Conceived by performer, composer, and American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*) member Keir GoGwilt, Zarabanda Variations brings together a group of visionary composers, performers, and poets in a surprising and vibrant synthesis of Baroque, folkloric, and contemporary music of the American hemisphere. The members of the ensemble work across genres including traditional Mariachi and Baroque music, improvisation collectives in Mexico City and New York, and contemporary composition, creating new songs and dances inspired by the eclecticism of the zarabanda: a dance with Spanish, pre-Columbian American, and African origin stories. Woven in with the music is the poetry of Edgar Garcia, whose work maps the emergence of the Baroque through scenes of colonial and contemporary translation, emergency, and migration. Zarabanda Variations celebrates its New York debut at Lincoln Center.

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“Zarabanda Variations” – Run AMOC

Lincoln Center

Conceived by AMOC* violinist Keir GoGwilt, Zarabanda Variations brings together a group of visionary composers, improvisers, and performers to draw inspiration from the musical histories of 16th- and 17th-century New Spain/Mexico. The zarabanda is a dance with supposed Spanish, American, and Arab origins, plausibly named from the Bantu “nsala-banda,” which eventually transformed into a courtly dance of the European baroque. Zarabanda Variations explores the archival gaps of early American music, creating a surprising and vibrant synthesis of European and LatinBaroque, folk, and contemporary musical traditions.

John Popham

Events

Past events

Jul 2, 2025

“Zarabanda Variations” – Run AMOC · AMOC / American Modern Opera Company

May 11, 2025

AMOC* presentation at Peabody Essex Museum of “Zarabanda Variations” · AMOC / American Modern Opera Company

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