Larson Legacy Concert: Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinutoke on March 25 at 3:00 p.m.

Encounter the unique sonic blend of shape-shifting between stories, vocal melodies, and percussive rhythms in the contemporary musical style of Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinutoke, recipients of the Larson Legacy Grant. Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinutoke will showcase their music on Sunday, March 25 at 3:00 p.m. in the Olmsted Theatre in the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (PAC), 1 South Ave, Garden City, New York.

Team Defoe-Sinutoke write about identity, spirit of place, and inspiration for future generations to come while still honoring their cultural pasts. They also write about voices who they do not hear on the “American stage” including and not limited to: Undocumented, Indigenous peoples, queerness, the earth, spirits, and anyone who identifies as artistic warriors in today’s society.

Biographies
Tidtaya Sinutoke (ฑิตยา สินุธก) is a Thai born, NYC-based composer, writer, and musician. Her works include themes of self-discovery, gender issues, travel, social injustice and companionship. Composition credits include: Clouds Are Pillows for the Moon (Yale Institute for Music Theatre, ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, Kilroy’s Honorable Mention List), Hart Island Requiem (Civilians R&D, EtM Con Edison Composer-in-Residence), Gender Nation, Crossing Borders (CAP21 Residency), Sunrise Prayer (Johnny Mercer Writers Colony), Water is Life (NYMF, dir. by Jonathan McCrory) and Yellow Cycle. She participated in the 2014 Composer-Librettists Studio at New Dramatists, the 2015 Johnny Mercer Songwriter Projects, the 2015 New York Foundations for the Arts (NYFA) IAM Mentoring Program, the 2016 Robert Rauschenberg Residency and the 2016-2017 EtM Con Edison Composer-in-Residence. A proud member of ASCAP, and the Dramatists Guild. MFA: NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. tidtayasinutoke.com

Ty Defoe (Giizhig) from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations is book writer and lyricist. He’s also an interdisciplinary artist. Ty’s global cultural arts and repertoire consist of: the Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt, Ankara International Music Festival, Festival of World Cultures in Dubai and of his favorite visits have been to his own community where he learned to hoop dance and eagle dance, and play a variety of wooden flutes. Awards include: NEA/NEFA, Drum is Thunder, Flute is Wind, First American in the Arts Outstanding Performance, First Americans in the Arts Scholarship, an Indigenous Heritage Festival Award, Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, and 2017 Jonathan Larson Award winner (with his main collaborator Tidtaya Sinutoke). Ty created book and lyrics on Clouds Are Pillows for the Moon (with composer Tidtaya Sinutoke at Yale Institute for Musical Theatre; ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop), Hart Island Requiem (The Civilians R&D Group), Crossing Borders (CAP 21), Red Pine (Native Voices at the Autry; IAIA of Santa Fe), The Way They Lived (Co-collaboration with The Civilians at the Met Museum), Gender Nation, Crossing Borders (CAP21 Residency), Sunrise Prayer (Johnny Mercer Writers Colony), current commission with the New York Musical Theater festival, Water is Life (dir. by Jonathan McCrory), and recently, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, (in collaboration with Ibex Puppetry at La MaMa Theater). He received degrees from CalArts, Goddard College, NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. A Theater Communications Group Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Fellow alumni, artEquity facilitator, and co-founder of Indigenous Direction (with Larissa FastHorse). He guest appeared on Netflix show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as Young Anthony Black Elk. Based in New York City. Member of Dramatist Guild, AEA, ASCAP. tydefoe.com.

The Larson Legacy Concert Series at Adelphi PAC celebrates the next generation of artists at the college home of the creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT Jonathan Larson (’82). Each year, the American Theatre Wing presents emerging creators of musical theatre with The Jonathan Larson Grants. Each year, select recipients of these grants will be showcased at Adelphi PAC in this series to help nurture and support the next generation of creative artists to carry on Jonathan Larson’s legacy. Past recipients of these grants have gone on to create the Broadway musicals Dear Evan Hansen, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Grey Gardens, Next To Normal, Elf, Hands on a Hardbody, A Christmas Story and many more.

The Adelphi PAC is one of Long Island’s premier cultural arts venues for entertainment of all kinds. Tickets are currently on sale for $25 with discounts available to seniors, students and alumni. Information is available online at pac.adelphi.edu or at the Lucia and Steven N. Fischer Box Office at 516.877.4000 or boxoffice@adelphi.edu. Regular box office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 1:00-6:00 p.m. The box office is also open two hours before most scheduled performances.

About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university with a personalized approach to higher learning.

Adelphi University is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university offering exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training with particular strength in its Core Four—Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness. Adelphi is dedicated to transforming students’ lives through small classes, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support student success.

Founded in Brooklyn in 1896, Adelphi is Long Island’s oldest private coeducational university. Today Adelphi serves over 7,900 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York—just 23 miles from New York City’s cultural and internship opportunities—and at dynamic learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, and online.

More than 100,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, caring citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities and the world beyond.

Contact: Blyth Daylong, executive director, 516.877.4208, bdaylong@adelphi.edu
Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (PAC), 1 South Ave, Garden City, New York

This release was published on openPR.