Join us from 2PM - 4PM for our Saturday Sessions, featuring a variety of different musical talents each week. This program is part of our Echoes music series

This is a free event; all are welcome.

olula negre (cello, voice, banjo) and Julian Terrell Otis (voice), co-curators of the AfriClassical Futures series, present an afternoon of improvised music for cello and voice. Combining folk song, electronics, storytelling, and free improvisation, negre and Otis will traverse memory, place and belonging to craft music alive with spontaneity and expression.

A grandchild of twin migrations from Alabama and Puerto Rico, olula negre, is a creative musician (cello/voice/banjo), avant-folklorist, multi-disciplinary artist and curator based between Cleveland and Chicago. With deep reverence for Black music throughout the Americas, olula creates multi-instrumental electroacoustic music blending cello, singing and effects pedals to create music that queers contemporary classical, experimental jazz, and folk traditions. 

Vocalist and curator Julian Terrell Otis is a pioneer in advancing Black culture through groundbreaking improvised, electronic, and movement-based performances—including celebrated roles in George E. Lewis’s Afterword and Julius Eastman's Prelude for the Holy Presence of Joan of Arc. A 2021 Creative Capital Awardee, Otis actively fosters community through initiatives like his Self Care = Resistance! improvised jams and the AfriClassical Futures series at Elastic Arts.

@olula_negre
www.olulanegre.com
@deaconotiscooke

AfroFuturist Weekend 8 - AfriClassical Future's olula negre, Julian Terrell Otis and Adma Zanolini
https://youtu.be/9jVkvRdpsAs?si=35oFOmBE2RlGrl2H 
Additional info:
Olula Negre Stage plot/tech needs: 
"I'll have my cello (w/ contact mic into pedal board), banjo (w/ stand), and folding TV table with small instruments. I'll need a vocal mic, a chair with no arms (preferably not a folding chair), and a mic on my banjo. The mics and electronics can go into the house mixer."