North Carolina-raised and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Tift Merritt and acclaimed classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein collaborated to create Night, a suite of songs exploring and dedicated to the hours from dusk to dawn. Hosted by Duke Performances, Merritt and Dinnerstein present the world premiere of Night on Friday and Saturday, January 21 and 22, at 8 p.m. in Reynolds Industries Theater.
Though Dinnerstein-a classical pianist-and Merritt-a singer songwriter whose father taught her to play by ear-could not come from more different musical backgrounds, when the two met they immediately realized that their passion for music and performance was kindred, if not the same. Night features a set of new songs written especially for the duo by artists including Brad Mehldau, Patty Griffin, and Philip Lasser. Both artists will perform solo as well-Tift in her own songs, and Simone in some of her favorite selections from the solo classical piano repertoire.
In addition to the concerts, Merritt and Dinnerstein will be in residence at Duke for a variety of artists-in-residency activities; the pair will participate in public conversations, a listening session, and offer master classes in their respective specialties. Merritt and Dinnerstein will also hold their final rehearsals for the world premiere at Duke in the days leading up to the concert. Full and up-to-date information on residency activities is available at www.dukeperformances.org.
Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Tift Merritt is a North Carolina native. Of her latest album, 2010's See You on the Moon (Fantasy), Paste magazine raves, "The singer fully inhabits the characters in her songs, whether assuming the role of her grandfather in ‘Feel Of The World' or wringing out every weary note in the pleading ‘All the Reasons We Don't Have to Fight.'"
Dinnerstein- whose first album since being signed by Sony Classical, Bach: A Strange Beauty, will be released on January 18 -has been called "the pianists' pianist of Generation X" by The New Yorker and praised by TIME for her "arresting freshness and subtlety." The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which she raised the funds to record.