Trickster Orchestra

prelude #2 to Night of Surprise

The Trickster Orchestra unites numerous soloists to a collective of transcultural avant-garde music. Under the direction of Cymin Samawatie and Ketan Bhatti, the orchestra transforms the sounds of traditional European, West, Central and East Asian instruments, as well as younger instruments such as electronics, into a common contemporary musical language.

Tricksters are mythological or folk characters who defy conventional rules through great intellectual talent and secret knowledge. They disrupt the divine universal order. Neither good nor evil, neither clever nor foolish, they are anomalous cultural heroines who bring about revolutionary social change. Shapeshifting, they reveal the ambiguity of life and the importance of imitation and transformation for cultural innovation.

Similarly, Trickster Orchestra's artistic directors, Cymin Samawatie and Ketan Bhatti, work with improvisation, translation, and experimental concepts such as mimesis and montage, not only to bring together diverse traditions, but to chart a path for musicians from diverse backgrounds to discover a common contemporary language with jazz at its heart. The collective, which performs in changing formations, includes about 40 outstanding musicians and singers.