Photo credit: Maria Baranova The world premiere of Grammy Award-nominated vocalist, composer, and percussionist, Jodie Landau’s “Performance of Self” on March 15, 2024 at National Sawdust draws attention to improvisation’s empathic heartbeat that is still very much alive. Commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects (BMP), Landau’s solo debut show upholds BMP’s midas touch. It showcases Landau as the artist he is {…}
The National Sawdust has announced seven new board members. The new board members include finance, technology, and advertising professional Kathie Choi; lawyer, corporate executive, and writer Chinwe Esimai; attorney Peter Faber; communications professional Alexandra Fenwick-Moore; performing arts producer Charles Letourneau; machine learning research engineer Xiao Ma; and philanthropy professional and community activist Teresa Toro. “In our first 10 years, we {…}
(Photo: Jill Steinberg) “Sensorium Ex” is an opera by composer Paola Prestini and librettist/poet Brenda Shaughnessy and co-directed by choreographer Jerron Herman. It is a multi-sensory narrative woven together at the intersections of disability and artificial intelligence. “Sensorium Ex” opera will be premiering at the Common Senses Festival in Omaha for their 2025 season, and is commissioned by the Ford {…}
(Photo: Jill Steinberg) National Sawdust and The Met Opera presented “Opera Evolved: Genre Fluidity” on Thursday, February 22nd, 2024. This was the second installment of this three-part series that, according to the program, celebrates artistic convergence by investigating the intersection of innovation and tradition at National Sawdust. The evening included composer and co-founder of National Sawdust, Paola Prestini, and theater {…}
Co-Founders and Directors Martha Guth and Erika Switzer, together with National Sawdust present the eighth annual “songSLAM.” The “songSLAM” is fashioned after traditional poetry slams and storytelling events like “The Moth.” Teams present world premieres of art song and compete for audience-awarded cash prizes totaling up to $2,000 and a performance of the 2023 songSLAM Commission Prize Winner. This year’s {…}
National Sawdust has released the details of its 2024 Winter/Spring programming. First up is “How does it feel to look at nothing” by composers and performers yuniya edi kwon and Holland Andrews. Performance Date: January 12, 2024 Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski and pianist Erika Switzer perform the world premiere of songSLAM commission prize-winner “Anger in Open Mouths: Three Sweet Songs” by {…}
Photo credit: Zenith Richards, Paola Kudacki, Met Opera “Opera Evolved” is National Sawdust and the Metropolitan Opera’s new programming partnership. Throughout the 2023-24 season, National Sawdust will showcase conversations with composers and artists that focus on the contemporary operas featured at the Met this season. They will highlight and explore the ways opera is evolving today and discuss the inner-workings {…}
New Music USA has announced its 2023 Organization Fund Awardees to 85 creators across the nation. The fund, totaling $620,750, goes to outstanding organizations the work and support the development of music creators and artists that offer a crucial resource to their community. Over 500 entities expressed interest during this year’s grant application process. Those awarded are notable for their {…}
(Photo by Catalina Kulczar) New Latin Wave and National Sawdust in New York City will present “Paraíso” on June 16, 2023. The experimental chamber opera tells the story of a mother and her child from Puebla, Mexico, who cross the U.S./Mexico border to join her husband in New York City. The opera is written by Venezuelan poet, scholar, and educator {…}
National Sawdust has named Ana De Archuleta as its new Managing Director. In her new role, De Archuleta will work closely co-founder, composer, and artistic director Paola Prestini. She takes over for Managing Director Brian Berkopec. “National Sawdust is one of the most impactful multidisciplinary arts organizations of the 21st century and an indispensable incubator of new music and sound {…}
The Center for Contemporary Opera will present the workshop-premiere in concert for Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s “We, The Innumerable.” The work, which features a libretto by Lisa Flanagan, will be presented on Oct. 21, 2022 at the National Sawdust. The work is set during Iran’s Green Movement and features one woman’s fight for freedom in the face of state-sanctioned violence. “The October {…}