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KMFA CLASSICAL 89.5 & DENSITY512 PRESENT

THE PANDEMIC IS A PORTAL

IN COLLABORATION WITH LESS THAN 10 MUSIC

Sunday, March 13 at 4:00 p.m. | Draylen Mason Music Studio

KMFA Classical 89.5 announces the launch of KMFA’s new “Off Beat Series” kicking off on Sunday, March 13 at 4:00 p.m. in the Draylen Mason Music Studio at KMFA (41 Navasota Street, Austin, 78702) with and Density512 and The Pandemic is a Portal created in collaboration with Less Than 10 Music.

The new performance series by KMFA will highlight ensembles contributing to Austin’s vibrant contemporary classical music scene using KMFA’s new state of the art Draylen Mason Music Studio. The series hopes to reach existing fans while also cultivating a new audience for these exciting new works. Additional “Off Beat Series” participants and works will be announced throughout the year.  

Density512’s curated performance addresses the ongoing pandemic weaving together music, narrative, and media, reflecting  upon the past, present, and future of our world. This afternoon performance will feature a pre-concert talk with composer Matthew Lyons and KMFA host Dianne Donovan along with a post-concert reception.

The Pandemic is a Portal: The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working class people cannot be overstated. From financial fallout, to loneliness, to the world shutting down our plans, this trauma has affected each of us in some way. Density512 looks forward with a new work by Matthew Lyons called The Pandemic is a Portal, which questions if nothing could be worse than a return to normality.

Featuring works by local composers Matthew Lyons, James Tabata, Nathan Nokes, and Nicholas Perry Clark; works by acclaimed composers Fanny Mendelssohn, Yaz Lancaster, and George Lewis; and words by Arundhati Roy, Matthew Lyons, and Gwendolyn Brooks; this concert bridges audiences into a new norm that reconciles the past, present, and future of the pandemic.

Spurred by Matthew Lyons’s song cycle The Portal, this concert examines how the pandemic sheds new light on our world. Guided by Arundhati Roy’s essay of the same name, mezzo-soprano Page Stephens sings of a distorted reality — isolation, capitalism, and the very  air we breathe. Through poetry, music, videos, projections, and more, Density512 tells the story of now and creates space to process this once-in-a-century moment.

MUSIC:

• Matthew Lyons: The Portal
• Nicholas Perry Clark: Ethically Egregious
• Fanny Mendelssohn/Nicholas Perry Clark: excerpts from Oratorium: Musik für die Toten der 
• Cholera-Epidemie 1831 (Music for the Dead during the Cholera Pandemic 1831)
• Yaz Lancaster: intangible landscapes
• Nathan Nokes: Missa: 5. Agnus Dei (w/ improvisation by James Tabata)
• George Lewis: Anthem

WORDS:

• Matthew Lyons: The Portal
• Arundhati Roy: The Pandemic is a Portal
• Gwendolyn Brooks: Aloneness

TICKETS: 

General admission tickets are $20.00; student tickets are $10.00. In-person seating (in pods) is limited; advance ticket reservations are highly encouraged. The Pandemic is a Portal is a hybrid event featuring live music and videos created for online streaming. Tickets to access the stream are $10.00. 

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COVID-19 POLICY:

Face coverings and proof of vaccination will be required for all attendees at the door. If you do not feel well, please stay home.

Event Details

• Date: Sunday, March 13
• Time: 4:00 p.m.
• Venue: Draylen Mason Music Studio at KMFA

Ticket Information

• Cost: $10.00-$20.00

Presenter Details

• Name: Density512

Density512 is a chamber orchestra and collective of brave and open musicians who champion contemporary programming. We connect with the people of Austin, TX by producing imaginatively curated experiences, amplifying the voices of groundbreaking and emerging artists, and cultivating interdisciplinary collaborations.

Venue Details