Grand Band is a unique musical ensemble that includes six pianos arranged in a circle and played by “the finest, busiest pianists active in New York’s contemporary-classical scene” (The New York Times). The sextet engulfs the audience in the sonic intensity of four landmark contemporary works: the iconic and massive Gay Guerilla by cult underground figure Julius Eastman; the pulsating Sensitive Spot by Australian sound artist Kate Moore; and my lips from speaking, a riff on Aretha Franklin’s Think by Pulitzer-winning composer Julia Wolfe. In a thrilling combination of sight and sound, Missy Mazzoli’s Three Fragile Systems is enhanced by the debut of an animated film by Joshua Frankel. In this film, commissioned by Peak Performances, Frankel builds a world of geometry, color, and looping patterns of human bodies created collaboratively with choreographer Faye Driscoll, heightening the experience of the music.

Performed by Erika Dohl, David Friend, Paul Kerekes, Blair McMillen, Lisa Moore, and Isabelle O’Connell

Kate Moore 
Sensitive Spot

Julia Wolfe 
my lips from speaking

Missy Mazzoli 
Three Fragile Systems 
with Joshua Frankel’s Emergent System, an animated film

Julius Eastman 
Gay Guerrilla