The Spirit of the Garden June 9, 2012

Rose & the Nightingale, a powerhouse quartet of female virtuosi, celebrates the sublimity of gardens through poetry and song in a special concert that receives its West Coast debut at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

Rose & the Nightingale is a New York City-based quartet of world-class improvising vocalists and instrumentalists, who create unique genre-defying music that blurs the boundaries of world music, folk, and jazz improvisation. “The Spirit of the Garden” integrates poetry about gardens and nature into the lyrics of a cycle of original songs and improvisations created in collaboration with local San Francisco poets Evan Karp and Silvi Alcivar. The new compositions by Karp and Alcivar, inspired by the Conservatory of Flowers, receive their premiere at the event, the first West Coast stop on a nationwide concert tour to botanical gardens throughout the country.

Rose & the Nightingale’s live performances are noted for their fiery rhythmic energy, sublime harmonies, and lyrical beauty. Members of Rose & the Nightingale have performed internationally at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Barbican in London, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, Chicago Symphony Hall, and at the world's most prestigious jazz festivals including the North Sea, Montreal, Montreux, Newport, San Francisco, and CapeTown South Africa Jazz Festivals, and Tokyo’s Blue Note.

Rose and the Nightingale is Jody Redhage (cello, vocals, compositions); Sara Caswell (violin & mandolin); Laila Biali (piano & vocals); and Leala Cyr (vocals, trumpet and percussion). More information about the quartet and individual members at http://roseandthenightingale.com/.

Official Website: http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/events/specialevents