The renowned trumpeter and newly appointed UW professor of music joins with composer/drummer Qasim Naqvi in presenting the world premiere of Talk Show, A defiant experiment in music, theatre, and performance. With theatre direction by Chi-Wang Yang and video design by Jeff Larson—newly appointed faculty at the UW School of Drama.
Program
World Premiere: Talk Show – A Defiant Experiment in Music, Theatre, and Performance
Step into a surreal, sonic late-night spectacle with Talk Show—an electrifying world premiere that shatters artistic boundaries. This experimental theatre and music piece blends analogue synthesizers, percussion, and trumpet within the dynamic framework of an '80s talk show, delivering a performance that is innovative, edgy, and darkly funny.
Featuring the "boldly inventive" (New York Times) trumpeter and composer Steph Richards who is new faculty at UW, and award-winning composer and Dawn of Midi drummer Qasim Naqvi, Talk Show is a fearless collision of sound and stagecraft. This visionary performance integrates experimental theatre direction by Chi-Wang Yang and cutting-edge video design by Jeff Larson—also newly appointed faculty at the UW School of Drama. Innovative and irreverent Talk Show redefines the possibilities of live performance.
Biography
Stephanie Richards is a dynamic improvisor known for her innovative approach to the trumpet and interdisciplinary expression as a composer. An “innately adventurous trumpeter”, (Downbeat), she has collaborated with visionaries Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams and John Zorn as well as art pop luminaries Yoko Ono, St. Vincent, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson. Characterized by The New York Times as “boldly inventive…Richards composes in ways that standard notation could never document.” her works span interactions with film, poetry, electronics, choreography and scent and have garnered critical acclaim including Record of the Year by the New York Times and Downbeat. Her seminal record Supersense (2019) featuring all-star improvisers Jason Moran, Stomu Takeishi and Kenny Wolleson includes multimedia artist Sean Raspet creating singular, abstract scents to both inform and converse with the recording.
Her work as an improviser has brought her into contact with progressive voices in jazz and experimental music, including Ravi Coltrane, Roscoe Mitchell, Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid, Nicole Mitchell, Ingrid Laubrock and Jeff Parker while her conducting work, informed by the concept of "Conduction" developed by Butch Morris, has taken her to orchestras around the world, where she continues to push the boundaries of musical expression.
As a founding member of Bang on a Can's Asphalt Orchestra and a collaborator with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Anthony Braxton's Tricentric Orchestra, Henry Threadgill's Kestra, and the Kronos Quartet, Richards’ ensemble work has resulted in hundreds of premiered works by composers including Nico Muhly, Tyondai Braxton and John Luther Adams, interdisciplinary artists Mike Kelley, Laurie Anderson and Yoko Ono, and with choreographers Susan Marshall, Paul Taylor, David Dorfman and the Merce Cunningham company. She joined the faculty of music at the University of San Diego, California in 2014. Richards is a Yamaha artist.