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Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo will join Burmese drumming sensation Kyaw Kyaw Naing for a concert by Bang on a Can All-Stars on April 12 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Carolina Performing Arts will present Bang on a Can – part rock band and part amplified chamber music ensemble – and Naing, a master of the Burmese Drum Circle, at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall as the final performance in its 2007-08 Urban Voices series.

“It’s such a thrill that we can bring artists like these to Memorial Hall,” said Emil Kang, executive director for the arts at UNC. “This is a rare occurrence in the Triangle, and we’re honored to sponsor the concert.”

Naing’s drum circle consists of 21 separately tuned drums that surround the artist and are played at lightening speed. One of Burma’s most distinguished musicians, Naing also is a composer. His collaborations with Bang on a Can are his first work with Western musicians, marking a historic synthesis of one of the oldest musical art forms with one of the newest. His compositions were featured in the 2003 release “Bang on a Can Meets Kyaw Kyaw Naing.”

Carolina Performing Arts commissioned Kotche and Ranaldo to premiere works for this performance, developed specifically to be performed with the avant-garde style of Bang on a Can.

Bang on a Can All-Stars consists of composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe; bassist Robert Black; percussionist David Cossin; pianist Ning Yu; guitarist Bryce Dessner; cellist Felix Fan and clarinetist Evan Ziporyn. Fusing alt-jazz, fringe-rock techno, classical minimalism, Balinese gamelan traditions and the modern chamber tradition, they blur the lines between classical and contemporary music.

“They’re a very spirited, unique group,” Kang said. “Their shows are electrifying.”

Previous Bang on a Can collaborators have included influential musicians/composers Ornette Coleman, Philip Glass, DJ Spooky and Brian Eno.

The evening will close out Carolina Performing Arts’ 2007-08 Urban Voices series, which also included performances by Cynthia Hopkins with Gloria Deluxe and Sufi psych-rocker Haale.

Tickets are $20, are available online at www.carolinaperformingarts.org , by phone at (919) 843-3333, or at the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets for Carolina students are $10. Tickets for remaining performances in the 2007-08 Carolina Performing Arts season also are on sale. For more information, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org .

Carolina Performing Arts contact: Harry Kaplowitz, (919) 843-3119, hkaplowitz@unc.edu

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