September 13-15
Hamon Hall @AT&TPAC
ONE WEEKEND ONLY
As Seen In
Experience the transformative power of Verdigris Ensemble’s CONVERGENCE, an immersive concert that redefines the boundaries of sound and audience interaction.
Featuring a new world premiere by Yaz Lancaster - a genre-defying composer praised for their "malleability" and emotional depth by Musicworks magazine - called Synastry and Terry Riley’s iconic In C, hailed by Stereophile as "music like none other on earth," this performance offers a rare auditory journey.
Listen
Themes in Yaz Lancaster’s recently premiered PAPER TIGER are present in their newly created music, Synastry, set to premiere during CONVERGENCE.
Yaz Lancaster
Listen to In C before you go. Our version will feature a convergence of opportunities to perform the work with us.
Terry Riley
What To Expect
🌟 A Fusion of Innovation and Tradition
Witness the world premiere of Yaz Lancaster's Synastry.
Be part of Terry Riley's revolutionary In C, a living, breathing composition that reinvents itself with every performance.
🎭 Beyond the Conventional Concert Experience
Participate in the creation of music: Riley's In C invites you to contribute your voice to its ever-evolving tapestry of sound.
Immerse yourself in a unique auditory landscape
🤝 Engaging with Artistry and Community
Connect with performers and fellow patrons in our post-performance salon
Join a vibrant community of arts enthusiasts actively shaping Dallas's cultural narrative.
Sung in: English, Vocalise (nonsensical, vocally pleasing vowels and consonants)
Subtitles in: English
Runtime: 1hr 10minutes
No Intermission
The entire concert is seated
Instruments and/or music may be provided to anyone that might like to sing with the ensemble.
Yaz Lancaster's Synastry is a sophisticated and evocative vocal work that explores the astrological concept of how energies and personalities interact within relationships. The piece mirrors these complex dynamics through layered vocal textures and intricate harmonies, creating a musical landscape of tension and release. Beginning in unison before diverging into independent, overlapping phrases, the composition symbolizes the journey from initial connection to the complex individuality within relationships. Lancaster and co-writer Victoria Mbabazi's text enhances the emotional depth, while the flexible form allows for unique interpretations in each performance. Synastry invites listeners to engage personally with the music, reflecting on their own relationships as they experience this introspective yet universal exploration of human connection through innovative musical symbolism.
About Synastry
SYNASTRY
i want us
conjunct at zero degrees
bodies melting together
there is too much drowning
between us our hearts
made of fire
we’re all set
for a slow burn
but i want you
feverish
i am ruled
by the moon
i need more
than divine
i’m sick of stars
i’m not ready
i want you
(on your knees)
i’m not ready
i want you
—Victoria Mbabazi
Yaz Lancaster
Yaz Lancaster is a transdisciplinary artist residing in Lenapehoking (NYC). Their work as a performer, composer, poet/writer, and collaborator is grounded in queer, DIY, and liberatory frameworks. It utilizes fragmentation and collage; relational aesthetics; improvisatory forms; and experimental electroacoustic composition.
To learn more about Yaz Lancaster, please visit their website here.
About In C
Terry Riley's In C, composed in 1964, stands as a cornerstone of the minimalist movement, revolutionizing musical structure with its innovative, open-ended form. The piece comprises 53 short, repetitive phrases performed in sequence, with musicians independently deciding the number of repetitions, resulting in a complex, ever-changing soundscape unique to each performance. While embracing minimalist principles of repetition and gradual change, In C introduces unprecedented levels of performer interaction and improvisation. Its polyrhythmic textures, anchored by a constant high C pulse, symbolize the dynamic interplay between individual and collective musical identities. This organic, fluid structure allows patterns to emerge, intertwine, and dissolve, mirroring natural processes of growth and change. In C's enduring influence across genres stems from its remarkable balance of structure and spontaneity, making each performance a journey of discovery for both musicians and audience alike.
Terry Riley
California Composer Terry Riley launched what is now known as the Minimalist movement with his revolutionary classic IN C in 1964. This seminal work Provided a new concept in musical form based on interlocking repetitive patterns. It's impact was to change the course of 20th Century music and it's influence has been heard in the works of prominent composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams and in the music of Rock Groups such as The Who, The Soft Machine, Tangerine Dream, Curved Air and many others.
Verdigris Ensemble
Artistic Director
Sam Brukhman
Soprano
Rachel Jones
Julie Bowdren
Briana Salas
Jacki Miller
Alto
Claire Choquette
Katrina Burggraf
Kassidy Montan
Meredith Hinshaw
Tenor
Garrett Khestinejad
Johnny Brown
Spencer Simpson
David Bone
Bass
Dean Willis
Connor Lidell
Conner Allison
Tres Hunter
Violin
Sara Lam
Piano
Hannah Payne
Percussion
Brandon Kelly
Production Crew
ATT&T Performing Arts Center
Verdigris Ensemble is proud to receive support from:
City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture - Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District - Drs. Julia Fielding & Keith Mankin - McDermott Foundation - Rea Charitable Trust - TACA - Cascade Credit Services - Fichtenbaum Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee - Tammy & Charles Miller - Anonymous
Denise & Paul Bannister - Marge Fielding - Lightware Labs - Moody Fund for the Arts - Raguet Worsham - Angela Carrales - Dallas Culinary Company - Barbara Gunnin - Gayle Halperin - Tara Lewis & John Swords - McManemin Family Fund - Texas Commission on the Arts - Karen Javadi - Patricia Yakesch
Areebah Ajani - Teresa Bond - Sam Brukhman - Dallas Arts District Foundation - Keshav Dimri - Lauren Embrey - FIT - Leigh Gathright - Richard & Jacqueline Hill - Tom & Rachel Holloway - Todd & Lola Lott - Gary W Goodwin & Kathleen A Messina - New Music USA - Jim & Deborah Nugent - Karol & Larry Omlor - Farah Padamsee - Publicis - Amber Richardson & Derek Price - Jamie Winholtz & Andrew McGehee
Martha & Robert Allday - Armanino Foundation - Patsy & Bob Brooks - Gary & Melanie Brown - Aleksandr Bulkin - Stephen Crozier & Donna Persaud - Kamal Khan - Allison Mankin & Jim Carton - Jonathan March - Kim Noltemy - Ashley Sage-Sunday & Jake Sunday - John Sughrue - Sonali Ved
Verdigris Ensemble Board of Directors – and donors like you.