Magos Herrera and Brooklyn Rider perform in Big Sky and Billings.
Dreamers: Magos Herrera and Brooklyn Rider make two stops in Montana this weekend: Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Big Sky and on Sunday, Jan. 22 at the Alberta Bair in Billings. Brooklyn Rider also performs at The Elm in Bozeman, Friday, Jan. 20.
Bold and expressive singer Magos Herrera joins forces with string quartet Brooklyn Rider to celebrate the power of beauty as a political act, exploring the artistry of Violeta Parra, Federico Garcia Lorca, Gilberto Gil, Joao Gilberto, Octavio Paz, and others who dared to dream under repressive regimes. These artists have transcended the brutality through their work – work that represents love for humanity, love for democracy, and the inspiration to dream – fueled by evocative arrangements by Jaques Morelenbaum, Diego Schissi, Gonzalo Grau, Guillermo Klein, and Colin Jacobsen.
With their gripping performance style and unquenchable appetite for musical adventure, Brooklyn Rider has carved a singular space in the world of string quartets over their 15-year history. Defining the string quartet as a medium with deep historic roots and endless possibility for invention, they find equal inspiration in musical languages ranging from late Beethoven to Persian classical music to American roots music to the endlessly varied voices of living composers.
Claiming no allegiance to either end of the historical spectrum, Brooklyn Rider most comfortably operates within the long arc of the tradition, seeking to illuminate works of the past with fresh insight while coaxing the malleable genre into the future through an inclusive programming vision, deep-rooted collaborations with a wide range of global tradition bearers, and the creation of thoughtful and relevant frames for commissioning projects.
Magos Herrera is regarded as one of the most expressive and active vocalists in the contemporary Latin American jazz scene. She is best known for her eloquent vocal improvisation and her bold style, that elegantly blends and surpasses language boundaries
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Big Sky: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center; visit warrenmillerpac.org or call 406-995-6345.
Billings: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Alberta Bair. Tickets are $42, $32 and $22 and available at the ABT Box Office, by phone at 406-256-6052, and on the ABT website at albertabairtheater.org.