Following up their two GRAMMY®-nominated projects, What Is American: Rhythm Nation celebrates American rhythmic traditions as expressions of bodily autonomy and tacit history keeping. From the African rhythms and fiddle techniques that propel Trevor Weston’s Juba to the iconic grooves of Janet Jackson, the program includes improvisations on the beat breaks of Daniel Bernard Roumain’s Hip-Hop Etudes and original works by PUBLIQuartet, alongside new works by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jlin, Mazz Swift, Eddie Venegas, and Jeff Scott, commissioned with the support of a 2024 Chamber Music America Artistic Projects grant. Each of these new works evokes a distinct rhythmic world, reflecting the plurality of American movement(s) and protecting the unspoken spirit of their lineage’s narratives. PUBLIQuartet’s 2024 CMA Artistic Projects grant is supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

PROGRAM
Jessie Montgomery - “Voodoo Dolls” (2008)
Daniel Bernard Roumain, Selections from Hip Hop Etudes (2006)
Jlin, New work commissioned by PQ (title TBD) (2024)
Jeff Scott, Blues for Buddy (2024)
Mazz Swift, Digging Gold; Deeper Blue (2024)
Eddie Venegas, Cachumbandeando En Clave (2024)
Trevor Weston, Juba (2017)
Vijay Iyer, “Dig The Say” (2012)
Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation, arr. PUBLIQuartet (2024)

Tickets go on sale September 1, 2024