Tyshawn Sorey, a multi-instrumentalist, defies the traditional notions of how we perceive music.

Composer, musician and 2017 MacArthur Fellow Tyshawn Sorey will be at University of the Pacific next week for a performance and to lead a master class for students from Pacific's Conservatory of Music.

The musical residency will be on March 18 and 19, and will include improvisatory pianist Marilyn Crispell.

Marilyn Crispell 

"Music is often spoken about in vertical categories: this is classical music, that is jazz, and contemporary music is somewhere over there," said Conservatory Dean Peter Witte. "Tyshawn Sorey defies those notions. His music is horizontal, combining elements of composition and improvisation in virtuosic ways. Our students will work in an age that rewards Mr. Sorey's kind of lateral imagination. That's why we're so excited to host Mr. Sorey and Marilyn Crispell at Pacific."

Sorey and Crispell will perform a recital at 7:30 p.m., Monday, in the Conservatory Recital Hall. They will also lead a master class with Conservatory students at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Both events are open to public.

Sorey is earning national recognition through his performances at Carnegie Hall and at the San Francisco Jazz Center. He is also the 2019-20 Composer in Residence at the Seattle Symphony.

"Among Sorey's recent accomplishments is 'Cycles of My Being,' a song cycle exploring the realities of life as a black man in America, which premiered last February at the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago," said Witte. "I'm thrilled that our students and community will have a first-hand chance to experience such wide-ranging musical and cultural artistry."

Purchase tickets to the March 18 recital