American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter is pleased to present an online artist talk between composer and DJ King Britt and composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey. The two artists will discuss their creative process, reflect on their artistic influences, and share recent work.
FREE, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. SPACE IS LIMITED. PLEASE RESERVE ONE SPOT PER HOUSEHOLD. A Zoom link will be sent to you the day of the event.
King James Britt (his real name) is a Philadelphia born, Pew Fellowship recipient, composer and dj. Traveling globally, he carries the history of his musical legacy into the future. Honing his skills as the first resident (’90) DJ at the legendary, Silk City (Philadelphia), King established Back2Basics; a new and innovative music collaboration which merged a live band with a DJ performance. King has performed his live work as himself and his sci fi pseudonym, Fhloston Paradigm, in a number of forward thinking performance contexts and spaces, including National Sawdust (Brooklyn), CTM Festival (Berlin), The Kitchen (NYC) and Le Guess Who? (Utrecht). As a composer and producer, he has collaborated with the likes of De La Soul, Madlib, Alarm Will Sound Orchestra, Saul Williams and many others, being called for remixes from an eclectic list of giants, including, Meredith Monk , Solange to Calvin Harris, and composing for films like Miami Vice. His biggest productions for Josh One, Ursula Rucker and H Foundation, are now Ibiza staples. Transmissions, his monthly radio show on the global hub, NTS Radio, has been hailed as one of the most creative, consisting of live electronic improvs and experiments. His latest achievement is becoming an Assistant Teaching Professor at UCSD in the Computer Music Department, with focus on production and recording research.
Newark-born multi-instrumentalist and composer Tyshawn Sorey (b. 1980) is celebrated for his incomparable virtuosity, effortless mastery and memorization of highly complex scores, and an extraordinary ability to blend composition and improvisation in his work. He has performed nationally and internationally with his own ensembles, as well as artists such as John Zorn, Vijay Iyer, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith, Marilyn Crispell, George Lewis, Claire Chase, Steve Lehman, Jason Moran, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, and Myra Melford, among many others. Sorey has composed works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the International Contemporary Ensemble, soprano Julia Bullock, PRISM Quartet, JACK Quartet, TAK Ensemble, the McGill-McHale Trio, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, Alarm Will Sound, the Louisville Orchestra, and tenor Lawrence Brownlee with Opera Philadelphia in partnership with Carnegie Hall, as well as for countless collaborative performers. His music has been performed in notable venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Village Vanguard, the Ojai Music Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Kimmel Center, and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Sorey was named a 2017 MacArthur fellow and a 2018 United States Artists Fellow. Sorey received a B.Music in Jazz Studies and Performance from William Paterson University, an M.A. in Music Composition from Wesleyan University, and a D.M.A. in Music Composition from Columbia University. He is currently Presidential Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania.