Julian Otis
Sharon Udoh
The first AfriClassical Futures Series of 2023 has arrived and will feature two incredible Chicago musicians and composers, Julian Otis and Sharon Udoh! There will be solo music, collaborations, and discussion. Through the AfriClassical Futures Series, Elastic Arts seeks to foreground the under-recognized achievements and challenges of African American composers and performers working in classical music. Keep an eye out for events each quarter in 2023!
Artist Bios
Julian Terrell Otis is a genre spanning vocalist and performance artist engaged in creative, jazz, pop, and contemporary classical musical styles. He is currently devising a series of evening length performances featuring works by living composers of color, improvisation, electronics and movement. Last summer he revived Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King at the inaugural Bang on a Can All Star’s Loud Weekend! All the Pretty Flowers is his first recording project of improvised music and poetry created at the Banff International Jazz and Creative Music Workshop led by Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey. Julian originated the male soloist role in George E. Lewis’ chamber opera, Afterword has worked with Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, Fay Victor, Lisa E. Harris, Angel Bat David, Imani Winds, and Renee Baker.Committed to community empowerment he leads an improvised jam for South Side Chicago communities called Self Care = Resistance!
Sharon Udoh(she/they) is a gay, first-generation Nigerian-American composer, pianist, arranger, bandleader, and vocalist. They often take the stage under the name Counterfeit Madison; her performances have been described as a warm bowl of soup, a tornado, a jalapeño pepper, a Jackson Pollock painting, a bulldozer, dangerous yet kind, and magnetic. They're new to Chicago and the Elastic family, and for this show, she'll present some of her originals with perhaps a nod or two to her chosen ancestor, fellow Black classical pianist Nina Simone. Find out more at counterfeitmadison.com.
$15 - Tickets Available at the Door