December 17th at 8pm and December 18th at 3pm

Amaryllis & Belladonna are two new, modular, and interlocking projects by Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and MacArthur fellow Mary Halvorson.

Amaryllis is a sextet that filters Halvorson’s compositional explorations of melody, harmony, and counterpoint through the lens of six master improvisers, arranged in a way that allows the music to unfold differently every time.

Belladonna is a set of compositions written specifically for Halvorson on guitar plus The Mivos Quartet. Highlighting Halvorson’s compositional voice in a fresh context, the music is augmented by Halvorson’s guitar throughout, adding elements of chance and improvisation. Halvorson says, “Amaryllis features some of my favorite musicians on the planet. I started writing the music in 2020, when the world slowed and most activities came to a halt, and all I had was my guitar, a pencil, some staff paper, and a computer. The pleasure of imagining what the music might sound like kept me sane during that time and gave me a reason to push forward.