curators and artists in residence -- the backbone of our programming. Originating from all corners of the globe, we're excited to feature their incredible virtuosity and diversity all in one evening."

Film Screening: On Friday, September 22, in a nod to U.S. President and A Nation of Immigrants author John F. Kennedy's 100th birthday, Wordless Music Orchestra and National Sawdust co-present a film screening of JACKIE with exhilarating live score accompaniment by the Wordless Music Orchestra. The evening highlights composer Mica Levi, known as Micachu, whose Academy Award nomination for composing the film's soundtrack marked the first nomination of a female composer in 20 years. Directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Noah Oppenheim, JACKIE is a searing and intimate portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history, as seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, then Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman). JACKIE places us in her world during the days immediately following her husband's assassination.

Master Improvisers: On Saturday, September 23, in a double-header evening supported in part by the Garcia Family Foundation, audience members embark on a staged excursion through the indigenous music of the Origins season to come, guided in part by National Sawdust resident artists and curators: Lithuanian-American guitarist Abraham Brody, Pulitzer-winning Chinese multi-instrumentalist Du Yun and her experimental ensemble Ok Miss, and the emerging mavericks of Russian Renaissance, winners of the prestigious 2017 M Prize. Later, the night culminates in an exhilarating selection of music from percussionist Stéphane San Juan, aided by a slew of master improvisers, including Grammy-winning trumpeter Michael Leonhart, cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, jazz vocalist Magos Herrera, Brazilian percussionist Mauro Refosco, Brazilian pianist and accordionist Vitor Gonçalves, and other special guests.

In total, the Origins season contains over 250 outstanding performances from National Sawdust curators, Artists-in-Residence, partners, and other revolutionary artists. For more information about the full National Sawdust program this Fall, visit National Sawdust's website: www.nationalsawdust.org.

Courtenay Casey is the Executive Director of National Sawdust. With over ten years of "behind the stage" experience in the performing arts and work with some of the most prestigious artists from Broadway to the concert hall, Courtenay has managed and produced over seventy productions ranging from elaborate world premieres to intimate workshops. A 2012 Emerging Leaders of New York (ELNYA) fellow, Courtenay is a Board Member of National Sawdust and Art Song Preservation Society of New York.

Paola Prestini is "the imaginative...enterprising composer and impresario" (New York Times) whose interdisciplinary vision is helping to shape the future of new music. Named one of Musical America's "Top 30 Musical Innovators 2016" and one of the "Top 100 Composers in the World under 40" (NPR), Prestini's music has been commissioned by and performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, BAM, and the Barbican Centre, among others. She is the CEO and Artistic Director of National Sawdust, and the "visionary-in-chief" (Time Out New York) of VisionIntoArt, the multimedia Production Company she co-founded in 1999. Prestini's honors include two ASCAP awards, fellowships from Paul & Daisy Soros and Carnegie Hall, and The Sundance Institute. Current works include Two Oars, a new opera with Robert Wilson, and The Hubble Cantata, to premiere with LA Opera and the Kennedy Center.

National Sawdust's mission is to build new audiences for classical and new music by providing outstanding resources and programmatic support to both emerging and established artists and composers. National Sawdust's programming is centered on discovery within music: we introduce audiences to new artists and styles, and we introduce artists to new audiences. We also provide artists the space, time, and resources they need to create new work. Additionally, with adjoining restaurant Rider from James Beard award-winning chef Patrick Connolly, National Sawdust embraces the blending of cultural and culinary experience.

Pictured: Magos Herrera performing at National Sawdust. Photo by Jill Steinberg.

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