The 10th edition of the internationally acclaimed Big Ears is on tap for 2023 and additions to the program lineup announced today suggest that the festival is celebrating the milestone by taking an important direction in reflecting new music. Partnering with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Big Ears will be offering two nights of programs. The Blue Hour is a collaborative song cycle by five contemporary female composers – Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider. The work is an evening-length song cycle based on the poem “On Earth” by Carolyn Forché and will have its first full performance since being released on Nonesuch Records with A Far Cry, the Boston-based chamber orchestra. A second evening will see the KSO reprise its local performances of Michael Schachter’s Cycle of Life, commissioned to celebrate glass artist Richard Jolley’s installation at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
In addition, guitarist Bill Frisell and his Trio are also performing the North American premiere of their symphonic collaboration with the KSO at Big Ears. KSO music director Aram Demirjian will conduct all three performances.
A recently announced inclusion in the 2023 Big Ears will be a performance of the late legendary composer Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives, a spoken-word “opera for television” that is being re-imagined by the Varispeed Collective. The work’s seven 30-minute segments will be staged every two hours over the course of a day in appropriate on-site locations: The Park, The Supermarket, The Bank, The Living Room, The Church, The Backyard, and The Bar.
Returning to Big Ears for the second year will be the poet and Knoxville native Nikki Giovanni, joining this time with saxophonist Javon Jackson and the program The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni.
Other additions:
Electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick will present new work, and Lesley Flanigan will present one of her riveting performances incorporating feedback, vocals, and homemade electronics. British poet/novelist/playwright and spoken word artist Kae Tempest; Mali’s legendary ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate; R&B soul singer extraordinaire Danielle Ponder will perform; the genre-eclipsing band Algiers; the indie-pop band and Roger Waters collaborators Lucius, with the vocal duo of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig.
John Zorn has added two new programs to his 70th Birthday Celebration, which now encompasses ten totally distinctive and unique performances. Composer and pianist Vijay Iyer will be joined by the Parker String Quartet for a concert of his recent works.
