WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION & RELATED INFO:

Improviser and composer Jessica Pavone will share an informal talk and workshop, focused on the embodied experience of resonance, intuition and suspended approaches to time in performance as key creative methods. Pavone will speak about her creative work, which spans solo instrumental practice, rock bands, chamber music and works for large ensembles. She will engage us in improvisations that build on the sensation of vibration and concepts of collaboration. All are welcome. The event is free and open to the public. Please bring any instrument (including your voice) that you’d like to activate during the workshop. 

On Thursday, May 22, Pavone will also meet one-on-one with students between 10am-12pm. Please email acimini@ucsd.edu to reserve a 30-minute time slot.

BIOGRAPHY: 

Violist and composer, Jessica Pavone, explores the tactile and sensory experience of music as a vibration-based medium. Inspired by processes centered on intuition and instinct, her music channels these ideas by focusing on how music feels when played and heard, integrating her experiences as an instrumentalist into works that transcend time. Although her primary training was in classical music, Pavone has dedicated her practice to exploring alternative avenues for creative musical expression and “has made a career of redefining the possibilities for her instrument” (Steve Smith, National Sawdust Log). Pavone has premiered new music at prominent NYC venues, including the Noguchi Museum, Abrons Art Center, Roulette Intermedium, the Museum of Art and Design, Pioneer Works, Socrates Sculpture Park, National Sawdust, and the Kitchen. Pavone’s albums have been produced by Tzadik, Taiga Records, Thirsty Ear, Out of Your Head Records, Astral Spirits, and Relative Pitch Records. 

Additionally, she has released four collaborative duo recordings with guitarist Mary Halvorson. In 2011, she was featured in NPR’s “The Mix: 100 Composers Under 40.” The New York Times wrote that her music is distinct and beguiling; its core is steely, and its execution clear,” and in Wire Magazine, Julian Cowley noted that Pavone [is] not like other composers, she is uniquely herself, and from that stems the improbable strength of her music.“ From ’05 to ’12, she toured regularly with Anthony Braxton’s Sextet and 12+1tet and appears on his discography from that time.Grants and Commissions: NYSCA (2024), Queens Arts Council (2024, 2022, 2020), NYFA NYC Women’s Fund (2023), MATA Festival (2023), Foundation for Contemporary Arts (Emergency Grant, 2021), New Music USA (2015), Tri-Centric Foundation (2015), Experiments in Opera (2013), and the Jerome Foundation (2011). Residencies and Fellowships: Herb Alpert/Ragdale Prize (2024), Marble House (2024), Kimmel Harding Nelson Center (2024), I-Park Foundation (2024), Hambidge Fellowship (2024), Loghaven (2023), Ragdale (2022), and Ucross (2020).