Darian Donovan Thomas / Jiji
Skyrocketing experimental pop violinist Darian Donovan Thomas (Moses Sumney, Arooj Aftab) and our own virtuoso guitarist / composer Jiji, bring new pieces to LA.
Praised by The Washington Post for her “mesmerizing” and “stirring” performances, JIJI is an adventurous guitarist known for her virtuosity and command of diverse repertoire. Equally at home with both acoustic and electric guitar, her concert programs range from traditional and contemporary classical to free improvisation.
In recent seasons, JIJI has presented solo recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; Lincoln Center; 92nd Street Y; Caramoor; Green Music Center; and the National Art Gallery, among other distinguished venues. A committed champion of new music and contemporary composers, JIJI has premiered three new concertos over the past five years alone, and she continues to expand the classical guitar repertoire by commissioning new works. In 2023, JIJI will release UNBOUND, the culmination of a multiyear commissioning and recording project that aims to expand the classical guitar repertoire and redefine virtuosity.
JIJI joined the Arizona State University’s School of Music, Dance and Theater faculty as Assistant Professor of Guitar in 2018. She is also a visiting artist and adjunct faculty member at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she will begin as Associate Professor of Music in Guitar in August 2023.
Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and interdisciplinary artist Darian Donovan Thomas was born in San Antonio, Texas and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. He is interested in combining genres and mediums into a singular vocabulary that can express ideas about intersectionality (of medium and identity). Necessarily, he is interested in redacting all barriers to entry that have existed at the gates of any genre – this vocabulary of multiplicity will be intersectional, and therefore all-inclusive.
Darian has been commissioned by YOSA (the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio), Bang on a Can’s summer festival Banglewood, percussionists at Bard College Conservatory, Sam Houston State University, among others. His music has been premiered by So Percussion, YOSA, Bang on a Can Banglewood Fellows, SoSI Fellows, and performed in Iceland, Switzerland, Canada, and all around the United States.