MEDIA RELEASE March 31, 2016 Vancouver New Music presents eighth blackbird and Sleeping Giant’s Hand Eye Saturday, April 30, 2016; 8PM Free pre-show chat: 7:15PM The Annex (823 Seymour Street, 2nd floor), Vancouver

“eighth blackbird play like musicians possessed… they take wing, soaring on an upthrust of precision-tooled virtuosity.”–BBC

Vancouver, B.C.—Multi-Grammy winning ensemble eighth blackbird will perform Hand Eye, a program of six works by composer collective Sleeping Giant on Saturday, April 30, at The Annex as the final concert in Vancouver New Music’s 2015/2016 series. A vibrant and daring collaborative project bringing together these dynamic American new music powerhouses and showcasing 12 outstanding talents—six veteran musicians coupled with six remarkable young composers. Each of the six sections in the concert-length performance highlight a musician in the ensemble with inspiration taken from a contemporary artwork in the private collection of Maxine and Stuart Frankel, who co-commissioned the work.

PROGRAM Hand Eye (2015) South Catalina by Christopher Cerrone Mine, Mime, Meme by Andrew Norman Conduit [touchpulsesend] by Robert Honstein Checkered Shade by Timo Andres By-By Huey by Ted Hearne Cast by Jacob Cooper eighth blackbird: Matthew Duvall (percussion), Nathalie Joachim (flutes), Lisa Kaplan (piano), Yvonne Lam (violin and viola), Michael J. Maccaferri (clarinets), and Nicholas Photinos (cello)

Celebrating its 20th year, Chicago’s eighth blackbird combines the finesse of a string quartet, the energy of a rock band, and the audacity of a storefront theatre company. The ensemble has a built a reputation for tackling demanding repertoire with equal measures of smarts and daring. With an international tour schedule, the group also actively commissions new music from the likes of Steve Reich, Steve Mackey, Amy Beth Kirsten, and John Luther Adams, and are currently artists-in-resident at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Brooklyn-based Sleeping Giant is a collection of composers who have garnered accolades for innovation, range and nuance building an impressively diverse body of work. Compositions have been performed in concert halls and clubs across North America and Europe.

BOX OFFICE INFORMATION Tickets: $35 regular / $15 students (includes taxes and venue surcharges) available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 1.800.838.3006 or at the door. Hand Eye was commissioned by the Stuart and Maxine Frankel Foundation for the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall. MEDIA CONTACT Zoe Quinn zoe@newmusic.org | 778.772.6846 ABOUT VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC Vancouver New Music is dedicated to exploring and contextualizing new music and sonic art. VNM presents a themed annual fall festival along with a four-concert series plus diverse community events such as Soundwalks, and workshops. VNM brings high-calibre national and international new music artists to Vancouver, regularly commissions works by Canadian composers, and provides a platform for emerging electroacoustic, electronic music artists, performers and sound artists. www.newmusic.org | www.eighthblackbird.org | www.sleepinggiantcomposers.com Vancouver New Music gratefully acknowledges the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage through Arts Presentation Canada, The Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, The City of Vancouver, Tom Lee Music, Holiday Inn Downtown and The Georgia Straight.