International Contemporary Ensemble’s Jennifer Curtis is joined by Diali Cissokho for an evening of violin and kora.
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About TUES@7
“Tues@7” are regular opportunities to engage with members and collaborators of the International Contemporary Ensemble. Artists will reflect on past world premieres, pull back the curtain on upcoming works-in-process, and dig deeply into the DigitICE archive to see how collaborations, new works, and sound creations have blossomed over the past 19 years. We look forward to staying engaged in the virtual space through COVID-19 so that our audience and collaborators have a weekly destination for extraordinary new music.
Jennifer Curtis, violin
Recently described as a “multi genre loving maverick,” (San Diego Union Tribune) Jennifer’s second solo recital in Carnegie’s Weil Recital Hall was described by the NY Times as “the gutsiest” and Pitchfork wrote that “Curtis’s range as a soloist is a revelation.“ She travels the globe to study manuscripts of George Enescu and premiere his unknown works at his houses in Romania, investigates the North African roots of the sarabande through folklore and political history, has trained under shaman and performed in 43 countries. After spending three years at Juilliard completing her masters and studying Robert Mann, Jennifer joined the International Contemporary Ensemble in 2007 and continues to be their featured violinist and touring with them throughout the world. Jennifer is a composer, a multi instrumentalist, educator and an improviser. She spent a month as composer/performer in residence with Nrityagram dance ensemble in India composing for their classical dance. Other residences as composer/performer have included Cornell University, Paperhand Puppet intervention, Verbier Festival de musique and coming up this fall at Antenna Cloud Farm. Last January she released a fully improvised CD with MacArthur genius grant recipient Tyshawn Sorey on percussion and piano titled INVISIBLE RITUAL.
https://www.jennifercurtisviolin.com/
Diali Cissokho, kora and vocals
A renowned korist and percussionist from Senegal, Diali moved to the US after years of performing and teaching in Senegal and in Europe. Born into a rich ancestry of Manding griots (jalis), Diali has been playing traditional West African music for as long as he can remember. While his greatest love is the kora, a 21-stringed West African bridge harp, he is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and percussionist. Historically, each village had its own griot who told tales of births, deaths, marriages, battles, hunts, affairs, and other important events and celebrations. In Mande society the griot, or jeli, served as a historian, advisor, praise singer, and storyteller. These musicians served as walking history books, preserving and sharing the stories and traditions of their culture through song. This inherited tradition, with deep connections to spiritual, social, and political powers, has been passed down through generations. Diali’s mother, MoussuKeba Diebate, and father, Ibrahima Cissokho, both hailed from long lines of griot musicians. Diali’s grandfather was the famed griot korist Lalo Keba Drame, who was among the first griots to tour internationally in the 1960’s, after his recordings became popular both within and outside of Senegal. Diali seeks to honor his ancestors through all of his work as performer, teacher, and collaborator.
http://www.kairabamusic.com/about/diali-cissokho/
Credits:
We are grateful for the support of the NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund in The New York Community Trust in making this program possible.
Performances and commissioning activities during the 2020-21 concert season are made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Pacific Harmony Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, The Casement Fund, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. The International Contemporary Ensemble is the Ensemble in Residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for ICEensemble.