The McIntire Department of Music is pleased to present a colloquium and concert by composer, multi-instrumentalist, and MacArthur Fellow Tyshawn Sorey. The concert will take place on Friday, February 28th at 8 pm at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church at 717 Rugby Road. The colloquium will be held at 2pm on the 28th in Old Cabell Hall. Both events are free and open to the public. The Tyshawn Sorey Residency at the University of Virginia is supported by The Gassmann Fund for Innovation, the UVA Arts Council | Enriching the Arts on Grounds, and the Miller Arts Scholars.
Newark-born multi-instrumentalist and composer Tyshawn Sorey (b. 1980) is celebrated for his incomparable virtuosity, and extraordinary ability to blend composition and improvisation in his work. Sorey, a composer, drummer, percussionist, trombonist, and conductor, has roots in both classical and jazz musics, defying easy classification into any one genre. A 2017 recipient of the MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’, Sorey’s work has also been recognized by The Jerome Foundation, The Shifting Foundation, Van Lier Fellowship, and he has received commissions from The Spektral Quartet, Ojai Music Festival, and International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). He has performed nationally and internationally with his own ensembles, as well as artists such as John Zorn, Vijay Iyer, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith, Marilyn Crispell, George Lewis, Claire Chase, Steve Coleman, Steve Lehman, Robyn Schulkowsky, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, and Myra Melford, among many others. Sorey, who received his Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from Columbia University, is on the faculty at Wesleyan. His work has been reviewed in numerous publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Down Beat, The Wire and the Village Voice.