You’re invited:
Eighth Blackbird and Elemental Music present
Blackbird Elementals
April 27, 2025 | 4:00 pm
St. Augustine-by-the-Sea Church
1227 Fourth St., Santa Monica
free admission, no tickets required
featuring members of Eighth Blackbird and
students of Elemental Music’s Chamber Music Institute
Blackbird Elementals is a partnership between Eighth Blackbird and Elemental Music to commission new works by six composers including Juhi Bansal, Sakari Dixon, April Dawn Guthrie, Carolina Heredia, Thomas Kotcheff, and Wenbin Lyu. This intergenerational project brings together the composers of today with the performers of tomorrow, working together under the expert guidance of Eighth Blackbird members and Elemental Music teaching artists.
The pieces commissioned for Blackbird Elementals are not intended to be “learning pieces” for solely educational purposes; they will stand on their own as works in the contemporary repertoire, and will be available for ensembles around the world to perform after these world premieres. The composers selected have skillfully composed works that, while mindful of the technical proficiency of young musicians, are rich, challenging, and fully realized in their concepts and execution. Each composition pushes the boundaries of what is possible within the expected skill levels of the students, allowing them to engage deeply with the material while producing high-quality, musically significant performances!
Students have worked directly with the composers who wrote their pieces as well as Eighth Blackbird members to bring the pieces to life. Please join at St. Augustine-by-the-Sea this Saturday for an afternoon of premieres as well as performances by members of the Grammy-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird including Maiani da Silva, violin; Matthew Duvall, percussion; and Lisa Kaplan, piano.