NOW studios
No Safety Net 3.0 Student Closing Party
featuring Cece June and the Calista Quartet
Join the University Musical Society Student Committee for a night of performances to celebrate UMS’s No Safety Net Festival, featuring two sets of music from Cece June and the Calista Quartet.
The evening will be grounded in the zine Beyond the Safety Net, which was produced for the festival by The A.W.E. Society. Reflect on the festival, enjoy music from student performers, eat food, and hang with others in a playful, bold, enchanting, and vibrant space.
Beyond the Safety Net
Beyond the Safety Net, a zine created by The A.W.E. Society and inspired by No Safety Net 3.0, offers prompts for experiencing the world in new ways. Reflect upon experiences, griefs, and desires, making new realities nested within our lives – even if just for a moment.
Cece June is a Spanish independent singer-songwriter whose music boasts Mediterranean and American influences, inspired by her upbringing in Barcelona and more recent experiences living in Michigan. With a sonic style evocative of The Japanese House or Phoebe Bridgers, Cece explores themes of undiscovered emotions and seeks to offer a space for those feelings to manifest in her audience.
Since their formation, the Calista quartet—comprised of Annamaria Vasmatzidis and May Tang (violins), Harper Randolph (viola), and Adalus Low-Manzini (cello)—has been dedicated to performing works from both the standard quartet repertoire and by underrepresented composers. In their time together, they have had the opportunity to work closely with many esteemed chamber musicians including Amir Eldan, former member of the Oberlin Trio; Matt Albert, former member of Eighth Blackbird; and Kirsten Docter and Mari Sato, former members of the Cavani Quartet.
As a quartet comprised of women of color, Calista has been especially enthusiastic to perform more contemporary works by female composers in hopes of canonizing underrepresented voices in music. In December of 2021, Calista collaborated with tenor Nicholas Phan for a digital recital presented by the University Musical Society, housed on the University of Michigan’s campus. The recital featured pieces exclusively written by female composers, including Caroline Shaw and Rebecca Clarke. In the winter of 2021, Calista had the unique opportunity to record Rhiannon Giddens’ “At the Purchaser’s Option” for the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s Musical Labels Project, which paired various pieces of music with the artwork displayed throughout the museum.
In the summer of 2022, the Calista Quartet attended the University of Michigan’s MPulse Program: Center Stage Strings as well as the Evolution: Quartet Program at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, in Alberta, Canada.
The A.W.E. Society (Area Wilds Exploration Society) is a platform for the experiential and collaborative eco-art projects of Bridget Quinn. A.W.E. Society events invite participants and collaborators to play within the borderlands between the city and nature, between the psyche and the environment. Realms that are not distinct, but instead are completely interwoven. Bridget is an artist, activist, and experimental nature therapy guide descended from European settlers living in so-called Warren, Michigan on Turtle Island. She invites you into circular time and creative acts of eco-communitarian healing through events and the Therapeutic Edgelands Zine Club.