Riveting with his incredible technique and mastery of the instrument,” (JG Thirlwell) violinist Tom Chiu–noted for his broad contributions to contemporary music and sound art–has premiered over 200 works by influential musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Virko Baley, David Chesky, David First, Fast Forward, Leroy Jenkins, Oliver Lake, Wadada Leo Smith, Alvin Lucier, Michael Schumacher, and Henry Threadgill. He has also shared the stage with such musical luminaries as Ornette Coleman, Jessye Norman, and Paul McCartney, among others. As a composer/improviser, Chiu has collaborated with artists working in a variety of disciplines, including choreographers Pam Tanowitz and Eun-Me Ahn, film/video artists Phill Niblock and Ken Jacobs, vocalists Jaap Blonk and Thomas Buckner, balloonist Judy Dunaway, visual artist Matthew Barney, and theater troupe Mabou Mines. Chiu is thrilled to collaborate once again with the OpenEnded Group on Blackletter, after prior projects with OEG commissioned by EMPAC, the Museum of the Moving Image, and the Gardner Museum.
As founder of the FLUX Quartet, Chiu has led an influential new-music ensemble which has become “legendary for its furiously committed, untiring performances.”
