Hailed as “sleek, new” and “hyper-fluent” by The New York Times, GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist/composer Pascal Le Boeuf continues to blaze a trail of forward-thinking creativity with his latest project Ritual Being. In realizing bold, hybrid forms of new music and jazz, Le Boeuf surrounds himself with like-minded players of the highest order, including violinist Sara Caswell, cellist Nick Photinos, and drummer Christian Euman to build a program of extraordinary rhythmic urgency, contrapuntal density and breathtaking imagination. 

Ritual Being draws its distinctive sound from the artistic voices of its members. Violinist and GRAMMY® Nominee Sara Caswell is celebrated for her lyricism and technical facility, praised by the late violin maestro Franco Gulli as possessing “a remarkable understanding of different musical styles and an uncommon power of communication.” Four-time GRAMMY® Award-winning cellist Nick Photinos is among the innovative and multifaceted cellists whose “virtuoso cello playing is scintillating” (Chicago Classical Review). He is an ardent advocate of new music as evidenced by 24 years as the founding cellist and co-Artistic Director of Eighth Blackbird, and by his long list of collaborators which include Björk, Philip Glass, and Sheila Jordan among others. Pascal Le Boeuf is a GRAMMY® Award-winning composer/pianist and Guggenheim Fellow. He is widely recognized for his polyrhythmic approach to chamber music and hybridization of disparate idioms. Christian Euman, one of Revive Magazine's "six drummers you should know about," brings a powerful sense of presence and sensitivity to the group. He has toured with Jacob Collier, Kurt Elling, Billy Childs, Walter Smith III, and Herbie Hancock, among others. 

Their latest release, Ritual Being, is about the effects of mankind’s behaviors on the planet and each other and has been described as “an album of spine-tingling chamber pieces” (All Music), “gorgeous” (Mercury News), and “experimental” (Downbeat Magazine). Le Boeuf explains, “I’ve always been interested in patterns of human behavior, especially their impact on the environment and society. Some are beautiful, some are not. Some are sustainable, some are destructive. The behavioral tendencies of our species are habits which we’re predisposed to exhibit without conscious effort, but when we intentionally choose our habits and repeat them to serve a goal, they become rituals.”

Together, Ritual Being forms a collaborative ensemble defined by bold experimentation, mutual trust, and a shared commitment to expanding the boundaries of contemporary music.

Concert Repertoire:

• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Wanderlust" (from "Ritual Being")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Obliquely Wrecked" (from "Ritual Being")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Transition Behavior" (from "Ritual Being")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Calgary Clouds"
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Alpha"
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Variations on a Mood"
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Dedications" (from "Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Ambassadors" (from "Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Walk Downs" 4' (from "HUSH")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Soot" 4' (from "HUSH")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Wedding Planning" 7' (from "HUSH")
• Pascal Le Boeuf – "Monk Circles" 4' (from "HUSH")
• Dave Brubeck arr. Le Boeuf – "Blue Rondo A La Turk"
• Leonard Bernstein arr. Le Boeuf – "Somewhere"
• Meredith Monk arr. Le Boeuf – "Passage"
• Geri Allen arr. Le Boeuf – “RTG” (full septet)
• Radiohead arr. Le Boeuf – Medley: "Knives Out," "Paranoid Android," "Exit Music" 12' (additional selections upon request)
• Various Jazz Standards arr. Le Boeuf (upon request)