eighth blackbird, the innovative sextet with the lowercase name, has been getting people excited about the work of contemporary composers for over a decade. Their concerts are eclectic, heady and engrossing. They’ve even choreographed one of their works, as The Baltimore Sun reports [registration required, but BugMeNot can help you out with that]:

The musicians execute a variety of motions, neatly timed to the alternating bursts of energy and pregnant pauses in Lerdahl’s composition. Players wander off in solo reverie or form tight circles to focus the mind and the eye on complex, concerted passages in the work.

As violinist Matthew Albert says in the piece, “We want people to come to our concerts, but not because it’s good for them. We want it to be a valid and exciting experience. I know that this stuff rocks, and I want other people to feel that.”

But what about their name? If you must know, it comes from the eighth verse of a Wallace Stevens poem: ”Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.”

You can sample eighth blackbird’s music on their website, and see them live in concert here at their only New York appearance December 10.