Music for Transitions

Embark upon an “arresting … sparse, beautiful” (NPR Classical) sensory journey through form and identity in this Liquid Music | Northrop Series performance. Composer inti figgis-vizueta presents her 2026 debut record “Music for Transitions” with an evening communing the virtuosity of Grammy Award-winning cellist Andrew Yee; the hypnotic luminosity of Germany-based Rothko String Quartet (RSQ) in their Minnesota debut; and the radiant mastery of organist Aaron David Miller on the historic Northrop pipe organ.

This moving, genre-dissolving program opens with “wayra” (wind), a work originally commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performed by Miller and demonstrating the improvisational flexibility of the Aeolian-Skinner organ. “Music for Transitions,” which will be performed in full at this concert, includes several compositions for Yee and Rothko String Quartet and explores Indigenous heritage and trans identity through organic, ecstatic soundscapes. The  title track, originally written for four cellos, premiered in 2020 multitracked entirely by Yee. Recurring themes of land, wind, rivers and cosmology are framed by constant musical transformation throughout.

Cov ntsiab lus ceeb toom / hnub nyoog pom zoo

Qhov kev ua yeeb yam no raug pom zoo rau cov hnub nyoog 11 xyoos thiab laus dua.

Ntsiab lus

This performance explores a wider range of sounds than we normally hear from bowed instruments, particularly the cello. At some moments, the sound textures are intentionally very gritty. What emotions might they be aiming to express in these moments?

Kev siv tau

Ntau qhov chaw ua haujlwm muaj cov kev pabcuam nkag tau yooj yim xws li lub rooj zaum hauv lub rooj zaum, kev pabcuam kev mloog, kev hnov pob ntseg ntsaws, kev txhais ASL, qhib cov lus piav qhia, lossis cov lus piav qhia, ntawm lwm cov kev xaiv. Cov kev pab no tshwj xeeb rau txhua qhov xwm txheej, thiab tej zaum yuav tsis muaj nyob txhua qhov chaw. Thaum sau npe nrog peb, thov qhia rau peb paub seb qhov kev pab twg koj xav tau thiab peb yuav ua raws li koj!

Kev thauj mus los

Yog tias koj tsis muaj kev caij tsheb, hu rau Project Success thiab peb tuaj yeem muab kev thauj mus los rau koj. Thov qhia rau peb paub yog tias koj xav tau caij tsheb thaum koj ua koj daim ntawv xaj. Peb yuav xav tau tsawg kawg 2 hnub daim ntawv ceeb toom los teeb tsa kev thauj mus los.

zov menyuam

Kev saib xyuas menyuam yaus muaj rau kev ua haujlwm no. Thov qhia rau peb paub yog tias koj xav tau kev saib xyuas menyuam yaus thaum koj ua koj daim ntawv xaj.

Media ntxiv

Here is a sample of the music (in this video, multiple layers of cello are combined by the same artist):

If you are unfamiliar with the cello, here is a quick look at the basics: