An extended musical composition for Large Ensemble, inspired by California’s rich and complex history.
An extended musical composition for Large Ensemble, inspired by California’s rich and complex history.
An extended musical composition for Large Ensemble, inspired by California’s rich and complex history.
An extended musical composition for Large Ensemble, inspired by California’s rich and complex history.
An extended musical composition for Large Ensemble, inspired by California’s rich and complex history.
An extended musical composition for Large Ensemble, inspired by California’s rich and complex history.
MIT presents the Boston-area premiere of Golden City by Grammy Award-winning alto saxophonist/composer and MIT faculty member Miguel Zenón. This sweeping extended composition for large ensemble traces San Francisco's demographic and political evolution from pre-colonial times to today's tech-dominated era. The piece showcases Zenón's masterful saxophone work alongside a formidable trombone-centric horn section, guitar, piano, bass, and percussion.
Commissioned by SFJAZZ and the Hewlett Foundation, Golden City has been acclaimed by All About Jazz reviewer Dan McClenaghan as "a triumph... Miguel Zenón at his creative peak. A riveting listening experience." The ever-curious Zenón immersed himself in California's history, from its indigenous communities through its Mexican period, the Gold Rush, and waves of Asian migration. "I talked to about fifty individuals and came out the other side with a lot more information to feed the creative process," he says.
Though not strictly programmatic, Golden City is deeply informed by the places and people Zenón encountered. From the opening lines of "Sacred Land" to the closing passages of "The Power of Community" and "Golden," the music takes listeners on a profound journey. Writing in Stereophile Magazine about the 2024 Grammy-nominated album, Tom Conrad notes, "Golden City defies easy categorization. If it is an 'ethnic' record, its ethnicity is the human race."
Miguel Zenón, Grammy Award winner, Doris Duke Artist, and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, is among a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced innovation with tradition. Widely considered one of his generation's most groundbreaking saxophonists, Zenón has developed a distinctive voice as both composer and conceptualist, creating a refined fusion of jazz and diverse influences. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he has released seventeen recordings as a leader. He has collaborated with luminaries including the SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Pérez, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Joey Calderazzo, Steve Coleman, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry González & The Fort Apache Band, the Mingus Big Band, and Bobby Hutcherson. A dedicated educator, Zenón has lectured worldwide and serves on the faculty of MIT's Music & Theater Arts Department and as Visiting Scholar in Berklee College of Music's Harmony and Jazz Composition Department.
Matt Mitchell is a pianist, composer, and electronic musician exploring the convergence of acoustic, electric, composed, and improvised new music. He has released acclaimed albums on Pi Recordings, Screwgun Records, and Out of Your Head Records, and co-runs Obliquity Records with Kate Gentile.
Miles Okazaki, New York City-based guitarist and composer, has performed across the musical spectrum for two decades. He has released nine albums of original work and earned widespread acclaim for his 2018 six-album recording of Thelonious Monk's complete compositions for solo guitar.
Christopher Tordini, an in-demand bassist in jazz and experimental music, tours and records internationally. He has performed with today's prominent bandleaders and has led ensembles performing his original music throughout New York City for the past decade.
Dan Weiss, three-time Shifting Foundation grantee and named one of the top five jazz drummers by The New York Times, has pushed musical boundaries for decades through innovative drumming and forward-thinking compositions. He has released twelve albums as a leader and collaborated with jazz luminaries.
Samuel Torres, Latin Grammy Award-winning percussionist and composer from Bogotá, Colombia, now based in Brooklyn, combines Afro-Latin rhythms with Latin jazz and contemporary classical music.
Diego Urcola, three-time Grammy nominee born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a renowned trumpeter and valve trombonist. He performs regularly with leading jazz artists and has released six albums as a leader.
Alan Ferber, multiple Grammy-nominated trombonist-composer-arranger, has been called "one of the jazz world's premier composers and arrangers for larger groups" by All About Jazz NY. He has released nine albums as a bandleader and serves as Associate Director of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop while teaching at New York University and Montclair State University.
Jacob Garchik, multi-instrumentalist and composer born in San Francisco, has lived in New York since 1994. Versatile across musical styles and roles, he has worked with numerous jazz and avant-garde luminaries and released six albums as a leader.
The MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) is a joint initiative of the Office of the Provost, the School of Architecture + Planning, and the School of the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences connecting the worlds of art, science, and technology by collaborating with departments, labs, and centers across the Institute.
MIT Music & Theater Arts invites its students to explore artistic disciplines as cultural, intellectual, and personal avenues of inquiry, discovery, and innovation.
Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building
W18-1102
21 Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA
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Golden City is supported by a grant from the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology and is co-presented with MIT Music and Theater Arts.
