“Earth Tones” is presented in partnership with the Pathways to Resilience QEP, a five-year climate literacy initiative at App State.
Trinidadian trumpeter and composer Etienne Charles has dedicated his recent works to highlighting the voices of marginalized peoples in the Americas. He broadens his scope with his latest composition, Earth Tones, a multimedia jazz performance featuring original compositions that draw attention to people and regions that are, or soon will be, severely affected by climate change. The performance invites us into a sensory journey that includes sounds, stories, and musical idioms from at-risk coastal communities, with images and short films of disappearing mangrove swamps, coral reefs, oyster beds, seagrass, sand dunes, and mud volcanoes. Featuring musicians from the very communities most at risk, the performance balances blunt reality, eternal optimism, and surrealism, ultimately offering an exhortation to address climate change’s impact on our future.
Tickets
Contact theschaefercenter@appstate.edu, call 828-262-4046, visit the box office at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts, or purchase online.
$40 Tier 1
$30 Tier 2
$20 Tier 3
$10 child/student
App State faculty/staff: 10% off all tiers Call the Box Office for special code.
NC sales tax is included in ticket price.
About Etienne Charles
Trinidad-born Etienne Charles is a performer, composer and storyteller, who is constantly searching for untold tales and sounds with which to tell them. His lush trumpet sound, varied compositional textures and pulsating percussive grooves enable him to invoke trance, soothing and exciting listeners while referencing touchy and sometimes controversial subjects in his music. Highlighting marginalized communities and engaging with them has been his mission, evident with projects such as his Guggenheim Fellowship Project, Carnival: The Sound of a People Vol. 1, San Jose Suite, Creole Soul, Gullah Roots, Folklore, and his latest commission, San Juan Hill – A New York Story. His concerts engage, enlighten, educate, and enrich audiences with energized multidisciplinary performance utilizing original composition, thematic improvisation, dance, short films and spoken word to create a holistic experience. A firm believer in music and performance as a tool for provoking thought and dialogue, Charles’s themes speak to the status quo while drawing parallels to history.
As an Afro-descendant, his work is actively connecting the diaspora and drawing lines to the regions at the roots of migrations, evident in his latest release, Creole Orchestra, which spent seven weeks at #1 on the Jazzweek chart this summer. His dedication to music as a tool for social uplift has seen him awarded by France with the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres medal (2024) as well as a Congressional Citation from the United States (2012).Â
As a sideman, he has performed with and/or arranged for Roberta Flack, Chucho Valdes, Marcus Roberts, Marcus Miller, Count Basie Orchestra, Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Big Band, Monty Alexander, Gregory Porter, Terri Lyne Carrington, René Marie, Paulette McWilliams, and many others. He has been commissioned as a composer and arranger by Lincoln Center for the New York Philharmonic (2021), Savannah Music Festival (2017), Chamber Music America (2015 and 2021), the Charleston Jazz Orchestra (2012), and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble (2011).
He currently serves as Professor of Studio Music and Jazz at University of Miami Frost School of Music.
Parking
Parking can be challenging, particularly for sold-out events. Please allow extra time to park and arrive at the theatre before showtime. See map for parking recommendations.
Accommodations
App State is committed to providing an inclusive experience for individuals with disabilities. If accommodations are needed in order to fully participate on the basis of a disability, contact the Office of Disability Resources (828-262-3056). It is recommended that accommodation requests be made two weeks prior to the event.
