Jump to content

MCA Live: Teddy Rankin-Parker

About

Teddy Rankin-Parker performs a series of structured improvisations based on a large-scale work for solo cello that he recently commissioned from composer Gene Coleman, titled The Geometry of Thinking. The composition is an exploration of recent neuroscience research that suggests geometrically based models for brain function and explores a series of new bowing techniques.

About the Artist

Teddy Rankin-Parker is an American cellist specializing in improvisation and avant-garde music. Based in Oakland, CA, he performs extensively throughout the US and Europe, wearing the hats of composer and performance artist, and appearing in a variety of contexts including chamber orchestras, free improvised settings, performance art, and electro-acoustic music. Rankin-Parker is the touring cellist for bands Primus and Iron & Wine, and has performed, toured, and recorded with dozens of artists, including Glen Hansard, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Eighth Blackbird, Ensemble N_JP, and Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble. For his current solo project, Some Other Fields, he commissioned, recorded, and performed new works for unaccompanied cello by Jim O'Rourke (Sonic Youth), Glenn Kotche (Wilco), Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Gene Coleman, and Michael Beharie. Some Other Fields will be released in 2017.