The Thollem/Alwin/Michalowski Trio
RADICAL CHAMBER MUSIC
Thursday, September 8th @ 8:00 PM
(RESCHEDULED FROM 7:30 PM)
- Thollem McDonas, piano
- Abby Alwin, cello
- Piotr Michalowski, bass and metal Bb clarinets, soprano and sopranino saxophones
Keyboardist, composer, and improviser Thollem McDonas teams up once again with area improvisers Piotr Michalowski and Abigail Alwin for an evening of spontaneously composed “radical” chamber music.
More information about Thollem McDonas can be found here: www.thollem.com/worldsinalife
The trio has played at KCH before and with this next appearance, continues to explore spontaneous chamber music, focusing on deep listening and collective composition with a unique combination of instruments.McDonas begins the evening with a solo set before joining improvisational explorations with the full trio, celebrating both structured and freely improvised music that ranges from very abstract sonic moments to those that are model and melodic.
COVID-19 Policy for Indoor Concerts at Kerrytown Concert House
- Masks are strongly encouraged and available as needed.
- Please do not attend a performance if you are feeling ill or have any symptoms of COVID-19.
Thollem McDonas is a perpetually traveling pianist, keyboardist, composer, improviser, singer-songwriter, activist, author, and teacher. He has spent most of his life living on the road throughout North America and Europe. His work is ever-changing, evolving and responding to the times and his experiences, both as a soloist and in collaboration with hundreds of artists across idioms and disciplines. Thollem is known internationally as an acoustic piano player in the free jazz and post-classical worlds, as the lead vocalist for the Italian agit-punk band Tsigoti and as an electronic keyboardist through a multitude of projects.
Abby Alwin, cellist and improviser, serves the community in the capacity of a public-school orchestra director, with a 15-year tenure with the Ann Arbor Public Schools. In addition to her classroom teaching, she co-directs the AAPS Comprehensive Outreach Music Program in collaboration with the Community Music School of Ann Arbor, which connects music tutors with disadvantaged students who would otherwise not have private instruction. Alwin is recipient many awards and is currently the assistant conductor of the Dexter (MI) Community Orchestra. She has appeared at KCH many times in various contexts, equally at home in classical, Balkan and other folk traditions, and experimental jazz improvisation explorations.
