Biography
Originally from Transylvania, Katalin Lukács is a Professor of Practice at Tulane University and prizewinning pianist based in New Orleans. As a soloist, she has appeared with orchestras both in Europe and in the United States. In addition to performing works of the classical repertoire, Katalin is an avid promoter of contemporary music. Together with soprano Stephanie Aston in 2014 she formed Astralis Duo, a voice and piano duo focused on presenting new music through innovative performances and on promoting works by women composers. Katalin is also member of Versipel New Music, an organization dedicated to bringing contemporary music to the New Orleans area.
Research
Rising Water, a project by piano-vocal ensemble Astralis Duo, is a collection of commissioned musical works by composers from the Gulf South region, many of which are set to commissioned texts by regional poets. These new performance pieces speak to the cultural, social, ecological, or political impacts of sea level rise due to climate change in the Gulf South As preparations begin for Fall 2022 premiere performances, Rising Water will work with our partners to create an 11-episode podcast series. Expected to begin airing in advance of the first performance and concluding soon after, the podcast will document the project by centering the motivations and experiences of the project coordinators and participating artists interwoven with excerpts of the new works. The series will wrap up following the performance with interviews of local scientists, audience members, and community members who can share their climate concerns for the region, their motivations, and the steps they are taking as individuals to be responsible climate citizens. The podcast will have two audiences: creative artists interested in bringing a similar project to life in their own city, and the generally curious who would like to learn more about climate change and what they can do to slow it down.
The Rising Water podcast team: Joe Shriner, Lisa Hooper, William Saas, Katalin Lukács
Project website: https://www.astralisduo.com/rising-water
