International Contemporary Ensemble And Civic Orchestra Of Chicago Present INESCAPABLE SPIRAL REMOTE

The International Contemporary Ensemble and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago will present a free virtual concert featuring the world premiere of Nicole M. Mitchell's Inescapable Spiral Remote (2020) on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 6pm CST/7pm EST. The program will stream on YouTube and is open to the public with advanced RSVP. An informal Q & A with the artists will follow the performance.

Inescapable Spiral, commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble with lead support from Oscar Gerardo and premiered at Ojai Music Festival 2017, is written for open instrumentation and a variable ensemble. Performers can range anywhere from 5 to 20 players. As Nicole mentions, "it's like a choreography of these little miniature pieces, with the intent of collision." The variable process in her work extends to a new remote edition of the piece, specifically reimagined for pre-recorded and live performances that are created remotely and mixed live online.

"There are a few possible ways that celestial bodies can orbit the Earth. One is called the 'spiral impact' orbit, in which it is inevitable for one celestial body to be pulled towards the greater object in an 'inescapable spiral' until they ultimately collide," says Mitchell.

"As the pandemic forced our programming, collaboration, and creation into the virtual sphere, we immediately thought of Nicole Mitchell and her extensive experience with remote Telematic performances. We commissioned her to make a new version of the 2017 Inescapable Spiral that could be workshopped in the context of our online Ensemble Evolution program in late June in partnership with the New School's College of Performing Arts. Six months later, as the final event in our weekly streaming series, TUES@7, we'll bring thirteen members of the Ensemble into collaboration with over a dozen members of Chicago Civic," says International Contemporary Ensemble's Artistic Director Ross Karre.

"This performance presents the Civic Orchestra with so many exciting opportunities to explore new modes of musical expression online," says Jonathan McCormick, who is Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Negaunee Music Institute and oversees the Civic. "After three years and at least two instances of postponed performances, it feels as though the inescapable spiral of planning this collaboration is finally reaching a joyful conclusion, thanks to Nicole's ingenuity and International Contemporary Ensemble's thoughtful partnership."

Program Information
Nicole Mitchell's Inescapable Spiral Remote
Tuesday, December 15, at 6:00pm CST/7:00pm EST
Tickets: Free with Advanced RSVP
Link: www.eventbrite.com/e/inescapable-spiral-remote-tickets-129775539131

Program:
Nicole Mitchell - Inescapable Spiral Remote (2020) [World Premiere]

The 2020/21 Civic Orchestra of Chicago season is generously sponsored by The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

About Nicole Mitchell
Nicole Mitchell is an award-winning creative flutist, composer, conceptualist, bandleader, and educator. A United States Artist (2020), a Doris Duke Artist (2012) and recipient of the Herb Alpert Award (2011), her research centers on the powerful legacy of contemporary African American culture and black experimental art. For over 20 years, Mitchell's critically acclaimed Black Earth Ensemble (BEE) has been her primary compositional laboratory with which she has recorded over 10 albums and performed at festivals and art venues throughout Europe, Canada, and the US. A former president of the AACM, she composes for contemporary ensembles of varied instrumentation and size (from solo to orchestra and big band) while incorporating improvisation and a wide aesthetic expression. Her recognition as a 2018 recipient of the Champion of New Music Award from the American Composers Forum and the 2019 Women In Jazz Visionary Award from the Jazz Institute of Chicago are positive responses to her community impact. Much of Mitchell's creative process has been informed by literature and narrative, with a special interest in science fiction. Her album, Mandorla Awakening (FPE, 2017), combined Afrofuturism with intercultural collaboration and was selected by The New York Times as the #1 jazz album of 2017. As a composer, she has been commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Art Institute of Chicago, the French American Jazz Exchange, Chamber Music America, the Chicago Jazz Festival, International Contemporary Ensemble, and the Chicago Sinfonietta. As a flutist she has developed her own signature language and has been a repeated recipient of the Top Jazz Flutist awards from Jazz Journalists Association and DownBeat Magazine from 2010-2019. A professor of Music at University of Pittsburgh, Mitchell is the William S. Dietrich II Chair of Jazz Studies, where she works to continue the visionary legacies of her predecessors Geri Allen and Nathan Davis. Mitchell was previously a professor of music at University of California, Irvine.Learn more at www.nicolemitchell.com.

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