Past Events

On October 31, November 1, 2 and 3, 2024, the season will launch with Paola Prestini and Royce Vavrek's "Silent Light" in Kilbourn Hall, sung in English with supertitles.

Paola's newest operatic work "Silent Light" receives its world premiere at National Sawdust, as part of the venue's 10th anniversary season.

The world premiere of "Mother Moon Songs," including music by Karol Szymanowski and Johannes Brahms. Featuring Soyeon Kate Lee on the piano.

The live album release performance of Paola Prestini's new album - Ancient City.

The first of two evenings of innovative, genre-bending music by improvisational singer, avant-garde composer and bestselling author Tanya Tagaq (Ikaluktutiak, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut). A member of the Order of Canada, Polaris Music Prize and JUNO Award winner, Tagaq curates a special program of compositions performed by and with a number of long-time collaborators including Christine Duncan (improvisational singer and conductor), Jean Martin (drummer and electronic artist), Paola Prestini (classical music composer), and Jeffrey Zeigler (cello)

A new series co-produced by National Sawdust and The Metropolitan Opera that Navigates Questions of What Qualifies as Opera and Who Opera Is For Through Explorations of Modern Works

Montclair State University’s John J Cali School of Music showcases the music of their year long Artist in Residence and award-winning multimedia composer, Paola Prestini. The concert will be a retrospective portrait of her chamber and vocal work, alongside world premieres of new pieces by Cali School composers mentored by Prestini through a partnership with National Sawdust.

The Old Man and the Sea is a new multi-lingual opera from composer Paola Prestini, librettist Royce Vavrek and director Karmina Šilec based on and further inspired by the novel by Ernest Hemingway.

Keynote by composer Paola Prestini – Jan 18 01:00PM-02:00PM EST Plus Paola in conversation with ACF Executive Director Vanessa Rose and CMA President & CEO Kevin Kwan Loucks

SENSORIUM is a multi-modal arts project exploring fundamental questions of what it means to have voice,and the nature of voice beyond language.

The Old Man and the Sea is a new multi-lingual opera from composer Paola Prestini, librettist Royce Vavrek and director Karmina Šilec based on and further inspired by the novel by Ernest Hemingway.

Paola Prestini’s House of Zodiac will be performed by Jeffrey Zeigler at the annual LOUD Weekend with films by Murat Eyuboglu, Tarta Relena, and more! This event is presented by Bang on a Can and MASS MoCA.

The Sensorium Ex workshops at the Shed will focus on music as well as choreographer/stage direction for the lead characters Mem (mother) and Kitsune (child). Sensorium Ex is commissioned by VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects with support by the Ford Foundation. For more information, contact Ras at ras@visionintoart.com.

The Sensorium Ex workshops at the Shed will focus on music as well as choreographer/stage direction for the lead characters Mem (mother) and Kitsune (child). Sensorium Ex is commissioned by VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects with support by the Ford Foundation. For more information, contact Ras at ras@visionintoart.com.

VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects will be hosting a showing in progress at the Performance Space for Paola's opera Sensorium Ex, with libretto by Brenda Shaughnessy. Sensorium Ex is commissioned by VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects with support by the Ford Foundation. Please RSVP by reaching out to Paige at paige@visionintoart.com by May 22.

A conversation with Murat Eyuboglu and composer Paola Prestini about their 5-year project on the Amazon; moderated by author William deBuys.

The Colorado, narrated by Mark Rylance, takes us on a journey through the prehistoric settlements of the region, European exploration, the dam-building era, modern industrial agriculture, and the impact of climate change. The Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, and composer-percussionist Glenn Kotche perform the film’s exhilarating score. The Colorado includes John Luther Adams, William Brittelle, Paola Prestini, Sarah Kirkland Snider and Shara Worden as composers.

Inspired by C. P. Cavafy’s poem “Ionic,” multidisciplinary genius Juliana Huxtable concludes the festival at National Sawdust with a “visual rave” in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Joe Heffernan and her band Tongue in the Mind. Music, spoken-word, visuals, and a nod to Greek legendary composer Lena Platonos will create a perfect paean to the performative nature of Cavafy’s work, and what is known as his “in-between” quality and essence. The evening will crescendo into a dance-party led by the Jamaican sonic disruptor DJ SHYBOI who recently sold out shows at MoMA PS1 and the Guggenheim.

A spirited conversation between raconteur Paul Holdengräber and André Aciman– another Alexandria-born writer— will give insight into their years-long fascination with Cavafy, and why so many artists share this passionate interest in his work. This event is presented by McNally Jackson Bookstores.

In Archive of Desire, Robin Coste Lewis, Julie Mehretu, Vijay Iyer, Jeffrey Zeigler, and Charlotte Brathwaite meditate collaboratively on the sensuality of C. P. Cavafy, diaspora, and the liminal spaces present everywhere in his work. The evening draws inspiration from Cavafy’s archive, processing the sonic, visual, and cultural tones found in his poetry through recitation, live music, electronics, and new visual work.