Conceived by performer, composer, and American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*) member Keir GoGwilt, Zarabanda Variations bring together a group of visionary composers, improvisers, and performers, inspired by musical histories of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century New Spain. The zarabanda is a dance with possibly Spanish, American, and Arab origins, a plausible etymology from the Bantu nsala-banda, which eventually transformed into a courtly European Baroque dance. This performance sounds the archival gaps of early American music, creating a surprising and vibrant synthesis of European and Latin Baroque, folk, and contemporary musical traditions.
The American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*) is one of the most exciting and innovative new music collectives operating today. AMOC*, founded in 2017 by Matthew Aucoin and Zack Winokur, is a group of dancers, singers, musicians, writers, directors, composers, choreographers, and producers united by a core set of values. AMOC* artists pool their resources to create new pathways that connect creators and audiences in surprising and visceral ways.
The performance features Jonny Allen (percussion), Vicente Atria (composition), Miranda Cuckson (viola), Emi Ferguson (flute), Mariana Flores Bucio (singer), Keir GoGwilt (composition, violin, band leader), Alec Goldfarb (guitars), Kyle Motl (composition, bass), and Wilfrido Terrazas (composition, flutes).
Tickets $10 ($8 members, $7 students, $5 children 15 and under).