Bowerbird is pleased to present the Bennardo-Larson Duo – violin and piano – at UniLu performing works by Anthony Vine and Maya Bennardo.

PROGRAM

Anthony Vine: Worshipful Company

Maya Bennardo: dormant gardens

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Maya Bennardo (she/her) is an active performer and composer living in Stockholm, Sweden. Maya is interested in opening the dialogue and blurring the boundaries between composers and performers, and is devoted to performing music of the present. She is a founding member of the violin/viola duo andPlay, described by I Care If You Listen as “enthusiastic champions for new music and collaboration.” She is a member of the internationally acclaimed Mivos Quartet and also performs new and traditional repertoire for violin and piano with pianist Karl Larson in their Bennardo/Larson Duo. Maya’s compositions are characterized by slow, unfolding timbral movements–exploring the co-existence of pitch and noise. Her compositions have grown naturally out of her improvisational practice on the violin, and the two continue to inform each other. This season Maya is composing new works for NoExit + andPlay, Lamnth, Alkemie + Amanda Gookin, Bennardo/Larson Duo, and a new long-form piece for solo violin.

Karl Larson is a Brooklyn-based pianist and specialist in the music of our time. A devoted supporter of contemporary composers and their craft, Larson has built a career grounded in commissioning and long-term collaborations. He frequently performs in a variety of chamber music settings, most notably with his trio, Bearthoven, a piano / bass / percussion ensemble focussed on cultivating a diverse new repertoire for their instrumentation. As a soloist, Larson is known for championing the works of his peers and the recent canon alike, often gravitating towards long-form, reflective works of the 20th and 21st centuries. Through his work with Bearthoven, collaborations with a wide variety of chamber musicians, and his solo projects, Larson has helped to generate a large body of new work, resulting in world premiere performances of pieces by notable composers including David Lang, Sarah Hennies, Chris Cerrone, and Michael Gordon.

Anthony Vine is a composer and guitarist living in Brooklyn. He creates music about spirituality, beauty, and acoustics. His work across different media—performance, installation, and sound sculpture—is minimal yet acoustically rich and deeply emotive. Currently his imagination is most at ease with medieval liturgical and devotional music. His recent work has been inspired by medieval motets, church acoustics, the sound of prayer, and how medieval notation communicates to the eye and ear. These projects range from hagiographic concertos to archaeoacoustic research. His music has been presented by Blank Forms, Carnegie Hall, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Lévy Gorvy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musiikin Aika, Pioneer Works, Transit Festival, and Ultima Festival, and performed by Alarm Will Sound, AndPlay, Quatuor Bozzini, Bearthoven, Dudok Kwartet, Gareth Davis, Duo Axis, Madison Greenstone, Hotel Elefant, Mari Kawamura, The La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, David Lackner, Will Lang, Karl Larson, loadbang, longleash, The Minnesota Orchestra, Ensemble Modelo62, Palimpsest, The Rhythm Method, Steven Schick, Trio SurPlus, and Yarn/Wire. Recordings of his music have been released on Cantaloupe, Galtta Media, and Yarn/Wire’s imprint.