The Nasher Sculpture Center, an art museum in Dallas, will present an unusual six-night concert series February 22–27. Each concert will feature a duo of creative musicians and will illuminate the Nasher’s collection of sounding sculptures by acclaimed artist Harry Bertoia.
Bertoia (1915-78) created hundreds of pieces that consist of vertical metal rods (of varying size and material) inserted into flat bases. The pieces can be manipulated to produce tonal sounds and vibrations, in effect becoming musical instruments. Bertoia himself recorded 11 albums (each titled Sonambient) that demonstrated the sculptures’ sonic ranges.
Curated by poet and record producer David Breskin, the Nasher’s Sculpting Sound series pairs musicians who share a musical instrument. Each of the six concerts will feature those musicians playing their instrument along with the Bertoia sounding sculptures.
The full schedule is as follows.
Tuesday, 2/22: Nels Cline and Ben Monder (electric guitar night)
Wednesday, 2/23: Ambrose Akinmusire and Nate Wooley (trumpet night)
Thursday, 2/24: Ingrid Laubrock and JD Allen (saxophone night)
Friday, 2/25: Jen Shyu and Brandon Seabrook (acoustic strings night)
Saturday, 2/26: Marcus Gilmore and Dan Weiss (percussion night)
Sunday, 2/27: Kris Davis and Craig Taborn (piano night)
Each concert begins at 7 p.m. and has a ticket price of $30. Visit the Nasher Sculpture Center website for more information.
