South Florida Classical Review

eighth blackbird

The Chicago contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird–not a typo, they do not use capitals—will come to Miami Beach Saturday to perform a trio of American works with the New World Symphony.

Anyone interested in the future of classical music will want to catch this performance. This youthful ensemble of strings, winds, piano and percussion commissions new works, adds elements of film and theater to performances and attempts–as New World does–to infuse classical music with the energy of the larger world of contemporary arts.

Eighth blackbird will perform Steve Reich’s Double Sextet, a Pulitzer Prize winning 2008 work that was described by the Washington Post as “hard-driving, densely woven music” that was given an “edge-of-the-seat performance” by the same ensemble. They will also perform Jennifer Higdon’s On a Wire, a concerto composed for the ensemble and described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “exuberantly beautiful and inventive.” Also on the program is John Adams’ Guide to Strange Places. On the podium will be Alan Pierson, a new music specialist who is conductor of the Brooklyn Philharmonic.

Eighth blackbird performs with the New World Symphony 7:30 p.m. Saturday at New World Center in Miami Beach. nws.edu; 305-673-3331.

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