CAW Presents: Megan Stielstra at Comfort Station
Everyone Remain Calm
Chicago-based essayist Megan Stielstra is not calm. In the two distinct pieces that make up Everyone Remain Calm, she explores the fears we carry moving day-to-day through this beautiful mess of a world; tornados and shooters and the relationships we'd die to protect. In collaboration with Eighth Blackbird, she dives deep into today's overwhelming rage and quiet, ever-enduring hope. Maybe staying calm isn't the answer. Maybe it's time to scream.
CAW Presents: Ayanna Woods
Ayanna Woods is a composer, performer and bandleader from Chicago. Her music explores the spaces between acoustic and electronic, traditional and esoteric, wildly improvisational and mathematically rigorous. A collaborator across genres and forms, her work spans new music, theater, film scoring, arranging, songwriting, and improvisation.
This program will feature two pieces from Woods’ in-progress 3x5 series: a collection of short open-instrumentation pieces whose scores fit on 3x5 cards. Woods will be joined by guitarist Sam Hasting and members of 8BB for a set of songs from her EP under her band name Yadda Yadda.
Chaos Hands
Chaos Hands is a genre-bending, cross-media, improv trio comprising of: Allison Wright (electronics, AU), Nicole Patrick (drums, USA) & Xuan (visuals, USA). Their work meets at the intersection of acoustic drums, synthesizers and visual projections which interweave the worlds of techno, visual story-telling, and improvisation. There are sometimes tender moments of soothing color and sounds which transform into abrasive strobe-like musical and visual explorations. They lean in to the inherent infiniteness of their mediums and continue to traverse new territories with each work they produce.
Matthew Burtner composer portrait, feat. Jocelyn Zelasko, soprano
Eighth Blackbird’s Matthew Duvall is joined by soprano Jocelyn Zelasko for an evening devoted to the work of Matthew Burtner.
CAW Presents: Molly Joyce, feat. Andy Slater
Molly Joyce’s music has been described as “serene power” (New York Times), written to “superb effect” (The Wire), and “impassioned” (The Washington Post). Her work is primarily concerned with disability as a creative source. She has an impaired left hand from a previous car accident, and the primary vehicle in her pursuit is her electric vintage toy organ, an instrument she bought on eBay which suits her body and engages her disability on a compositional and performative level.
CAW Presents: Half Gringa
Half Gringa (Isabel Olive) is joined by her guitarist Sam Cantor for duo arrangements of songs from her most recent release, Force to Reckon, as well as new, unreleased material.
CAW Presents: 5th Wave Collective
5th Wave Collective is a Chicago-based classical music ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting music by womxn and gender-nonconforming composers. Demonstrating their commitment to composers throughout classical music’s history, the Collective performs repertoire by composers such as Teresa Carreño, Clara Schumann, Florence Price, Augusta Read Thomas, and Aftab Darvishi. With a roster of over 110 musicians, 5th Wave curates concerts with configurations ranging from solo instruments to symphony orchestra, and performs in venues across Chicago, including recital halls, art galleries, community centers and restaurants. Learn more at 5thwavecollective.com, or by following 5th Wave on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at @5thWaveCollective.
CAW Presents: Susy Bielak and Fred Schmalz
Susy Bielak and Fred Schmalz are artists and writers who frequently collaborate with each other, as well as with choreographers, engineers, historians, musicians, and others. Their ongoing collective, Balas & Wax, mines social histories, texts, and archives to create multimedia works that reflect the gravity and strangeness of daily life and contemporary cities.
CAW Presents: Nick Zoulek
A modern saxophonist of “pure mindfulness and talent” (PopMatters), Nick Zoulek's focus on performance, collaboration, multimedia, and improvisation, has led to a diverse portfolio of distinctive artistic ventures, performing across France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
CAW Presents: Tom Lee
The Great Zodiac Animal Race
Growing up in Hawai'i, Tom Lee's memories of Lunar New Year included narcissus blooms, tasty dim sum dishes and bowing to your elders before running off to your room to open your lucky red envelope with money in it! Tom Lee retells the classic Lunar New Year zodiac tale with shadow puppet animals inspired by Asian languages and pictograms. Suitable for all ages.
CAW Presents: Tarrey Torae
Chicago bred, but southern at heart, Tarrey Torae’s melodic presence springs from the crossroads of city living, southern geniality, essential womanhood, and passionate soul. No amateur to music, Tarrey is a 6x Apollo Winner and has appeared on 2 GRAMMY Award Winning Albums for her work with Kanye West on The College Drop Out and John Legend’s, Get Lifted.
CAW Presents: J. Ivy
J. Ivy is an Award Winning Performance Poet, Recording Artist, Song Writer, Author and Actor. Over the years his work has earned him a Peabody, Clio, Telly, and NAACP Image Award and he is widely known for being the “Poet” featured on Kanye West’s Grammy Winning Album, “The College Dropout,” on the classic song “Never Let Me Down,” along with Hip-Hop icon Jay-Z.
CAW Presents: Xuan
Xuan is a new media artist, filmmaker, and pianist working at the intersection of music, visual art, and technology.
CAW Presents: Justin Roberts & Anna Steinhoff
Justin’s latest album, Wild Life, is his 14th album for families and his most personal project yet. Inspired by the birth of their first child, Justin wrote cello parts for Anna into almost every track. They were joined by an eclectic group of instrumentalists including pianist Lisa Kaplan (Eighth Blackbird), percussionist Gerald Dowd (Robbie Fulks), and vocalist Nora O’Connor (Flat Five, the Decemberists). Wild Life includes songs about anticipation, uncertainty, unconditional love and advice for a life well-lived, and aims to evoke the wonder of what poet Mary Oliver called this “one wild and precious life.”
CAW Presents: Rebecca Rego ft. Leah Casey - Songs for Cleaning Women
Rebecca Rego has been a Midwest singer-songwriter, recording artist, and producer for over 15 years. She has written and recorded eight albums and toured the country many times over, solo and with her Chicago-based band The Trainmen.
In 2014, a mysterious package arrived on her doorstep.In it was Lucia Berlin’s short story collection, “A Manual For Cleaning Women.” The note simply said: “I think you’ll love this.” As Rego began picking through the dark, witty, romantic prose, the stories slowly began to seep into her consciousness and affect her songwriting. After a few years, she realized she had created a unique set of songs based on Berlin’s book.
CAW Presents: Karim Sulayman, tenor
Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman has garnered international attention as a sophisticated and versatile artist, consistently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship, riveting stage presence, and beautiful voice. A 2019 GRAMMY® Award-winner, he regularly performs on the world’s stages in orchestral concerts and opera, as well as in recital and chamber music.