Davóne Tines posing in front of a white wall wearing a suit.

Mix at Six

Davóne Tines + The Truth feat. D-Composed: ROBESOИ

Davóne Tines, D-Composed

Performances

Oct 1

Performance Run Time: Approximately 60 - 75 minutes, no intermission.

In ROBESOИ, Davóne Tines reimagines Paul Robeson’s musical repertoire as the soundtrack to a fever dream in a Moscow hotel room. In order to take on this expansive psychological and aesthetic space, Tines created a band called The Truth alongside bassist and sound artist Khari Lucas and pianist John Bitoy. The score is comprised exclusively of songs Robeson sang — across gospel, classical, Broadway, and folk music — but in new arrangements and interpretations that shape-shift and time-travel through styles and genres to fully explore the material’s connection to Tines’ own work and our time. The piece is conceived and staged by Zack Winokur and will be released as an album by Nonesuch Records.

Tines is joined by D-Composed, a Chicago-based creative incubator which acts as a bridge between the past and present to the future of representation, music-centered experiences, and the communal power of Black composers and their impact. Merging the worlds of contemporary music and classical, the ensemble also has collaborated with Jamila Woods during her appearance on The Late Show with Stepen Colbert and with hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper.

“Tines’s voice is distinctive: cavernous, rich in overtones, arresting in its power at the bottom and in its sweetness in his brief falsetto passages, especially in a few gospel-flavoured moments towards the end, as if Boris Christoff suddenly morphed into Smokey Robinson.” — The Guardian

“D-Composed gave a stellar performance, leaning into a diverse set of fluid, disjointed, reserved, and brash musical styles … fashioning a new vision for the future of representation in classical music.” — I Care If You Listen

Davóne Tines
Heralded as a “singer of immense power and fervor” and “[one] of the most powerful voices of our time” by the Los Angeles Times, the acclaimed bass-baritone Davóne Tines has “advanced the field of classical music” (The New York Times). Called a “next-generation leader” by Time, Tines is a groundbreaking artist at the intersection of many histories, cultures, and aesthetics. His work blends opera, spiritual, gospel, and anthems as a means to tell a deeply personal story of perseverance and connection.

D-Composed members pose together with their instruments in front of a brown solid backdrop and plants.

D-Composed
D-Composed, a Black chamber music collective, exists to remind us that Black culture and creativity is a part of every musical institution’s foundation.

Led by their mission to uplift and empower society through the music of Black composers, this Chicago-based creative incubator acts as a bridge between the past and present to the future of representation, music-centered experiences, and the communal power of Black composers and their impact. Unapologetic Blackness is at the core of D-Composed’s experience, surrounded by a desire to protect, nurture, and have an impact on the communities around them.

As a Black ensemble that focuses exclusively on the works of Black composers, D-Composed partners with institutions that have a proven commitment to communities of color. The collective has collaborated with Apple, Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The Kennedy Center, Kaufman Music Center, and TEDx. Merging the worlds of contemporary music and classical, the ensemble also has collaborated with Jamila Woods during her appearance on The Late Show with Stepen Colbert and with hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper.