Hand Eye
Hand Eye brings together a musical and visual dream team. Multi-Grammy-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird and Sleeping Giant, superstar composer sextet, unite for an evening-length work fizzing with the alchemy of twelve strong personalities. Hand Eye transports us to a Soul-studded jam session (Ted Hearne), the buzzing contagion of an internet meme (Andrew Norman), a high-velocity adventure-ride (Robert Honstein), a shimmering yet blinding landscape (Christopher Cerrone), the flickering and pulsing of ink on paper (Timo Andres), and a warm but tattered beauty (Jacob Cooper).
The six pieces that comprise Hand Eye are Checkered Shade by Timo Andres, South Catalina by Chris Cerrone, Conduit by Robert Honstein, Mine, Mime, Meme by Andrew Norman, By-By Huey by Ted Hearne, and Cast by Jacob Cooper. These pieces were inspired by works of art in the private collection of Maxine and Stuart Frankel. Images of these works can be found here.
Stage Design by Deborah Johnson, the brain behind CandyStations—creator of performance visuals for Wilco, Sufjan Stevens, and St. Vincent—Johnson brings a decade of experience and an intuitive, hands-on process to this collaboration. Stage Director Matthew Ozawa, who has directed productions at the Canadian, Lyric, and Santa Fe Operas, Audio Producer and Engineer Jesse Lewis and Lighting Designer Sarah Lackner complete the all-star production team.
Hand Eye was commissioned by the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation for the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and by Carnegie Hall. Visual arts and staging production elements made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Texas Performing Arts at The University of Texas at Austin.
