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SWEET POTATO KICKS THE SUN (2017-2019)

An Opera For All Ages
(American Music Theater for Small Ensemble and Special Guest Artist)


credit: Michael Yu
Seth Parker Woods

Critiqued as “a cellist of power and grace” (The Guardian) and possessing “mature artistry and willingness to go to the brink,” Seth Parker Woods has established a reputation as a versatile artist straddling several genres. Outside of solo performances, he has performed with the Ictus Ensemble (Brussels, BE), Ensemble L’Arsenale (IT), zone Experimental (CH) Basel Sinfonietta (CH), New York City Ballet, Ensemble LPR and Orchestra of St. Luke’s (US). A fierce advocate for contemporary arts, he has collaborated and worked with a wide range of artists ranging from the likes of Louis Andriessen, Elliott Carter, Heinz Holliger, G.F. Haas, Helmut Lachenmann, Klaus Lang, and Peter Eotvos to Peter Gabriel, Sting, Lou Reed, Dame Shirley BasseyRachael Yamagata, as well as visual artists  Vanessa Beecroft, Jack Early, Adam Pendleton and  Aldo Tambellini.

Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Huddersfield, his principal teachers were Thomas Demenga, Lucas Fels, Frederik Zlotkin, and Daniel Morganstern. In recent years he has appeared in concert at the Royal Albert Hall— BBC Proms, Snape Maltings Festival, The Ghent Festival, Musée d’art Moderne et Contemporain, Le Poisson Rouge and the Bohemian National Hall, Cafe OTO, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Klang Festival- Durham, INTER/ actions Symposium, ICMC-SMS Conference (Athens, GR), NIME-London, Sound and Body Festival, Instalakcje Festival, Virginia Tech, La Salle College (Singapore), and FINDARS (Malaysia) amongst others. Recent awards include a DCASE Artist grant, Earle Brown/ Morton Feldman Foundation Grant, McGill University- CIRMMT/IDMIL Visiting Researcher Residency, Centre Intermondes Artist Residency, Francis Chagrin Award, Concours [Re]connaissance- Premiere Prix and the Paul Sacher Stiftung Research Scholarship.

His debut solo album, asinglewordisnotenough (Confront Recordings-London) has garnered great acclaim since its release in November 2016, and has been profiled in the Guardian, 5against4, I Care If You Listen, Musical America, and Strings Magazine amongst others. 

sethparkerwoods.bandcamp.com