Special Events

Paola Prestini & Jeffrey Zeigler

Houses of Zodiac

Spirits & Food Tasting @ 7pm

Showtime @ 8pm

Jeffrey Zeigler, cello
Paola Prestini, composer
Film by Murat Eyuboglu
Dance & Choreography by Dai Matsuoka and Georgina Pazcoguin
Poetry & Readings by Anaïs Nin, Maria Popova, Brenda Shaugnessy and Natasha Tretheway.

**PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL ATTENDEES WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS AND SHOW PROOF OF VACCINATION**

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the long version

A very special one-night-only event at National Sawdust, a Williamsburg sawdust factory that was renovated into a cutting-edge spaceship of musical awesomeness, with an emotionally charged program called Houses of Zodiac. Conceived by musical power couple Paola Prestini (one of today's leading composers) and Jeffrey Zeigler (one of today's leading cellists), this project combines spoken word, movement, music, and image to explore the intersection of mind, body, and nature.

The evening will also include film projections and choreography by filmmaker Murat Eyuboglu, Butoh dance master Dai Matsuoka and "Rogue Ballerina" and NYC Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin, as well as poetic interludes by Anaïs Nin, Brenda Shaughnessy, and Natasha Trethewey.

Tickets include a pre-show spirits tasting with snacks, plus discounted tacos at adjoining restaurant Disco Tacos.

The short version

Come join us in this remarkable space, for a spiritual journey through love, loss, trauma and healing with some of NYC's most potent creative forces.

The Music

Poetry Interlude | Brenda Shaughnessy: Eight Takes
Prestini: Eight Takes
Poetry Interlude | Natasha Trethewey: Bellocq’s Ophelia
Prestini: Ophelia
Poetry: Interlude | Anaïs Nin: House of Incest
Prestini: Houses of Zodiac

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The Artists

About Paola Prestini

Composer Paola Prestini is a leader in the global new music scene. She has collaborated with poets, filmmakers, and scientists in large-scale multimedia works that explore themes ranging from the cosmos to the environment. She created the largest communal VR opera with The Hubble Cantata, was part of the New York Philharmonic’s legendary Project 19 initiative, and has written and produced large scale projects like the eco-documentary The Colorado narrated by Mark Rylance (premiered and commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Houston Da Camera Series) and the lauded opera theater work Aging Magician (premiered and commissioned by the Walker Arts Center and the Krannert Center, with performances at ASU, the New Victory Theater and San Diego Opera).  Her compositions have been commissioned and performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Barbican Centre, Cannes Film Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Opera, among others.

About Jeffrey Zeigler (cellist)

Jeffrey Zeigler is one of the most innovative and versatile cellists of our time. He has been described as “fiery”, and a player who performs “with unforced simplicity and beauty of tone” by the New York Times. Acclaimed for his independent streak, Zeigler has commissioned dozens of works, and is admired as a potent collaborator and unique improviser. Zeigler is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize, the Polar Music Prize, the President’s Merit Award from the National Academy of Recorded Arts (Grammy’s), the Chamber Music America National Service Award and The Asia Society's Cultural Achievement Award.