eighth blackbird at Penn State Behrend February 18, 2010

Grammy-winning contemporary sextet eighth blackbird will perform at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Thursday, February 18.

The concert, part of Music at Noon: The Logan Series, takes place at noon in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building. Admission is free and open to the public.

Described by The New Yorker as “friendly, unpretentious, idealistic, and highly skilled,” eighth blackbird delivers provocative and engaging performances. By combining bracing virtuosity with a fresh and alluring sense of irreverence and panache, the group debunks the myth that contemporary music speaks only to the cerebral few.

“Strange Imaginary Animals,” eighth blackbird’s most recent CD, won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. Absolute Sound wrote of the album: “Like the band itself, all the music is fresh, vibrant, exciting, and slightly addictive. … I don’t know what eighth blackbird has planned for the future, [but] whatever comes next, their track record strongly suggests that it will be great.”

Eighth blackbird, which takes its name from the Wallace Stevens poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” has performed in every major chamber music venue in North America. A summer favorite, the group took the reins as music director of the 2009 Ojai Music Festival, and has appeared several times at Cincinnati’s Music X, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Caramoor International Music Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Tanglewood, New York City’s 20th Annual Bang on a Can Marathon, and at Bravo! in Vail.

The Logan Series is celebrating its 20th season of unique musical outreach. The series receives major support from the Kay Logan Trust and additional funding from the Penn State Behrend Student Activity Fee, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts and the Erie Arts Endowment of ArtsErie.

The final spring performance in The Logan Series will be Musica Pacifica on Tuesday, March 23. For additional information about the series or eighth blackbird’s performance, contact Dr. Gary Viebranz, series director, at 814-898-6289.

Official Website: http://www.behrend.psu.edu