Muristek
Violinist Jennifer Koh, vocalist Davóne Tines to perform their new work tonight at UCSB KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOSDavóne Tines rehearses “Everything Rises” at UCSB Campbell Hall, where the world premiere of the work will take place tonight.
Grammy-winning violinist Jennifer Koh and bass-baritone vocalist Davóne Tines are discussing their experiences as minorities in the music world through a musical collaboration that brings history to life.
It’s called “Everything Rises.”
And its world premiere is at 8 tonight at UCSB Campbell Hall.
UCSB Arts & Lectures and the ARCO Collaborative commissioned the work, and a Q&A with the musicians will follow their performance.
Jennifer Koh, seen rehearsing “Everything Rises,” recently won a Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for “Alone Together.”“ ‘Everything Rises’ is an intensely personal sharing and investigation of the lived experiences of minorities within the classical musical space as contextualized by ancestral histories,” Mr. Tines told the News-Press Monday.
“We’re the only two people on stage,” Mr. Tines said. “There’s also electronics from (composer) Ken Ueno and direct recordings of Jenny’s mother and my grandmother. We go in and out of live performances with a documentary-style voiceover.”
Ms. Koh’s mother, Gertrude Soonja Lee Koh, discusses her experiences during the Korean War and immigrating to the U.S., and Mr. Tines’ grandmother, Alma Lee Gibbs Tines, talks about discrimination against blacks.
“There’s a big mix of media,” Mr. Tines, a black American, said about the show, which features projections and was produced by a team of black and indigenous artists and people of color.
Ms. Koh, a Korean-American who grew up in Chicago, recently won a Grammy for best classical instrumental solo for “Alone Together,”
She and Mr. Tines collaborated on “Everything Rises” with composer Ken Ueno and dramaturg Kee-Yoo Nahm. The production is directed by Alexander Gedeon.
Davóne Tines and Jennifer Koh have brought their experiences as minorities in the music world to “Everything Rises,” premiering tonight at UCSB Campbell Hall.“The lyrics are an amalgamation of things,” Mr. Tines said. “A lot of the material is taken from conversations that Jenny and I have had with each other and with Ken and Kee-Yoo, and hours of Zoom meetings that were recorded. Everything that is said in the piece is generated by Jenny and myself.
“We set out to talk about our convergent realities as musicians of color within the classical music space, which is predominantly a white space with white institutions,” Mr. Tines, a Portsmith, Va., native, said. “I think the show is about beginning to uncover the immensity of challenges that exist for minority people in predominantly white spaces.”
Mr. Tines described the music as “extremely kaleidoscopic.
“We move through all sorts of styles and aesthetics, from classical to more contemporary,” Mr. Tines said.
He said he and Ms. Koh aren’t currently planning to record “Everything Rises,” but added that could change.
Tickets for tonight’s concert cost $35 for general admission. To purchase, go to artsandlectures.ucsb.edu. The show is free for UCSB students with ID.
The concert is being presented in association with the UCSB Department of Music and the UCSB Multicultural Center.
email: dmason@newspress.com
The post ‘Everything Rises’ premieres appeared first on Santa Barbara News-Press.