This showcase, sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Liberal Arts Engagement Hub and School of Music, is oriented around the Twin Cities music scene, which is still recovering from the pandemic. It is part of a larger project, “The Sound of Precarity: Musical Labor During and After the Covid-19 Pandemic,” which gives musicians a chance to talk about the effects of the pandemic on their lives and livelihoods and amplify their voices in a supportive environment. It also provides paid opportunities for musicians to perform in front of live and virtual audiences consisting of University of Minnesota students, faculty, staff, and community members. The showcase and backstage interviews will be recorded on December 14, 2022 and made available online in 2023.

Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan is a Hindustani (North Indian classical) classical vocalist, composer, and teacher. An acclaimed vocalist, she has performed at many prestigious venues such as The Ordway Center, The Guthrie, The India Habitat Center and The India International Center. An active composer, she has released several recordings featuring original compositions, and she frequently creates works and performs for many leading music, dance and theater organizations including the Pangea World Theater, Ananya Dance Theater, Indian Music Society of Minnesota and Katha Dance Theater.

Dr. Pavan is a Tabla player and teacher. He has performed for Katha Dance Theater, Pangea World Theater and Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM) in several productions and concerts. Pavan also appears on recordings of world/fusion music with many MN based artists. Pavan co-composed and performed with Nirmala Rajasekar, Minnesota based Veena artist, the score for Pangea World Theater’s production “Partitions” in 2002, and the score for “5 Weeks” in 2017 with Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan, his wife. Pavan has also performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra along with Nirmala Rajasekar.

Taylor Ngiri Seaberg (they/them) is a Kenyan-American, gender non-binary community organizer and multi-instrumentalist based in Chicago, Illinois, originally from South Minneapolis, MN. They play in the Twin Cities, MN alt jazz, hip hop, and punk band, Black Velvet Punks. Ngiri was a lead director on a compilation community album called, “The Art of the Revolution” which included works of resilience from 10 different Black arts organizers and activists. They are currently a Metro Regional Arts Council (MRAC) finalist for the 2021 $5,000 Next Step Fund grant for a live streaming concert incorporating Kiswahili and English for a live production showcase.

The Gated Community is an Americana band for the 99%. Based in the Twin Cities and formed in 2006 in Minneapolis’s storied West Bank neighborhood, The Gated Community is known for beautiful vocal harmonies, multiple lead singers, virtuosic soloists, and gripping, politically driven songs. Their fifth album, The Honor and Glory of The Gated Community, will be released in early 2023. They are led by the South Asian American singer/songwriter Sumanth Gopinath; Gopinath and band members Teresa Gowan and Beth Hartman are faculty members at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and co-PIs of “The Sound of Precarity” project.

Named after lead singer Tim Dooley, Timisarocker was formed as a 4-piece punk band from the Twin Cities in 2014. Over the years, their style and sound has constantly evolved without changing the core value of their performance ability. With musical influences ranging from every which way, Timisarocker prides itself in not sounding like anyone or anything else. As a band, Timisarocker creates music that crosses many different genres in hopes to get their songs stuck in your head. They are all about breaking down barriers and advocating for those who suffer from mental illnesses, hoping that their music brings them peace of mind and reassures them that they are not alone.

Paul Herwig is a Minneapolis-based, award winning visual artist and stage designer who brings 38 years of design experience and 20 years of work in the events industry to his unique design work and relationship-building with clients.Paul grew up in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and with a serious case of the art-bug, took off to study theater in Paris, then traveled across Europe and Canada with touring theater companies. Back in Minneapolis in 1998, Paul met his wife and best friend, Jennifer, and together they founded one of the Twin Cities longest running and most awarded dance-theater companies, Off-Leash Area.