Da Camera presents MIX AT THE MATCH 4/25

Da Camera of Houston presents "Da Camera Mix at the MATCH" Tuesday, April 25, 2017 through Saturday, April 29, 2017. Sets begin at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston (MATCH). New this season, over the course of five nights, Da Camera presents an innovative mix of jazz, classical and contemporary, featuring International Artists and outstanding local talent. Audiences are invited to meet the artists over drinks between sets.

"Da Camera Mix at the MATCH" features Houston native jazz pianist James Francies; pianist Conor Hanick playing solo piano pieces by Philip Glass and Karlheinz Stockhausen; Da Camera Young Artists, a dance party with Red Baraat; the duo of vocalist Theo Bleckmann and guitarist Ben Monder; and a new project from cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton and pianist Sarah Rothenberg paying tribute to the great avant-garde filmmaker Chantal Akerman.

James Francies Trio will perform Tuesday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, April 26, at 9 p.m. Francies, a Houston native pianist, has generated quite a bit of buzz for a twenty-year-old musician. DownBeat honored him twice for Composition and Jazz Arrangement, and he performed at the famed Monterey Jazz Festival. He has toured internationally with Jeff "Tain" Watts, Chris Dave and Drumhez and Stefon Harris' Sonic Creed. He has appeared with The Roots, Nas, Jadakiss and Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan) during the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend and has recorded with Watts and Robert Glasper. He is also featured regularly on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon performing with the Roots.

Pianist Conor Hanick performs "Philip Glass: Etudes" and "Karlheinz Stockhausen: Piano pieces" on Tuesday, April 25, at 9 p.m. and Wednesday, April 26, at7:30 p.m. Hailed as "a true champion of contemporary music" by National Public Radio (NPR), Hanick has established himself as an acclaimed solo and chamber performer around the world. He has collaborated with some of music's most accomplished instrumentalists, conductors, ensembles and composers.A recent finalist for the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, Hanick is a faculty artist at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA and produces radio for New York Public Radio's Q2 Music.

Da Camera Young Artists perform "Bach in Brooklyn," on Thursday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. The rising stars will delight guests with a musical conversation between Bach and young composers of today including Angélica Negrón, Nico Muhly and Missy Mazzoli.

Famously dubbed by NPR as "the best party band in years," Red Baraat hosts a dance party Thursday, April 27, at 9 p.m. Red Baraat is a pioneering eight-piece band from Brooklyn, NY. Conceived by dhol player Sunny Jain, the group has drawn worldwide praise for its singular sound - a merging of hard driving North Indian Bhangra with elements of go-go, rock and jazz-fueled by three master rhythm makers, the muscle of horns, a raucous guitar and a booming sousaphone. According to The Boston Globe, they are "a new-breed of marching-band music that's part Punjabi wedding, part New Orleans second line, and all New York."

Paris-based cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton and pianist Sarah Rothenberg, Da Camera's artistic director, perform "Blow Up, My City" Friday, April 28, at7:30p.m. and Saturday, April 29, at 9 p.m. Wieder-Atherton was present in much of the great avant-garde filmmaker Chantal Akerman's work since the 1980s, performing on numerous soundtracks and as a protagonist in Rue Mallet-Stevens. Wieder-Atherton and Rothenberg will play compositions from Federico Mompou, Mieczeslaw Weinberg, and Galina Ustvolskaya to two of Chantal's films: J'ai faim j'ai froid (I'm hungry I'm cold) and Saute ma ville (Blow Up, My City).

Theo Bleckmann and Ben Monder Duo help close out the series Friday, April 28, at 9 p.m. and Saturday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m. Bleckmann, a Grammy-nominated jazz singer and new music composer, has a diverse range and has collaborated with renowned musicians, artists, actors, and composers. Monder, a New York guitarist, has performed with a wide variety of gifted artists. He has conducted clinics and workshops around the world, served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory and was the recipient of a Doris Duke Artist Award in 2014. DownBeat refers to the duo as "so virtuosic and inventive a pair...the two share a subtle discipline that results in a focused, cohesive whole".

Tickets for "Da Camera Mix at the MATCH" cost $20 for one set and $30 for both sets and are available by contacting the MATCH at 713-521-4533 or online at matchouston.org/events/da-camera-mix-match.

ABOUT DA CAMERA

Da Camera's concerts feature small ensembles performing chamber music, jazz, early music and contemporary music. A vital institution in the world of chamber music, Da Camera is a source of innovative programming, notably Artistic and General Director Sarah Rothenberg's programs connecting chamber music with literature and the visual arts. Da Camera is nationally acclaimed for thought-provoking chamber music programming, as well as a jazz series with a unique balance between renowned performers and emerging artists.

To post a comment, you must register and login.