Jessica Pavone String Ensemble

Jessica Pavone has been active in the New York improv scene for years, well-known for her prolific collaborations. But it may be her solo viola music where she has most deeply concentrated her long tone practice, her interests in repetition and song form, and the physicality of playing her “somewhat larger-than-comfortable” instrument.

Pavone expands on these themes from her solo work with the J. Pavone String Ensemble. The group explores what she calls “the tactile experience,” while incorporating research into the effects of sonic vibrations on human physiology and emotion.

Here they present new compositions Hidden Voices, Done and Dusted, …of Late, and others. Joining Pavone in her ensemble are Abby Swidler on violin and viola and Aimée Niemann on violin.

Jessica Pavone (b.1976 Queens, N.Y.) is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. She currently leads her own string ensemble, and plays with the band JOBS, in a duo with guitarist Mary Halvorson, in Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Orchestra, and as a solo violist.

She has interpreted music by Elliott Sharp, William Parker, Glenn Branca, Henry Threadgill, Matana Roberts, Matthew Welch, Aaron Siegel and Tyondai Braxton. From 2005 to 2012, she toured regularly with Anthony Braxton’s Sextet and 12+1tet. She appears on almost a dozen of his recent recordings. As a composer, she has released albums of her own on Tzadik, Taiga Records, Thirsty Ear, Relative Pitch and Skirl Records, as well as four collaborative duo recordings with Mary Halvorson. She began writing for and performing with the J. Pavone String Ensemble in 2017. The ensemble released its debut album Brick and Mortar (Birdwatcher Records) in 2019, followed by Lost and Found (Astral Spirits, 2020) and …of Late (Astral Spirits, 2022).

While her earliest training was primarily in classical music, after graduating from conservatory, she began exploring other avenues for creative musical expression. Pavone has received grants and commissions from The American Music Center, New Music USA, Music at the Anthology (MATA), The Jerome Foundation, The Tri-Centric Foundation and Experiments in Opera, and was a composer in residence at Arts Letters and Numbers, and the UCross Foundation. She has premiered new work in venues such as Roulette Intermedium, Abrons Art Center and The Kitchen.

Presented in partnership with the Renaissance Society; organized in cooperation with the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts