FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Snyder
ssnyder3@umd.edu
(301) 405-8151
September 27, 2012 – College Park, MD – Contemporary string quartet ETHEL with special guest Todd Rundgren will perform Tell Me Something Good on October 28 at 7 p.m. in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Kay Theatre. After their initial collaboration on a 2005 tour of Europe, these boundary-busting artists — at ease in both the post-classical and rock genres — reunite in a ’70s-inspired program that showcases the breadth of their collective musical vision.
A Special Collaboration
Tell Me Something Good draws material and inspiration from the sounds and scenes of the 1970s, the decade that birthed the best-known iteration of the inimitable Todd Rundgren. The collaboration between ETHEL and Rundgren will surprise fans with groundbreaking compositions and nontraditional improvisation in a program that will include Lou Harrison’s Quartet Set, Kimo Williams’s Quiet Shadows, arrangements of music by Sun Ra and a new work by Judd Greenstein that incorporates the sound of synthesizers.
About ETHEL
Described as “vital and brilliant” by The New Yorker, ETHEL continues to be a pacesetter of post-classical music. Formed in 1998, the New York City-based group comprises Ralph Farris (viola), Dorothy Lawson (cello), Kip Jones (violin) and Tema Watstein (violin). ETHEL performs adventurous music by celebrated contemporary composers such as Julia Wolfe, Phil Kline, David Lang, John King and Mary Ellen Childs.
About Todd Rundren
A songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, conceptualist and, most recently, interactive artist, Rundgren has had a lasting impact on both the form and content of popular music. Since his rise to the top of the pop charts in the early 1970s, he has become a sought-after producer for the likes of Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Meatloaf and Hall and Oats and has composed music for a number of television shows and an off-Broadway production. His latest two studio albums include Todd Rundgren’s Johnson, a collection of classic Robert Johnson songs, and reProduction, cover versions of songs Todd has produced for other artists.
Tickets
More information can be found on our web site. Tickets for this performance are $45/$10 (Students/Youth), and can be purchased online or by calling (301) 405-ARTS (2787).
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The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Learn more about the Clarice Smith Center's donor support.