Overview
New Sounds presents the New York City premiere of cellist Seth Parker Woods’ brand new arrangement of Julius Eastman’s “The Holy Presence” for ten cellos. As he does on the newly released and GRAMMY-nominated album “Eastman: The Holy Presence,” Woods will perform the piece solo, playing live alongside nine recordings of himself. Other compositions to be performed include Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s “Calvary Ostinato,” Monty Adkins’s “Winter Tendrils,” and Nathalie Joachim’s “Dam Mwen Yo” from his GRAMMY-nominated album Difficult Grace. Host John Schaefer will lead a conversation about this work, his upcoming New York Philharmonic debut, and his recent collaborations with composers Natalie Joachim, Tyshawn Sorey, Julia Adolphe, and Carlos Simon.
Seth Parker Woods
Credit: Photo by Ben Gibbs
Two-time GRAMMY®-nominated cellist Seth Parker Woods has established his reputation as a versatile artist
and innovator across multiple genres, prompting the The New York Times to write, “Woods is an artist rooted in
classical music, but whose cello is a vehicle that takes him, and his concertgoers, on wide-ranging journeys.”
Woods has served on the faculty of the Thornton School of Music at The University of Southern California
since 2022 and was appointed Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music in 2024.
Among the highlights of his 2024-2025 season, Woods performs in the world premiere of Nathalie Joachim’s
new cello concerto, Had to Be, at Spoleto Festival USA, later performing its New York premiere in his debut
with the New York Philharmonic. He makes his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in the world premiere of a new
cello concerto by Julia Adolphe. A core member of the music collective Wild Up, Woods is featured as soloist in
the group’s Eastman Vol. 4: The Holy Presence, released June 2024 on New Amsterdam Records, and was
nominated alongside the group for a 2023 GRAMMY® Award.
During the 2023-2024 season, Woods brought his GRAMMY®-nominated, autobiographical tour-de-force
Difficult Grace to San Diego and Philadelphia, following the world premiere at 92NY and performances at
UCLA and Chicago’s Harris Theater. Difficult Grace was released as an album on Cedille Records in 2023 and
nominated for the 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Highlights of last season
include performances with Hilary Hahn at Konzerthaus Dortmund in Germany and touring a new version of
John Adams’ El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered with American Modern Opera Company (AMOC).
In addition to his post at The University of Southern California, Woods serves on the artist faculty of the Music
Academy of the West each summer. He holds degrees from Brooklyn College and Musik Akademie der Stadt
Basel, as well as a PhD from the University of Huddersfield.
John Schaefer
Credit: Photo by Marco Antonio
John Schaefer has hosted Soundcheck since the show’s inception in 2002. He has also hosted and produced WNYC’s radio series New Sounds since 1982 (“The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village” – Billboard) and the New Sounds Live concert series since 1986.
John has written extensively about music, including the book New Sounds: A Listener’s Guide to New Music (Harper & Row, NY, 1987; Virgin Books, London, 1990); The Cambridge Companion to Singing: World Music(Cambridge University Press, U.K., 2000); and the TV program Bravo Profile: Bobby McFerrin (Bravo Television, 2003). He was contributing editor for Spin and Earmagazines, and his liner notes appear on more than 100 recordings, ranging from “The Music of Cambodia” to recordings by Yo-Yo Ma and Terry Riley.