Global Village

“I’ve always resisted the idea of the string quartet as an art form that exists for Sunday-afternoon soirees. I feel emboldened and empowered and enabled to make programs of our music that, in their own way, examine things in our society.” So says David Harrington of the musically outspoken Kronos Quartet, an al-ready adventurous ensemble that’s found a way to do just that, in tandem with progressive personality David Barsamian, whose Boulder-based radio program, Alternative Radio, regularly features in-depth interviews with the likes of Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.

The two forces will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 East Iliff Avenue, for a stage version of Barsamian’s show, featuring guest interviewee Diane Wilson, the eco-activist author of An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas, who’s taken on Dow Chemical and Union Carbide, leading hunger strikes and speaking out everywhere from Texas to Bhopal, India. In between blocks of conversation, Kronos will spin aural interludes culled from around the world.

Tickets for this unusual blend of tunes and talk range from $28 to $52; visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 303-357-ARTS.
Sat., Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m., 2008