Invisible Ritual, released by New Focus Recordings, celebrates the ongoing collaboration of violinist/composer Jennifer Curtis and multi-instrumentalist/composer Tyshawn Sorey. Curtis and Sorey have been performing as a duo for several years, as an outgrowth of a collaboration that initiated from their work together in the International Contemporary Ensemble.
The album consists of eight contrasting, improvised tracks. Masterful and expressive, they demonstrate the artists' unique compositional sensibilities as well as the synergy that comes from musicians who have worked together on many projects. "It is essentially 3 days of improvisation," Curtis says of the recording, adding "after having played together for a few years, and [Tyshawn] had already written a duo for us we had premiered at Lincoln Center."
Jennifer Curtis teaches violin and improvisation at Duke University. The New York Times described her second solo concert in Carnegie Hall as “one of the gutsiest and most individual recital programs.” She is a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and founder of the group Tres Americas Ensemble. She has appeared as a soloist with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Venezuela and the Knights Chamber Orchestra; performed in Romania in honor of George Enescu; given world premieres at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York; collaborated with composer John Adams at the Library of Congress; and appeared at El Festival de las Artes Esénias in Peru and festivals worldwide.
Tyshawn Sorey has composed works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the International Contemporary Ensemble, soprano Julia Bullock, PRISM Quartet, JACK Quartet, TAK Ensemble, the McGill-McHale Trio, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, Alarm Will Sound, the Louisville Orchestra, and tenor Lawrence Brownlee with Opera Philadelphia in partnership with Carnegie Hall, as well as for countless collaborative performers. He has released twelve critically acclaimed recordings that feature his work as a composer, co-composer, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, and conceptualist. Sorey is Assistant Professor of Music and African American Studies at Wesleyan University.
Department of Music