ArtistInfo

Eighth Blackbird

Band, US
Classical

Eighth Blackbird (eighth blackbird in all lowercase before 2016) is an American contemporary music ensemble, founded in 1996 and based in Chicago. Sextet consists of a flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano – Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire-compatible ensemble – plus percussion. Their name is a reference to Wallace Stevens' poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. The founding members of Eighth Blackbird met at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where musicians had been playing in The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble conducted by Tim Weiss (2). Tim acted as an unofficial mentor, inspiring and encouraging a newly formed group. In 1996, Eighth Blackbird won a prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Two years later, while continuing their education at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, artists signed their first management contract (after a success at the Concert Artists Guild competition). In 1999, Eighth Blackbird self-released their debut Round Nut Tool CD. A follow-up album was presented four years later by Chicago-based Cedille Records, and since then the label released eight albums by the group. Eighth Blackbird also had split Double Sextet / 2x5 with Bang On A Can on Nonesuch, and recorded a collaboration with Stephen Vitiello – originally commissioned for the University Of Richmond's Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival, and released on Andrew Deutsch's Magic If label. Four of their albums won Grammy awards: Strange Imaginary Animals (two prizes in 2008, including the Best Chamber Music Performance), Meanwhile, Filament, and Lonely Motel: Music From Slide – a collaboration with guitarist-composer Steven Mackey and Rinde Eckert, who performed vocals and wrote libretto. The ensemble has been actively commissioning new works from a wide range of acclaimed modern composers, such as David Lang, George Perle, Frederic Rzewski, Joseph Schwantner, Paul Moravec, Stephen Hartke, and Steve Reich, as well as performing pieces by Jennifer Higdon, Derek Bermel, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, David Little (2), Daniel Kellogg, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, and the Minimum Security Composers Collective. Eighth Blackbird are often combining music and theatre in their performances – apart from the previously mentioned Slide (in collaboration with Mackey and Eckert), the ensemble staged Schoenberg's seminal Pierrot Lunaire piece, and Colombine’s Paradise Theatre by Amy Beth Kirsten. From 2012 to 2015, Eighth Blackbird served as ensemble-in-residence at the Curtis Institute Of Music in Philadelphia. The ensemble also had residencies at the Colburn School, The University of Michigan, Oberlin College, Southern Methodist University, Rice University, Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago. They curated several music festivals, such as the Ojai Music Festival (2009) in Southern California, Tune-In Music Festival (2011) at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, which culminated in a premiere of John Luther Adams' monumental percussion work Inuksuit, and the Metropolis New Music Festival in Melbourne – featuring Reich as composer-in-residence. Current lineup Lisa Kaplan – piano Matthew Duvall – percussion Nicholas Photinos – cello Michael Maccaferri – clarinets Yvonne Lam – violin/viola Nathalie Joachim – flutes Past members Matt Albert (1996–2011) – violin/viola Molly Barth (1996–2006), Tim Munro (2006–15) – flutes

Members

	Lisa Kaplan p
	Matt Albert vn, vl
	Michael J. Maccaferri cl
	Molly Alicia Barth fl
	Nicholas Photinos vc
	Matthew Duvall perc
	Tim Munro fl
	Yvonne Lam vn *1981 US