Sunday May 15 * 7pm * MASKS, VAX REQUIRED * TICKETS
*J. Pavone String Ensemble*
*Kimia Hesabi*
*Jeremy Lyons playing Lewis Krauthamer*
...of Late, is the third release for the J. Pavone String Ensemble, an unconventional trio consisting of Pavone on viola, Abby Swidler on violin and viola, and Aimée Niemann on violin.
Founded in 2017, they present original compositions that expand on the themes of Pavone’s extensive solo work for viola while incorporating recent research into the effects of sonic vibration on human physiology and emotional health.
Pavone’s solo viola music, which stems from years of concentrated long tone practice and an interest in repetition, song form, and sympathetic vibration, is Influenced by the ‘folk song’ which lives largely through oral transmission. Each performance of the piece may be unique, which reflects the indeterminacy of Pavone’s output for solo viola; her folk music.
Providing the groundwork for her compositional language, she created the string ensemble as an outgrowth. The compositional techniques borrow from and elaborate on traditional music notation. Pavone experiments with improvisatory techniques, alternating between metered and time-based scores and improvised and notated instructions. Specific sections allow the freedom to move between sounds at the performer’s chosen rate within given parameters. In this way, the musicians develop the skill of responding to a score and a performance space as well as to each other. Through the spaces that are left open within the structure of each piece, the musicians re-create the work together during each performance. Sustained pitches and clusters of ensemble sounds generate specific physical and cognitive benefits intended to impact the audience physically and mentally, existing within and beyond music’s canonical role.
The ensemble approach focuses on a vision of collective improvisation that prioritizes a collaboratively sewn musical fabric, in contrast to the traditional improvisatory method that prizes the individuality and uniqueness of the soloist. The rehearsal method, influenced by her solo work, attends to how the body plays a role in sound and intention.
The group has performed at Black Mountain College Museum+Arts Center in Asheville, NC; the 2020 NYC Winter Jazzfest; the GARNER Art Center in Garnerville, NY, Firehouse12 in New Haven, CT; Roulette and ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn, NY; and The Rotunda in Philadelphia, PA.
In 2019, the string ensemble’s debut album, Brick and Mortar, was hailed by the Chicago Reader's Peter Margasak as "the most assured, bracing work of Pavone’s career." Astral Spirits Records released their second, Lost and Found, in 2020 to critical acclaim from publications such as; The Wire, The New Yorker, NYC Jazz Record, NPR, Jazzwise, and was named a "Best Contemporary Albums of 2020" by Bandcamp Daily. Chris Ingalls from Pop Matters described their music as "too stunning to lump into genres."
"a vital part [of] New York's music scene" - The Wire Magazine
As both an instrumentalist and composer, Jessica Pavone explores music's tactile and sensorial experience as a vibration-based medium. Pavone has been a composer in residence at the Ragdale Foundation, the Ucross Foundation, and Soaring Gardens and has received grants from; the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (2021), Queens Council on the Arts (2020), New Music USA (2015), the Tri-Centric Foundation (2015), Experiments in Opera (2013), the Jerome Foundation (2011), and MATA Interval (2007). Her works have premiered in NYC venues including Roulette, the Noguchi Museum, ISSUE Project Room, Abrons Art Center, the Museum of Art and Design, and The Kitchen. Her albums have been produced by Tzadik, Taiga Records, Thirsty Ear, Astral Spirits, and Relative Pitch, including four collaborative duo recordings with guitarist Mary Halvorson. From 2005 to 2012, Pavone toured regularly with Anthony Braxton’s Sextet and 12+1tet, and she appears on his discography from that time.
Aimée Niemann is a violinist and improviser. She investigates sound through its correlation to movement and composes graphic scores as a means of interdisciplinary invention and the unearthing of new sounds. Her work appears in new and improvised music settings, as well as experimental movement and theatre. An explorer of new sounds, she is a founding member of Du.0, an experimental violin ensemble with Charlotte Munn-Wood. The duo premiered two new works by composers Leah Asher and Scott Wollschleger in the winter of 2020. They will present a program inspired by 12th-century abbess and composer, Hildegard von Bingen later this year. Aimée recently released a record with her duo BUKA, called “Spring” as a four-part set spanning the seasons pre and post-pandemic. She is currently co-producing a premier of baroque-influenced solo violin and movement improvisations with choreographers Nadia Khayrallah and Whitney Janis.
Abby Swidler is a composer and performer whose work appears in many contexts, including new music, improvised music, and song. Abby is a passionate collaborator who frequently performs with Xanthoria Quartet, a string quartet that performs new and old works; Italian film-score band, Tredici Bacci; and The Jessica Pavone String Ensemble. Abby’s duo, ruby, recently released ‘and then all over (2021), which was described by Bandcamp Daily as “a striking evocative work full of hushed beauty.” Abby has collaborated with dance, film, theater, and performing ensembles; working with artists like Lady Lamb, Carla Kihlstedt, Mirah, Kishi Bashi, Jherek Bischoff, Angel Olsen, Anthony Coleman, Bent Knee, Palaver Strings, Shizuka Viola Duo, Palaver, Dance Visions INC., and Giselle Ty. She has played on over 30 studio albums.
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Kimia Hesabi will be playing works from her upcoming debut album featuring works by composers of the Iranian Diaspora. This program includes all commissioned works, including pieces for solo viola and viola and electronics. Passionate about the music of her home country, Kimia has been actively researching and performing these works in the past few years and her collaboration with the composers of this project has lead to the publication of her album, a featured article in the Journal of the American Viola Society, and her Doctoral dissertation project.
In her upcoming album, entitled “Nemāno Gaona” (Colors of Home in Avestan language of ancient Iran), Kimia brings together works that showcase a variety of styles and musical identities, and embody colors and stories from her home country, Iran.
To learn more about Kimia and her work please visit: kimiahesabi.com
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Jeremy Lyons will be performing Lewis Krauthamer's large-scale microtonal composition, Two Virginian Ballads on Themes of Human Sedulity (2016/17) for solo classical guitar. Jeremy Lyons is a founding member of the ensemble, Pique Collective, and the music organization, Mind on Fire. In an effort to present both contemporary and period works of art, he regularly collaborates with artists who work in many disciplines. As a composer, Jeremy works on projects that combine music and other artistic mediums such as poetry, theater, and sculpture.