DAME MYRA HESS RECITAL
Music by Esmail & Franck
Hosted by Classical Music Chicago and broadcast live on WFMT, 98.7
with Victor Asuncion
at the Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist
Esmail - Jhula Jhule; Franck - Violin Sonata in A
ANNA HEFLIN - THE INCOMPLETE COSMICOMICS
“Engrossing. It is something to experience, not comprehend.” – Rick Perdian, Seen and Heard International
The INcomplete Cosmicomics is a monodrama by composer/writer Anna Heflin for vocalizing cellist and loop pedal in which author Italo Calvino’s mystical entity Qfwfq continues his journey. After being stuck in a void for thousands of years with only a cello and a looper, the incongruous and multifaceted Qfwfq comes to life. Upon exiting the void, he faces a choice: he can either explode into existence as all beings or end linear time. Inspired by Calvino’s The Complete Cosmicomics, Heflin’s work is an original creation in which Qfwfq takes the reins of his own narrative. Equipped with a sharp sense of humor and sensuality, Qfwfq ruminates, charms and hypnotizes in his quest to break the loops of life.
MORE PRAISE FOR THE INCOMPLETE COSMICOMICS
“…An exceptionally gifted cellist — his instrument sounded thrilling in the small, cube-shaped space — and an effective storyteller and comic actor.” - Anne E. Johnson, Classical Voice North America
“Wolff captured the dreamy otherworldliness of Qfwfq through the potent combination of feral personality, wit and earthy sensuality. Wolff’s Qfwfq bewitches through his voice, not with the meaning of the words that trip off his tongue." - Rick Perdian, Seen & Heard International
“Roguish, arrogant, androgynous, maddening” - Max Keller, Poison Put to Sound
FIRST SEASON WITH EIGHTH BLACKBIRD!
PAST EVENTS
Season Opener: Triumph & Tchaikovsky
Viet Cuong: Vital Sines
Eighth Blackbird + Des Moines Symphony
Des Moines Civic Center
Des Moines, IA
9/19 @ 7:30pm
The Wheaton College Artist Series presents Eighth Blackbird
Music by Tower, Muhly, Okpebholo, Sussman, Lyu, McGowan & Joyce
Amerding Center for Music & the Arts
Wheaton, IL
9/6 @ 5pm
Viola-Cello-muse
Music by Shaw, Telemanm, Golijov & Wiancko
with Mario Gotoh, viola
Tribeca Loft
New York, NY
8/10 @ 5pm
Twelfth Night: Brazilian and Baroque
Elizabeth Street Garden
New York, NY
7/25 @ 7:30pm
Music by John Adams, Michelle Ross & Alyssa Weinberg
Downeast New Music
Waldo Theater
Waldoboro, ME
7/24 @ 7:30pm
Music by John Adams, Michelle Ross & Alyssa Weinberg
Downeast New Music
St. Mary’s By the Sea
Northeast Harbor, ME
7/20 @ 4pm
Chris Thile & The Knights @ Caramoor
Music by Glass, Bach, Shaw & Thile
Caramoor Festival
Katonah, NY
7/17 @ 7pm
Works by Ximénez and Ponce
Valley of the Moon Festival
La Luz Center Patio
Sonoma, CA
7/13 @ 4pm
Wagner & The French: A Love-Hate Relationship
Valley of the Moon Festival
Hanna Music Center
Sonoma, CA
7/12 @ 4pm
Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn: A Musical Family
Valley of the Moon Festival
Hanna Music Center
Sonoma, CA
6/27 @ 7:30pm
eighth blackbird presents the Exploration Institute
Work by Molly Herron, Christian Quiñones & Noel Holloway, and Noelia Cruz
The Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
Chicago, IL
6/18 @ 12:15pm
Music by Esmail & Franck
with Victor Santiago Asuncion, piano
Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist
Chicago, IL
5/31 @ 7pm
Music by Lena-Frank, Vinetz, Zwilich & Cerrone
with Rites of Spring Ensemble: Yezu Woo, Beomjae Kim & Emmalie Tello
Cutler Obervatory
Southold, NY
5/19 @ 6pm
DMA Recital No. 2
Music by Carter, Mustonen & Franck
with Ryan Jung, piano
Elebash Hall at CUNY Graduate Center
New York, NY
5/9 @ 7:30pm
New Sounds on 5th: Chamber Works by CUNY composers
Elebash Hall at CUNY Graduate Center
New York, NY
5/8 @ 1pm
Music in Midtown: DMA Chamber Music Showcase
Dvorak Piano Quartet in Eb, Op. 87
with Yebin Yoo, Jeremiah Blacklow & Bobby Carlson
Elebash Hall at CUNY Graduate Center
New York, NY
3/27 @ 8pm
The Knights with Cecile McLorin Salvant
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall
New York, NY
3/20, 21, 22 @ 7pm
Experiments in Opera presents SOLOperas
Anna Heflin The Incomplete Cosmicomics (world premiere)
The Tank
New York, NY
2/20 @ 7:30pm
University of Georgia presents eighth blackbird
Music by Muhly, Tower, Sussman & Cuong
Hodgson Concert Hall
Athens, GA
2/13 @ 7pm
Imaginary Lovers: eighth blackbird + My Brightest Diamond
The Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
Chicago, IL
1/15/25 @ 7:30pm
An introduction to eighth blackbird at the Athenaeum
The Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
Chicago, IL
12/15 @ 4pm
Close Encounters with Music: Vivace Chamber Orchestra
Music by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Boccherini, Barber
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
Great Barrington, MA
12/13 @ 7:30pm
Feldman Projection II, Berio Sequenza XIV
with Ryan Jung & Tina Deng, piano
Resnick-Pasloff Foundation
87 Eldridge Street, New York, NY
12/6 @ 7:30pm
New Sounds on 5th: Chamber Works by CUNY Composers
Elebash Hall at CUNY Graduate Center
New York, NY
12/5 @ 1pm
Music in Midtown: DMA Chamber Music Showcase
Schumann Piano Trio No. 3, Op. 110
with Yebin Yoo & Bobby Carlson
Elebash Hall at CUNY Graduate Center
New York, NY
11/19 @ 8pm
Princeton Sound Kitchen
Gemma Peacocke “A Strange Power”
with Sputterbox, Charlotte Mundy & Isabelle O’Connell
Fine Hall at Taplin Auditorium
Princeton, NJ
11/11 @ 6:30pm
Valley of the Moon Festival: Fellowship Week
Knickerbocker Club
Beethoven - Trio No. 6 in Eb, Op. 70 no. 2
with Sonya Shin, violin and Eric Zivian, piano
Manhattan, NY
11/10 @ 5pm
Valley of the Moon Festival: Fellowship Week
Private Event
Beethoven - Trio No. 6 in Eb, Op. 70 no. 2
with Sonya Shin, violin and Eric Zivian, piano
Greenwich, CT
11/1-3
Halcyon Quartet: Realized and The Fireside Sessions
10/15-10/20
2024 International Naumburg Competition
Klavierhaus & Manhattan School of Music
New York, NY
10/11 @ 6pm
Kol Nidre
All Souls Unitarian
New York, NY
10/11 @ 12pm
Recital with Huan Li, piano
Works by Debussy, Schumann, Stravinsky & Prokofiev
Elebash Hall at CUNY Graduate Center
New York, NY
10/3 @ 7:30pm
Prussia Cove on Tour
Music by Purcell, Britten & Adès
with Pablo Hernán Benedi, Ana Göckel, Amarins Wierdsma, Sào Soulez Larivière and Matthew Hunt
9/20 @ 6:30pm
Solo Works by Carter, Ali-Zadeh, Britten and Norman
Dobrinka Salzman Gallery
New York, NY