CANCELLED Roots/Crossings

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances this event is CANCELLED

ROOTS/CROSSINGS

Three internationally-touring musicians unite to create a cross-cultural collaboration based on the music of their Lithuanian and Scottish roots through a contemporary lens using improvisation, electronics, and diverse instruments. Together Abraham Brody (voice, violin, piano, electronics), Emma Smith (Bass), and Atzi Muramatsu (Cello), bring their new collaboration 'Roots/Crossings' to the CCA in Glasgow as well as the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

Abraham Brody is a Lithuanian-American composer, singer, and instrumentalist. Drawing inspiration from rituals, roots and folklore, he combines composition, improvisation and multimedia, pushing the boundaries between artist and audience, and challenging the traditional notions of a performer in the twenty-first century.

Praised as one of WNYC New York Radio's 'Top 10 Artists of 2017,' recent highlights include shows at the Southbank Centre (London), a sold out 800-seat audience at the Great Amber Hall Latvia, Public Theatre (New York), Vortex JazzClub (London), Fondation Beyeler (Basel), Sziget Festival (Budapest), Lunga Arts Festival (Seydisfjordur), RichMix Cultural Foundation (London), Meyerhold Center (Moscow), Literaturhaus (Copenhagen), Prague Philharmonic Hall, as well as residencies at the Barbican Centre London and Fabrika CCI Moscow. In April 2018 he makes his solo debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He also makes appearances at Reykjavik Arts Festival 2018, Krakow Jewish Music Festival 2018, Rich Mix London, among others.

Brody has collaborated with artists of all backgrounds for example Marina Abramovic, Iva Bittova, and folk musicians from Georgia, Ukraine, and Siberia.

Emma Smith is a professional double bass player and producer. An advocate for gender balance in the arts, she curates the acclaimed Bitches Brew showcase of outstanding female improvising talent. In her capacity as a musician Emma composes and improvises with pianist Annabel Kershaw in the duo ma, which explores extended classical technique, electronic manipulation and jazz harmony, and Emma is currently exploring the use and composition of music in immersive performance. She runs the band Kikazaru, which uses free improvisation as a backdrop for original and found music, and whose performances have been compared to the late night jazz scene of 1960s New York. Classically trained at RCM, Emma is an active freelancer comfortable in many musical environments and has toured the UK and Europe extensively. Since 2003 Emma has been part of the Gorillaz, appearing on their Demon Days album and performing on the 2010 Plastic Beach World Tour, which included performances in Beirut and Damascus.

Since 2014 she has been involved with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's Connect programme on their SCO Vibe project, working with hard-to-reach teenagers in a massed band setting. Emma is involved with the Welcoming, an organisation which provides support for migrants and refugees across Edinburgh, and with Saheliya, a specialist mental health support organisation for BME women and girls in Scotland.

Atzi Muramatsu is a Japanese composer and cellist living in Edinburgh. He studied contemporary composition with Professor Nigel Osborne at the University of Edinburgh, and attained MMus Composition in 2012. His works encompass music for concerts, contemporary dance, poetry, painting, and films. His music features in three BAFTA winning films, one of which won BAFTA Scotland Best Composer New Talent Award in 2016. He is a member of Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and leads contemporary string quartet Lipsync for a Lullaby.

His field of work extends to sound design, audio recording/post-production and community music with acute knowledge of the industry having worked as Events Manager at Tentracks Music Subscription Ltd., supporting widening access initiatives as Transitions 20/40 Administrator at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and coordinating innovative education programmes as SCO Connect Officer at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.