MUSIC REVIEW: Dawn Upshaw

Dawn Upshaw is one of the truly great, if not most versatile, sopranos of this generation. She has sung the standards, but truly specializes in the music of our time…

By Michael Cameron | Special to the Tribune

New music troupe eighth blackbird released a superb Grammy-nominated disc in early 2006 for Cedille records, a landmark for both the Chicago label as well as the stellar sextet. Saturday at the Harris Music and Dance Theater, the ensemble reprised four of the works from "strange imaginary animals," with guest laptop artist Dennis DeSantis adding electronic embellishments to the original acoustic incarnations…

By Andrew Patner
Chicago Sun-Times original link

Serving up a musical cocktail

CONCERT REVIEW | eighth blackbird's tasty music fusion

The words "crossover" and "fusion" are perhaps the most frightening in the music descriptive lexicon. They indicate a self-conscious crossing of a barrier -- from "classical" to "pop," say -- or a marriage of things that just don't taste great together. Yet there are successful ways to bring different influences together.

By Tom Aldridge

The outer fringes connect

Well, this ain’t “Home on the Range” was my first thought as six bright, very talented young musicians began their Ensemble Music Society-sponsored concert/presentation last Wednesday.

By Whitney Smith

Unconventional sextet offers a unique twist

The chamber music that eighth blackbird plays is conventional, only to the extent that its repertoire works best in a small concert hall, and that its instruments -- violin, cello, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion -- are well-known in Western culture. Otherwise, all bets are off.

By Wynne Delacoma
Chicago Sun-Times original link

Eighth blackbird offers an eclectic mix at the Harris

Since opening in 2003, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance has proved itself an effective showcase for all kinds of classical music, from opera to Baroque.