MacPhail Presents: 8 Feet from the Stars
8 Feet from the Stars: A Celebration of Songwriting
A Spotlight Series performance by MacPhail faculty member Jacqueline Ultan and the Laurels String Quartet, featuring collaborations with some of the Twin Cities’ most celebrated songwriters.
Join MacPhail faculty member Jacqueline Ultan and the Laurels String Quartet for a luminous evening of collaboration and creativity. This full-length concert features original songs by Twin Cities luminaries Barbara Cohen*, Terrell Woods (Carnage the Executioner)*, Jeremy Messersmith, Chan Poling, Dylan Hicks, Aby Wolf, John Munson, and Adam Levy, each arranged in partnership with the quartet.
Blending classical strings with the soul of contemporary songwriting, the Laurels create soundscapes that are both expansive and intimate—an immersive musical experience that celebrates the power of collaboration and the vibrant artistry of our local music community.
*MacPhail Faculty
About the Performers:
Jaqueline Ultan
Jacqueline Ultan is a singularly creative cellist, composer & improvisor who’s unique versatility is reflected in her many current artistic collaborations that include: Duo CORDA (world); Chris Lynch’s Dust Of Suns Ensemble; Pop/folk bands Barbara Cohen and Little Lizard and The Starfolk; Beatles Tribute band The Shabby Road Orchestra; The Laurels String Quartet; Marc Anderson’s Not Always So; free improv ensembles, Vertighost and Hover. Jacqueline has recorded and collaborated extensively with theater, dance, pop, rock and new music artists including: Dan Wilson, Semisonic, Chastity Brown, Ondara, Soul Assylum, Prof, Annie Humphrey, Kill The Vultures, Roma di Luna, The Jayhawks, among others. Jacqueline is honored to have received a McKnight Performing Artist Fellowship; MacPhail Artist & Commissioning Grants; MRAC’s Next Step Grant and a State Arts Board Arts Tour MN grant. As a composer, Ultan co-wrote music and performed in TED Talks! conferences in Minneapolis and L.A. and co-wrote an original duo cello score for a production at Theater Latte Da. Jacqueline is also honored to have been a six-time artist in residence at Tofte Lake Center in Ely, MN. Jacqueline is a dedicated teacher on the faculty at the MacPhail Center for Music and holds a Masters Degree in Performance from Yale University.
Laurels String Quartet
After a chance meeting over a decade ago, The Laurels String Quartet quickly became a staple of the Minneapolis music scene. Their enveloping blend and collective instinct for tuning into the emotional frequency of a song has amassed the group collaborators near and far. Artists such as Belle & Sebastian, Father John Misty, Lucius, Jeremy Messersmith, Macklemore, Dan Wilson, Jason Mraz, Rogue Valley, Motion City Soundtrack, The New Standards, Ondara, and Semisonic have sought their company on stage and in the studio. Having an ease for adapting to different musical and interpersonal contexts, LSQ sets the tone for creative trust.
The quartet features Josh Misner and Devan Moran, violins; Erica Burton, viola; and Jacqueline Ultan, cello. Individually, the quartet members have a broad and diverse resume of work as collaborators, recording artists, composers, improvisors and educators. The quartet has appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman”, PBS, The Current, NPR, and has performed on stages across the country from the celebrated outdoor festival “Rock The Garden” at The Walker Art Center, to the Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn NY, to the legendary First Avenue in Minneapolis and everywhere in between.