Nick Didkovsky & Sirius String Quartet @ Sonic Circuits September 22, 2007

Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music
Saturday, September 22 at The Warehouse
1017 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Metro: Mount Vernon Sq/Convention Center
Show time: 8:00pm
Tickets: $15.00
Nick Didkovsky & Sirius String Quartet (NY)
Ida Lunden (Sweden)
Shelf Life (Omaha)
Murmer (France/USA)
Moljebka Pvlse (Sweden)
Cheapmachines (UK)
Kohoutek Percussion Ensemble (DC)
Caustic Castle (Richmond)

*Nick Didkovsky* is a guitarist, composer, and software programmer. In 1983, he founded the avant-rock septet Doctor Nerve. He presently resides in New York City, where he composes, creates music software, and teaches computer music composition at New York University. He has composed music for Bang On A Can All-Stars, Meridian Arts Ensemble, Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, California EAR Unit, New Century Players, ARTE Quartett, and other ensembles. He is the principle author of the computer music language Java Music Specification Language (www.algomusic.com) and teaches this technology at NYU and Columbia University. He is director of bioinformatics for the Gensat project at The Rockefeller University, and develops software at a neurobiology lab there.

Didkovsky is a member of the *Fred Frith Guitar Quartet*, which to date has released two CD’s, entitled Ayaya Moses and Upbeat (/Ambiances Magnetique/). The band tours extensively, and has performed in festivals and venues all over the world. Didkovsky has contributed twelve compositions to the ensemble.

His new trio Bone with bassist *Hugh Hopper *(ex Soft Machine) and drummer John Roulat (Forever Einstein) released their first record on Cuneiform Records. The new CD is entitled Uses Wrist Grab (Rune 176) and features intricate, high energy compositions and improvisation.

*The Sirius String Quartet* delivers a fascinating synthesis of musical styles, from the raw energy of rock to the precision of classical music. They are all skilled improvisers who capture the imaginations of audiences and critics alike with their kinetic stage presence, affinity for blues and jazz, avant-garde experimentation, and electrified instruments. Allan Kozinn of the New York Times described a Sirius performance as “eloquent” and “committed”, while the Village Voice’s Kyle Gann wrote that the quartet “ground out scrunchy noises and ‘virtuoso freak-outs’ of John Zorn’s quartet with mischievous glee.”

Official Website: http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org