February 27, 2026 - February 28, 2026
von der Heyden Studio Theater
Presented by Duke Arts Presents
“a startlingly visceral, colorful listening experience.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Two people in an art museum argue over the validity of a work that questions the very meaning of meaning. One is accepting if detached, the other is troubled but engaged. Visitors come and go, choosing their journeys, inviting us into surreal scenes of love, loss, alienation, attraction, and wonder.
Theatre of Music (a.k.a. The Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble) has joined forces with composer Steven Bryant to create an immersive, multi-disciplinary work inspired by Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. Challenging accepted notions of reality, Magritte has shown us time and again that the eye may well lie to us… But what of our ears? Should we trust them? The Treachery of Sounds explores the porous and transient nature of reflection.
Music by Steven Bryant
Stories, scenarios, and lyrics by Kevin Noe and Lindsay Kesselman Choreography by Gary Abbott
Directed by Kevin Noe
Performers
Erika Boysen, Flute
Gunnar Hirthe, Clarinet
Nathalie Shaw, Violin
Norbert Lewandowski, Cello
Danny Spiegel, Piano, Actor
Ian Rosenbaum, Percussion
Lindsay Kesselman, Singer, Actor
Zan de Spelder, Lighting Designer
Chris McGlumphy, Sound Designer
Jaeden Johnson, Dancer
Troy Gardner, Dancer
Steven Bryant, Composer, Creator, Sound cues
Kevin Noe, Director, Singer, Actor, Creator
The Theatre of Music (formerly Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (PNME)) was founded by Pittsburgh composer, David Stock, in 1976, and since then has commissioned and premiered over 300 works by composers including John Cage, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Michael Daugherty, David Lang, Derek Bermel, Pierre Jalbert, and Kevin Puts. Current Artistic Director, Kevin Noe, assumed that post in 2000 and implemented a new artistic vision that completely transformed the company: incorporating the drama, lighting, sound, and stage design of theatre into PNME’s concerts. PNME’s Pittsburgh audience has grown by over 600% since 2002, and the wildly successful experiment continues as a fully realized performance style dubbed the PNME “Theatre of Music.”
Today’s PNME is a fixed ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, soprano, and bass-baritone) of artists from around the world, chosen through a rigorous audition process, who perform a summer festival season in July at City Theatre in Pittsburgh’s vibrant South Side neighborhood each year.
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von der Heyden Studio Theater
2020 Campus Drive
Durham, NC 27708
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Named for the weeping willow, Salix Piano Trio shapes Mozart, Brahms, Higdon, Bridge, and Shostakovich into a vivid arc where elegance and intensity meet “fiercely intelligent playing” (The Washington Post).
A standout from Sweden’s chamber scene, Camerata Nordica’s conductor-less octet dives into Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich, performing from within the ensemble for a thrilling sense of collaboration and energy.
Three brothers and close collaborator, Veit Hertenstein, bring familial chemistry to Haydn, Ives, and Tchaikovsky, pushing each work to its limits with “extraordinary, frightening brilliance” (Bachtrack).
Two-time GRAMMY winners, Pacifica Quartet pairs Beethoven’s expansive Op. 130 with George Walker and Gabriela Lena Frank, placing bold contemporary voices alongside one of the repertoire’s most searching masterworks.
Inspired by M.C. Escher’s interplay of forms, the Escher Quartet joins pianist David Fung for Mozart, Schumann, and Korngold, music rich in dialogue, shifting between intimacy and concerto-like drama.
A self-conducted ensemble redefining classical performance, Sphinx Virtuosi blends Stravinsky, Ravel, and Roberto Sierra with new works in a program shaped by the sounds and stories of America.
Hailing from France, Quatuor Van Kuijk are BBC New Generation Artists and winners of the Wigmore Hall Competition. Their Duke Arts debut features Mozart’s “Dissonance” alongside Bartók and Brahms.
When Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, joins pianist and composer Conrad Tao, expect a program of striking range where lyricism and virtuosity meet contemporary sensibility.
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