7:30pm — Hai-Ting Chinn
8:15pm — Joan La Barbara
9:20pm — Odeya Nini
Night two opens with the first-ever composition (what RBF calls a “super premiere”) by Hai-Ting Chinn for her vocal trio Triumphatrix (Hai-Ting Chinn, Kirsten Sollek, and Lindsay Kesselman), followed by “Science Fair: The Astronomy Edition” with Erika Switzer (piano), “a musical celebration of science, with lyrics created from the words of scientists and teachers, performed as songs with live experiments.” She is followed by the iconic composer/performer/sound artist Joan La Barbara presenting another world premiere: celebrating her 70th year on the planet, La Barbara presents a piece of a new opera based on the lives and work of Joseph Cornell and Virginia Woolf. The evening closes with Odeya Nini’s ever-evolving work “A Solo Voice,” “an investigation of extended vocal techniques, resonance and pure expression, exploring the relationship between mind and body and the various landscapes it can yield.”
Founded in 2013, Resonant Bodies Festival is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hear expert contemporary music vocalists present repertoire that feeds their passion. Presented over three nights, nine dynamic and unique vocalists curate and present 45-minute sets expressing their particular blend of musical tastes. The Festival recently expanded to Australia and was presented at the Melbourne Recital Center in May, 2017, with further expansion on the horizon: a Chicago Festival will take place at Constellation April 6-8, 2018; RBF Sydney is scheduled for August 31-September 1, 2018, at Carriageworks; and a Los Angeles Festival is slated for fall, 2018. Expanding the Festival to other parts of the world widens the conversation about new vocal music and meets the Festival’s mission of challenging and transforming the role of the vocal recitalist. Past Festival vocalists range from world-renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw to up-and-coming stars like Julia Bullock and Sophia Burgos. In the past five Festivals (four in NYC and one in Melbourne), RBF has facilitated 63 world premieres (having presented more than 160 works for voice ranging from 3-45 minutes in length).
