PROGRAM:
Derek Bermel: Tied Shifts (2003)
Anna Clyne: Rapture
Aaron Jay Kernis: Pieces of Winter Sky (2012)
György Ligeti: Études (1985/arr. 2012)
Jacob TV: The body of your dreams (2003)
Steve Mackey: Lonely Motel (2008/12)

DESCRIPTION:
eighth blackbird is a two-time Grammy-winning ensemble renowned for its classical chops and theatrical abandon. Here it throws caution to the wind with an all-out, overcaffeinated, off-kilter jam session. Derek Bermel dives in head-first with his wild Balkan romp, “Tied Shifts.” Two wunderkinds vie for attention: Andy Akiho with a full-tilt, groove-based sonic boom; Nico Muhly paying colorful homage to his mentor, Philip Glass. Pulitzer-winnning composer Aaron Kernis’s major new work for eighth blackbird shimmers elusively in a gauzy haze, while new arrangements of Ligeti’s solo piano “Études” gleefully revel in the ensemble’s unhinged virtuosity. eighth blackbird won a 2012 Grammy Award for its recording of Steve Mackey’s “Lonely Motel,” and, to celebrate, the composer has created an instrumental suite from the work.