GatherNYC presents Blackbird IV, a subset of the renowned sextet Eighth Blackbird made up of two founding members of the ensemble – pianist Lisa Kaplan and percussionist Matthew Duvall, in its Sunday morning concert series at the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle. Kaplan and Duvall will perform music by David Lang, Chris Corrine, Andy Akiho and more. Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music by New York’s most celebrated artists, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.

Born in Motown, Lisa Kaplan is a pianist specializing in the performance of new work by living composers. Kaplan is the founding pianist and Executive Director of the four-time Grammy Award-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird. She has won numerous awards, performed all over the country and has premiered new pieces by hundreds of composers, including Andy Akiho, Jennifer Higdon, Amy Beth Kirsten, David Lang, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, George Perle, and Pamela Z. She has had the great pleasure to collaborate and make music with an eclectic array of incredibly talented people – Laurie Anderson, Jeremy Denk, Bryce Dessner, Philip Glass, Bon Iver, J. Ivy, Glenn Kotche, Shara Nova, Will Oldham, Natalie Portman, Gustavo Santaolalla, Robert Spano, Tarrey Torae, Dawn Upshaw and Michael Ward-Bergeman to name a few.

Matthew Duvall is a co-Artistic Director, founding member, and the percussionist of Eighth Blackbird, currently in its 20th season. Eighth Blackbird champions a performing aesthetic redefining the chamber music experience. Notable accomplishments include four Grammy awards, a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, competition wins with the Concert Artist Guild and the Naumburg Foundation, a catalog of studio recordings with Cedille records, and ensemble-in-residence positions with the University of Chicago, the University of Richmond, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Composers commissioned and premiered include Bryce Dessner, Stephen Hartke, Jennifer Higdon, Amy Beth Kirsten, David Lang and Steve Mackey, and more.