chatterbird, a Nashville-based chamber ensemble, will present a performance featuring “Insomnia’s My Closest Friend,” a new work by performance poet Tavius Marshall and composer Joshua Dent. The performance will take place December 5 at the Analog at Hutton Hotel. Additionally, chatterbird will host a post-event talkback session featuring clinical psychologist, writer, and professor Dr. Raquel Martin, focused on mental health-related resources and challenges for Black communities.
“Insomnia’s My Closest Friend” is a poetic and musical retrospective on Black / Biracial mental health and presented masculinity. Marshall and Dent have created a show that discusses their own personal perspective on the lack of representation and conversation around the issue.
“The conversation around Black / Biracial mental health is a forgotten side note in our society,” said Marshall. “This show is not only a conversation about my and Josh’s shared experiences, but also hopefully a doorway to anyone who needs access.”
Performed by chamber ensemble and a theatrical thesis of words and thought, the work discusses the struggle of being “othered” in a world already not built for oneself.
“I’m really excited about the collaborative nature of this project; building a piece with friends trying to address such a rarely explored topic within the scope of modern classical music,” said Dent.
chatterbird is a chamber music ensemble that explores alternative instrumentation, stylistic diversity, and interdisciplinary collaboration in order to create thoughtful, intimate, and inventive musical experiences. Formed in 2014, chatterbird performs classical music that skirts traditional boundaries, sliding between classical, jazz, hip-hop, rock, avant-garde, and country, creating a thoughtful and inventive way to discover and experience modern classical music. chatterbird brings cutting-edge chamber music repertoire into spaces where you wouldn’t usually find it, like bars, galleries, breweries, basements, and everywhere in between.
Tavius Marshall has been a poet and storyteller in Nashville for more than 20 years. He is the project lead and creator of the podcast / live show “The Mixer: Legal to Brew since 1967” and the comedy fiction podcast “Spooning in the Apocalypse.” Tavius believes that stories are the essential element that defines us as human beings; he has spent his career dedicated to crafting, forming, and sharing these stories so that we can reinvent our definitions of ourselves.
Joshua Dent began playing cello at the age of 14 in Kissimmee, FL. Two years later, Joshua began learning improvisation and exploring genres outside of the classical umbrella of music. Towards the end of Joshua’s studies at Florida State University, Dent decided it was best to pursue music by learning in the professional world in different ways. Since then, Joshua moved to Nashville, Tennessee where Dent currently resides. Currently Joshua is an artist in residence with abrasiveMedia, an active composer, and an active member of chatterbird.
“Insomnia’s My Closest Friend” is Monday, December 5, 8:00 PM; Analog at Hutton Hotel is at 1808 West End Ave., 2nd Floor, Nashville, TN 37203. Tickets ($20 online or at door) are available and on sale now.
