To celebrate the release of her debut record, sound shadows, percussionist Jess Tsang will perform alongside some of her closest friends and favorite collaborators, amplifying the stories and sounds contained within found objects. For this performance, Tsang is joined by Jenn Nulsen (electronics) for a duo set, then by Liz Faure (pedal steel), Amy Garapic (drums), and Anna Meadors (saxophone) for a quartet performance.

Tickets available here - each ticket comes with a digital and physical copy of the album!

sound shadows are everywhere. magnified by the acoustic resonators of concert bass drums in conjunction with electronic amplification, objects sing and shiver, awakened by a sonic environment both volatile and sympathetic. these pieces embody the lack of control we have over our environment, the treasuring of physical objects and the stories they tell, the pleasures of hearing a secret sound, and the connection between us and everything we use to move through the world. for the percussionist, the stick is a conduit to sound...but so is the scrubbing brush, the pottery shard, the wrench. why are we struck by certain objects, and at what point do our collections consume us?

A house concert featuring Lester St. Louis, Liana Kleinman, Stephanie Borgani & Isabel Crespo, Jess Tsang, and Joy Guidry. DM for address! $10 suggested donation. Vaccination, mask, and reservation required.

Music for bassoon, french horn, clarinet, and percussion by Lucy Hollier and Annie Hart.

On November 15, former OneBeat fellows will perform 18 sets of surprising, soulful music in solo, duo and trio acts. Opening from the mountainous Lake Baikal region of Siberia, mohin huur player Alexander Arkhincheev will give a stirring performance at 12 pm ET, followed by a kaleidoscopic array of musicians and spoken word artists in Accra, Beijing, Beirut, Berlin, Bogota, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, New York City, Sacramento, Seoul, Sulaymaniyah and more. Hear everything from electronic pop sets to microtonal accordion tunes to improvised experimental trios playing together across continents and timezones. The Marathon closes with a festive duo between longtime Bang on a Can All-Star Mark Stewart and Nigerian guitarist Biodun Kuti, a 2013 OneBeat fellow who went on to play alongside Mark in Paul Simon’s band. Other featured acts include composer, trumpeter and santur player Amir ElSaffar, Indonesian sinden vocalist Peni Candra Rini, South African future folk performer Dumama, superstar pan-Latin group LADAMA, poet, musician, writer and performer Dahlak Brathwaite.

This experimental trio of synth designer and producer Meng Qi (China), percussionist Jess Tsang (U.S.), and Amy Garapic (U.S.) met during our OneBeat 2019 program in the Southeast U.S., where Meng and Jess were fellows, and Amy was a facilitator. Drawn to similar experimental soundscapes and sound-making techniques, Meng and Jess performed several free improvisations throughout the residency and tour in small clubs, museum spaces, churches, and concert stages. This special trio brings the three experimental sound artists together for the first time, creating live improvised soundscapes in virtual dimensions.

I’ll be performing in Jane Sheldon’s incredible poem for a dried up river on the opening night of Resonant Bodies Festival!

In its seventh annual incarnation as New York’s most innovative and wide-ranging presenter of contemporary vocal artists, the acclaimed Resonant Bodies Festival is proudly welcomed back to Roulette. Featuring an international roster of virtuosic singers, world premieres, and an exhilarating mix of genres, the nine vocalists performing over three days will provide an immersive musical experience unlike any other. Opening night of the three-day festival features new and celebrated work from longtime collaborative duo Charmaine Lee and Conrad Tao, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, and soprano Jane Sheldon.

JANE SHELDON

Australian-American soprano Jane Sheldon presents an original composition, poem for a dried up river, setting a poem by British poet Alice Oswald (b. 1966). Collaborators include Jeffrey Gavett (conductor), Sarah Brailey (soprano), Elizabeth Gadsby (co-creator/designer), and Danielle Micich (choreographic consultant).

Tickets here!

Silent Light is a new Opera based on the film Stellet Licht by Carlos Reygadas.

Set within a Mennonite community in northern Mexico, the opera follows a pious husband and father, Johan, who’s strongly held spiritual obligation to his marriage, family, and community is put to the test when he falls in love with another woman from his faith.

Silent Light provides a glimpse of a society that is often misunderstood and simplified by people outside of the faith and lifestyle, presenting commonalities of human experience.

Music by Paola Prestini
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Stage Direction, Scenic and Costume Design by Thaddeus Strassberger
Lighting Design by Jason Hand
Foley and Sound Design by Sxip Shirey

Musical Direction by Christopher Rountree

https://www.banffcentre.ca/events/opera-silent-light/20190704/1930

Silent Light is a new Opera based on the film Stellet Licht by Carlos Reygadas.

Set within a Mennonite community in northern Mexico, the opera follows a pious husband and father, Johan, who’s strongly held spiritual obligation to his marriage, family, and community is put to the test when he falls in love with another woman from his faith.

Silent Light provides a glimpse of a society that is often misunderstood and simplified by people outside of the faith and lifestyle, presenting commonalities of human experience.

Music by Paola Prestini
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Stage Direction, Scenic and Costume Design by Thaddeus Strassberger
Lighting Design by Jason Hand
Foley and Sound Design by Sxip Shirey

Musical Direction by Christopher Rountree

https://www.banffcentre.ca/events/opera-silent-light/20190704/1930

Silent Light is a new Opera based on the film Stellet Licht by Carlos Reygadas.

Set within a Mennonite community in northern Mexico, the opera follows a pious husband and father, Johan, who’s strongly held spiritual obligation to his marriage, family, and community is put to the test when he falls in love with another woman from his faith.

Silent Light provides a glimpse of a society that is often misunderstood and simplified by people outside of the faith and lifestyle, presenting commonalities of human experience.

Music by Paola Prestini
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Stage Direction, Scenic and Costume Design by Thaddeus Strassberger
Lighting Design by Jason Hand
Foley and Sound Design by Sxip Shirey

Musical Direction by Christopher Rountree

https://www.banffcentre.ca/events/opera-silent-light/20190704/1930

“No One’s Safe” is a workshop performance. The audience will follow a murder mystery in the woods, but won’t find out who the murderer is. That’s part of the fun, and why we are presenting this as a workshop performance free for the public.

Once you choose which character to follow, you will begin an interactive experience that takes you into the complex and intimate world of the Marshalls. You will witness the discovery of a murdered family member, and will follow a character as you wind your way through the Leighton Studios and the lives of this complex group of people.

Composed by Nicole Lizée
Libretto and Stage Direction by Joel Ivany
Scenic and Costume Design by Adriana Bogaard
Lighting Design by Chantal LaBonté

Stage Manager - Kate Porter
Associate Stage Manager - Natasha Bean-Smith

“No One’s Safe” is a workshop performance. The audience will follow a murder mystery in the woods, but won’t find out who the murderer is. That’s part of the fun, and why we are presenting this as a workshop performance free for the public.

Once you choose which character to follow, you will begin an interactive experience that takes you into the complex and intimate world of the Marshalls. You will witness the discovery of a murdered family member, and will follow a character as you wind your way through the Leighton Studios and the lives of this complex group of people.

Composed by Nicole Lizée
Libretto and Stage Direction by Joel Ivany
Scenic and Costume Design by Adriana Bogaard
Lighting Design by Chantal LaBonté

Stage Manager - Kate Porter
Associate Stage Manager - Natasha Bean-Smith

“No One’s Safe” is a workshop performance. The audience will follow a murder mystery in the woods, but won’t find out who the murderer is. That’s part of the fun, and why we are presenting this as a workshop performance free for the public.

Once you choose which character to follow, you will begin an interactive experience that takes you into the complex and intimate world of the Marshalls. You will witness the discovery of a murdered family member, and will follow a character as you wind your way through the Leighton Studios and the lives of this complex group of people.

Composed by Nicole Lizée
Libretto and Stage Direction by Joel Ivany
Scenic and Costume Design by Adriana Bogaard
Lighting Design by Chantal LaBonté

Stage Manager - Kate Porter
Associate Stage Manager - Natasha Bean-Smith

“No One’s Safe” is a workshop performance. The audience will follow a murder mystery in the woods, but won’t find out who the murderer is. That’s part of the fun, and why we are presenting this as a workshop performance free for the public.

Once you choose which character to follow, you will begin an interactive experience that takes you into the complex and intimate world of the Marshalls. You will witness the discovery of a murdered family member, and will follow a character as you wind your way through the Leighton Studios and the lives of this complex group of people.

Composed by Nicole Lizée
Libretto and Stage Direction by Joel Ivany
Scenic and Costume Design by Adriana Bogaard
Lighting Design by Chantal LaBonté

Stage Manager - Kate Porter
Associate Stage Manager - Natasha Bean-Smith

https://www.banffcentre.ca/events/opera-no-ones-safe/20190627/1700

The artists of Variant 6 and Mobius Percussion, and Veronica Jurkiewicz, join hands for the New York Premiere of a new original work by Wally Gunn and Maria Zajkowski:

MOONLITE, an oratorio for voices, percussion, and viola based on the true crime queer love story of the 19th-century Australian bushranger Andrew George Scott, known as “Captain Moonlite.”

Music by Wally Gunn
Libretto by Maria Zajkowski

Variant 6, voices
Mobius Percussion feat. Víctor Pablo
Veronica Jurkiewicz, viola

Captain Moonlite—a rogue, a brigand, a criminal, and a queer—is an outsider who chafes at the constraints of Victorian-era society. He dreams of founding a utopia for himself and the lover he met in prison, James Nesbitt. Unable to make a life in society upon their release, Scott and Nesbitt resign themselves to living outside it, and in pursuing this end, the pair, by misconduct and misfortune, fall foul of the law. Banding together with some other misfits, they set off on a grueling trek through Australia’s arid outback and find themselves in a series of increasingly desperate situations which culminate in a stand-off and shoot-out with police. An officer is shot and killed, and Nesbitt, also shot fatally, dies in Scott’s arms. Scott, stricken and defeated, is imprisoned and sentenced to death by hanging for his crimes. In his cell, he writes heartrendingly of his love for Nesbitt, his terrible loss, and his hope that he will be reunited with his lover in the next world.

https://pregonesprtt.org/2019/05/03/moonlite-ny-premiere/

“Bowerbird is pleased to present Moonlite, a new work by composer Wally Gunn and librettist Maria Zajkowski performed by Variant 6, Mobius Percussion and Veronica Jurkiewicz. Moonlite is a concert-length oratorio is based on the true story of the 19th-century Australian outlaw Andrew George Scott, known as “Captain Moonlite.” Captain Moonlite—a rogue, a brigand, a criminal, and a queer—is an outsider who chafes at the constraints of Victorian-era society. He dreams of founding a utopia for himself and the lover he met in prison, James Nesbitt. Unable to make a life in society upon their release, Scott and Nesbitt resign themselves to living outside it, and in pursuing this end, the pair, by misconduct and misfortune, fall foul of the law. Banding together with some other misfits, they set off on a grueling trek through Australia’s arid outback and find themselves in a series of increasingly desperate situations which culminate in a stand-off and shoot-out with police. An officer is shot and killed, and Nesbitt, also shot fatally, dies in Scott’s arms. Scott, stricken and defeated, is imprisoned and sentenced to death by hanging for his crimes. In his cell, he writes heartrendingly of his love for Nesbitt, his terrible loss, and his hope that he will be reunited with his lover in the next world.”

https://www.bowerbird.org/event/wally-gunn-moonlite/

I’ll be performing and pairing beers alongside my best friend and favorite person in the world, Karen Yu! We’ll be playing Sean Griffin’s Pattycake, alongside works by Sarah Hennies, Matthew Burtner, and more. We’ve partnered with local Hong Kong brewers and breweries for this event, and we both can’t wait to bring listenbeer to Hong Kong.

8pm, Ho Sze Kwong, Kwun Tong

I’ll be performing “How to Make a Universe at Home (Suggested Recipe No. 42)”, a piece written for Michael Mansourati and myself at the 2017 edition of MCML. Room 707 at Manhattan School of Music!

THE MUSIC OF LEE HYLA
Bryan Hayslett (cello) Marilyn Nonken (piano) Tristan McKay (piano) Jessica Tsang (percussion) Michiko Theurer (violin) Paul Hauer (violin) Hannah Levinson (viola)
Repertoire: Mother Popcorn Revisited, Amore Scaduto, How Was Your Weekend, Winter/Fall, Dream of Innocent III, and Amnesia Redux

http://thestonenyc.com/calendar.php?month=4

https://events.newschool.edu/event/the_stone_at_the_new_school_presents_the_music_of_lee_hyla#.XKAJAOtKhbU

I’ll be performing Carolyn Chen’s Clothing at Bri Tagliferro’s Master’s Recital. More info here!

party of one is performing Family Man by Adrian Knight and a new arrangement called “Party for 2” that’s gonna BOP. Come jam with us and then we can all eat some pho at Saigon Shack!

Interference Series presents a solo percussion performance by Jess Tsang that is curated to pair with different Dark Sky Beers. Toronto-based cellist and composer Cory Latkovich presents a set  of solo cello works. 

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The pieces I'll be playing are tied together by the idea of a sonic bildungsroman. Each piece feels like a journey of ever-increasing importance, contained within separate sound worlds. Also, I learned how to skateboard.

Huginn by Fjola Evans 

I Is Not Me by Scott Wollschleger

THIS IS WHY PEOPLE O.D. ON PILLS by Jennifer Walshe

Resonance Allloy by Keeril Makan

Ensemble Ekstasis: Marie Annick Béliveau, Gabriel Dharmoo, Guy Pelletier, Terri Hron, Felix Del Tredici, Elinor Frey, Jess Tsang, with the direction of Sandeep Bhagwati

These three long music performances each started with a question: Can a musical piece be composed with exactly the same process that an artist uses to create their conceptual artworks? Since September, we have worked with three artists to explore new ways of understanding how music can be made out of nothing.

Deborah Carruthers is an artist that explores the various facets of science around the anthropocene to create multi-disciplinary artworks. David Szanto’s work focuses on our personal, intimate relationship to food and eating to create his performances. Angelique Willkie’s choreographies explore personal, autobiographical narratives and minute everyday movements. In their encounters with these artists, the musicians of the Ensemble Ekstasis tried to explore their practice with the ideas the artists gave them: what kind of intimate biological relationship do musicians have with their instruments? How can a musician read another musician’s movements as their score? How can the audience co-create a musical performance with their cellphone cameras? Does your listening change if your tongue senses a different taste? How does our meat and cow culture affect our musicking ? What does really constitute a piece of music – according to the SOCAN?

All these questions led to three exciting, inquisitive, enlightening hour-long performances which will be presented on Dec 16 in two locations at two times: at 14h we will discuss the research-creation project “Ecstasies of Influence” at Le Gésu, and then première the Bee Symphonie by Deborah Carruthers. And at 20h we will perform the two works created with David Szanto and Angelique Willkie in the “Fine Arts Black Box” at Concordia University.

If you have ever asked yourself what the farthest reaches of musical space could be, this day of inter-artistic explorations is for you.

More information here.