Vijay Iyer + Wadada Leo Smith: Prism 1965

Acclaimed musicians Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith will perform together in a unique performance on April 12 at 7:30pm, held at the University of Hartford.  The performance, ‘Vijay Iyer + Wadada Leo Smith: Prism 1965’ will also feature a visual backdrop by the Hartford Art School artist-in-residence Chiraag Bhakta.

Prism 1965 is a new work of live music and visuals focusing on America in 1965.  This pivotal year was marked by the assassination of Malcolm X the marches in Selma led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the US invasion of Vietnam and subsequent protests the Watts Uprising and the passage of two key pieces of legislation- the Voting Rights Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Composer-performers Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) and Vijay Iyer (piano, Fender Rhodes, electronics) together with Whitney Artist-in-Residence Chiraag Bhakta (HAS ’99) (visuals) will offer a sonic and visual meditation on the relevance of those past events to our present moment creating possibilities for meaning that language cannot touch.

This program was made possible by a grant from the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The HAS Whitney Artist in Residency is made possible through funds held by Hartford Art School Endowment, Inc.(HASE, Inc.).  Tickets are $25, and reservations can be made through the University of Hartford’s Box Office, found on www.hartford.edu .