Eighth Blackbird

Sunday, May 22, 4:00 pm CST

Nevermore Chamber Music Festival

Eighth Blackbird moves music forward through innovative performance, advocacy for music by living composers, and its legacy of guiding an emerging generation of musicians. Today’s program features pianist Lisa Kaplan and percussionist Justin Peters.

PROGRAM:

Lisa Kaplan, Piano
Perpetual Motion – Nico Muhly
Falling Pairs – Muhly

Towers – Shelley Washington

6 Piano Pieces – Burton Hatheway
II. March
III. Lento
IV. Ballet Tune
V. The Five Fingers Wande
VI. Chorale
I. Waltz

Berceuse – Lisa Kaplan

Lisa Kaplan and Justin Peters:
Heart and Breath – Richard Reed Parry

Justin’s Program:
To be announced from the stage. All works by Justin Peters.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Born in Motown, Lisa Kaplan is Eighth Blackbird’s pianist and one of its co-founders. As executive director, Lisa works with 8BB’s board of directors and artistic director to develop long- and short-range plans to meet the organization’s goals, and she oversees fundraising, marketing, finance, and operations. As musical artist, she has won numerous awards, performed all over the country and has premiered new pieces by hundreds of composers, including Andy Akiho, Jennifer Higdon, Amy Beth Kirsten, David Lang, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, George Perle, Steve Reich and Pamela Z. Lisa has had the great pleasure to collaborate and make music with an eclectic array of incredibly talented people – Laurie Anderson, Jeremy Denk, Bryce Dessner, Philip Glass, Bon Iver, Glenn Kotche, Shara Nova, Will Oldham, Natalie Portman, Dawn Upshaw and Michael Ward-Bergeman to name a few. As a new mom, she has been having an incredible time raising and learning from her happy-go-lucky and feisty toddler, Frida. Lisa is a true foodie, gourmet cook, avid reader, crossword and Scrabble addict, enjoys baking ridiculously complicated pastry and loves outdoor adventures. She has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, braved the Australian outback, stared an enormous elephant in the face in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, and survived close encounters with grizzly bears in the Brooks Range of Alaska.

Justin Peters is a percussionist, composer, and producer based in Chicago. As a performer, he splits his time between the classical and pop music worlds, appearing with groups such as Eighth Blackbird and Third Coast Percussion, as well as local pop outfits Family of Geniuses and Villekulla. He has premiered works by composers such as Nico Muhly, Richard Reed Parry, and Juri Seo. His debut solo album Kinesthetics was released in February of 2022. Justin is an alumnus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.