Gorgeous old-world cabaret collides with modernity in Brooklyn’s one-of-a-kind punk chamber ensemble. Wringing elements of Eastern European folksong, post-war classical, and experimental rock into an otherworldly soundscape, Barbez shifts elegantly between haunting, meditative moments and explosive outbreaks. The group will be presenting several new pieces from a forthcoming recording inspired by ancient Roman-Jewish melodies as well as new music for a forthcoming album concerning the wars in the Middle East since 9/11. With Dan Kaufman, guitar; Pamelia Kurstin, theremin; Danny Tunick, vibes, marimba; Peter Hess, clarinet, percussion; Catherine McRae, violin; Andrew Jones, bass; John Bollinger, drums.

Listen: Aspen Tree
Listen: The Portrait

Now based in Vienna, Austria this extraordinary thereminist returns to her former hometown for a duo performance with the Bessie Award winning composer/keyboardist Pete Drungle. Using live loops Pamelia Kurstin weaves together everything from pre-Baroque sounding melodic phrases to abstract, distorted blocks of noise into a coherent whole that manages both beauty and dissonance. On an instrument too often associated only horror and science fiction soundtracks, Pamelia creates stirring emotional lyricism.