On Sunday, March 1, join us for a performance by Teiku, which reframes unique and rare Eastern European Passover melodies in a Creative Music context. The expansive possibilities of instant composition, the ritualistic origins of the melodies, and the inspiration of pioneers like Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman all contribute to the immersive world of Teiku. This show will feature Bridgeporter and pianist Josh Harlow (microplastique, Vincent Davis), Detroit drummer Jonathan Barahal (saajtak, Angelica Sanchez) and bass clarinetist Jason Stein (Natural Information Society, Hearts and Minds).

To learn more about Teiku, and listen to selections from their first album, click here.

Diamond’s new work, Unsettling, features strings, winds, and electronics. Diamond's new work offers sound and comment on Israel from the perspective of an American Jew. He takes inspiration from contemporary Israeli writers who seek to hold Israel to account for its immense transgressions without devaluing its enormous accomplishments. In this work and in Diamond's relationship to the state of Israel, the American Jews and non-Jews of his community, and to the Jewish members of his family, one tactic has continuously proved most helpful in maintaining a sustainable position: holding contradiction. This work was commissioned by Missing Piece with the support of a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

Song Writer's circle is an opportunity for those who identify as songwriters as well as those who have never tried songwriting but would like to learn more.  Our music therapist facilitates music and writing exercises designed to inspire you and give you songwriting tools, and the floor is opened up to participants interested in workshopping their song ideas with others.  Join us to start a new creative hobby, bring community and support to your songwriting practice, or to try something new.  Provided by grant funding through DCASE.

Friday 3/20 7PM doors- Third Friday Series presents Ben Zucker Quartet “Forest of Signs” 8pm

Ben Zucker, vibraphone and compositions

Zaira Castillo, piano

Billie Howard, violin

Andrew Sudhibhasilp, guitar

"Forest of Signs is a quartet performing new original music by Ben Zucker where complexity, intuition, and exploration meet and flourish. The unusual instrumentation of electric guitar, piano, violin, and vibraphone is matched by the players’ experience across chamber music, jazz, and experimental improvisation. Bill Evans plays Stockhausen? Ryuichi Sakamoto meets Morton Feldman? The pieces are never the same twice, but are always full of intriguing, enticing combinations of dissonance, groove, and space. 7:15-7:45 Community Music 8PM performance.  $15 Suggested Donation

Sunday 3/22 7PM- Banana Acid and Ro Lundberg join flows to present Lundberg's by-passing-upon, a set-length piece fascinated by the ways water moves with and against boundaries humans attempt to erect. Guided by Lundberg's hybrid graphic/notated score, the improvising quintet will join Lundberg in navigating flows, pools, and clouds of musical material, realizing a work existing in the fluid space between pre-composed and improvised music. The performance at Bridgeport Music Collective will invite attendees into the sonic as well as the visual and textual world of the project, with musicians moving through the space to engage tapestry-size scores, while visual projections and a poetic, auto-theoretical narrative weave through the performance. Suggested Donation $15