Bang on a Can

"I've rarely witnessed such a seamless melding of art and music." - New York Magazine Bang on a Can and MASS MoCA present the annual LOUD Weekend, a fully loaded, three-day, eclectic super-mix of creative, experimental, and unusual music. Featuring the Kronos Quartet-celebrating 50 years of virtuosic strings-Love in Exile (Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily), Ensemble Klang, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Paola Prestini's House of Zodiac performed by Jeffrey Zeigler with films by Murat Eyuboglu, Tarta Relena, and more to come. The three-day extravaganza includes (with much more to be announced!): KRONOS Five Decades - the singular legendary Kronos Quartet perform TWO concerts celebrating their 50th anniversary season. Love in Exile - a brand new collaborative album and tour featuring experimental super trio Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily kicks off LOUD Weekend. David Lang addresses our eternal fascination with death, love, family and suicide in the concert premiere of his newest chamber opera, note to a friend, based on three haunting texts by iconic Japanese novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Featuring Theo Bleckmann, vocals. The electric Bang on a Can All-Stars team up and face-off with the Netherland's Ensemble Klang for the US premiere of Pete Harden's heavy hocketing hoedown Forgiveness and Forgetting. Time and distance collapse in the music of the Catalan folk duo Tarta Relena. With little more than their two voices, Helena Ros and Marta Torrella connect the far corners of the Mediterranean, drawing on traditions stretching back more than a thousand years. Composer Paola Prestini and cellist Jeffrey Zeigler pair up for Houses of Zodiac: Poems for Cello, an installation-concert drawing inspiration from the writings of Anaïs Nin, Pablo Neruda, Brenda Shaughnessy, and Natasha Trethewey to explore the intersection of mind, body, and nature. All-time powerhouse composer Joan Tower returns to LOUD Weekend with her brand new piece Into the Night. Composer Oscar Bettison's mega-work O Death, mixes saxophones, trombone, banjo and piano with jaw's harps, harmonicas, recorders, melodica, flower pots and prepared wrenches, performed by Ensemble Klang, all the way from Holland! The return of composer Jeffrey Brooks to LOUD Weekend - with the world premiere of his latest work in the Stein-o-caster series for an ingeniously amplified piano played with paint brushes. Special guest composers Andy Akiho, Nicole Lizee, David Sanford, Joan Tower, and more. WORLD PREMIERES by the 2023 summer festival composition fellows. Music by Bang on a Can co-founders Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe. Performances by Gregg August, Robert Black, Vicky Chow, David Cossin, Arlen Hlusko, Nick Photinos, Todd Reynolds, Mark Stewart, Maya Stone, Ken Thomson, plus Bang on a Can Festival Fellows. Learn more about Bang on a Can here. Make a Plan All seating is general admission. All festival passes include museum admission. Preferred tickets include reserved seating for Hunter Center main stage events, a Bang on a Can shirt, a signed poster, and an invitation to Breakfast with the Founders & Artists on Saturday morning. At this time, masks are required for everyone during inside performances. All events at MASS MoCA are accessible to all audiences. Please contact boxoffice@massmoca.org boxoffice@massmoca.org if you would like to inquire about accessibility needs and services. By purchasing a ticket to join MASS MoCA's visitors, staff, and artists on the museum campus, you agree to follow a Courtesy Code, detailed here . Our full COVID FAQ is here. All sales are final; no refunds or exchanges. Planning on lunch or dinner before the show? Check out restaurants in downtown North Adams or find a nosh right here on campus: Bright Ideas Brewing or Lickety Split Cafe. Lickety Split Cafe, our museum cafe, will also serve small bites during the show. LOUD Weekend is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The