Eighth Blackbird is a four-time Grammy Award-winning contemporary music group that has been hailed as “one of the smartest, most dynamic ensembles on the planet” (Chicago Tribune). The group’s UGA Presents debut — Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Hodgson Concert Hall —includes a performance of Atlanta composer Viet Cuong’s exhilarating Vital Sines in collaboration with the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble.
In the first half of the concert, Eighth Blackbird performs music by American composers Nico Muhly, Ari Sussman and Joan Tower. After intermission, before Vital Sines, the wind ensemble and conductor Nicholas Enrico Williams perform Legacy, an oboe concerto by Spanish composer Óscar Navarro with soloist Michelle Moeller.
“This is a collaboration we’ve been thinking about and working on for almost two years,” says Williams, Professor of Music and Director of Bands at UGA. “I know that once Eighth Blackbird gets to our campus they will create transformative experiences for the students and the Hugh Hodgson School of Music as a whole. The final culmination of all of our work together in the concert in our stunning Performing Arts Center is something not to be missed.”
EIGHTH BLACKBIRD
Eighth Blackbird moves music forward through innovative performance, advocacy for music by living creatives, and its growing legacy of guiding an emerging generation of artists.
Accolades include: Four Grammy Awards for Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance | The MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions | The Concert Artists Guild Competition Grand Prize | The Musical America Ensemble of the Year | The Chamber Music America Visionary Award | The APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards Performance of the Year.
Creative Output Includes: Commissions and World Premieres of hundreds of works by established and emerging composers | Fully Produced Theatrical Chamber Music Productions | Chamber Ensemble Concertos with both orchestras and bands | An Extensive Recording Catalog
VIET CUONG
Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the music of American composer Viet Cuong has been performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Eighth Blackbird, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sō Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Atlanta Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Albany Symphony, PRISM Quartet, and Dallas Winds, among many others. Cuong’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed several hundred performances worldwide.
NICHOLAS ENRICO WILLIAMS
Nicholas Enrico Williams is a Professor of Music and serves as the Director of Bands at the University of Georgia, where he coordinates one of the country’s largest and most comprehensive university band programs, conducts the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble, and oversees the graduate wind band conducting area. Prior to his time in Athens, he was the Director of Wind Bands at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Melbourne, Australia).
PERFORMERS
Eighth Blackbird:
Lina Andonovska, flutes
Zachary Good, clarinets
Maiani da Silva, violin
Aaron Wolff, cello
Matthew Duvall, percussion
Lisa Kaplan, piano
UGA Wind Ensemble
Nicholas Williams, conductor
Michelle Moeller, oboe
PROGRAM
NICO MUHLY: Doublespeak
ARI SUSSMAN: to no end
JOAN TOWER: Into the Night
OSCAR NAVARRO: Legacy (UGA Wind Ensemble)
VIET CUONG: Vital Sines (with UGA Wind Ensemble)
SUPPORTED BY
Friends of Jane King
BUYING TICKETS IS EASY
Securing tickets for UGA Presents performances couldn’t be easier. There are three ways to choose from:
- Purchase tickets online 24/7 at here.
- Call the Performing Arts Center Box Office at (706) 542-4400, Mon.-Fri., 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
- Visit the UGA Performing Arts Center Box Office, Mon.-Fri., 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (5 minute parking is available in the drop off circle at the Performing Arts Center for purchasing or picking up tickets.)
You may also create your own series of three or more performances (10% off). UGA Presents single tickets start at just $25 with promo code PAC25 and UGA student tickets are $10.