The River Peace is large-scale public participatory art installation by Thomas + Guinevere with the collaboration of composer John McDowell and presented by The Historic Distillery District in partnership with Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010 and Le Labo. Saturday, October 2nd, 6:57pm to Sunrise.

The music, composed and directed by John McDowell, will be based on the principals of Indian Raga. Using this as a basis, but adapting to Western genres, musicians will collaborate on the workings and nuances of particular themes, memorize several brief segments and phrases and collaborate on their playing.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s concept and scope of Satyagraha, or non-violent resistance, The River Peace is a mass participatory sculptural movement and sound performance installation; a giant metaphoric river where the content is not water, but a mass human meditation and expression of peace.

It will take the form of a 1,500-foot long luminescent sculpture, stretching around and through the historic laneways in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District, which you are invited to help carry and move as a meditative expression while musicians and dancers create a mass orchestral and choreographic illusion of a river in constant flow – with everyone’s cell phones providing the installation’s luminosity.

The sculpture is made-up of 150 – 12ft light-weight telescopic poles/masts. Mallory Industries who make the poles, were also kind enough to cut and provide a longer 30″ version of a yard which will be attached to the top of the pole and to which will be secured (grommeted) the 1500 ft length of bubble-wrap through which the light from the public’s cell-phones will shine.

As the sculpture moves through The Distillery, an aerial perspective of The River Peace will be captured on video and projected onto the walls of Mill Street Rack House (a collaboration with Luminad and Rattail Films.)

(If you have a QR (Quick Response) reader installed on your phone, you can turn it into colour-shifting lighting instrument. A PDF menu of QR Codes will be available for download at www.thomasandguinevere.com starting September 30, so you can practice. The QR menu colour sequences will also be passed out on Nuit Blanche as well. But if if you can’t scan the codes, simple cell phone light is totally accepted.)

To see more details on how to participate or volunteer, please visit www.thomasandguinevere.com or  email TheRiverPeace@gmail.com

New York’s Threefifty Duo has won a coveted space in CME Artist Services fall tour (Sep. 23 – Oct. 1) and will also be featured at the Lancaster Music Festival, October 8-10.

Now in its tenth consecutive year of putting on international showcases of original music spanning a multitude of genres, CME Artist Services presents two acts for their latest roots tour of some of the UK’s best small independent music venues. From Thursday Sept. 23rd through Sun. Oct. 1st the vocal and keyboard talent of precocious Vancouver based jazz artist Ali Milner, a 19-year-old from Canada is making her mark on the indie/jazz charts will be matched by New York’s award winning contemporary classical pair Threefifty Duo.

TOUR (all shows 9pm to 11pm unless otherwise stated):

Thur. 23rd Sept. White Hart (Atworth, SN12 8JR, 01225 702274)

Fri 24th Sept. Palladium Club (Bideford, EX39 2DE, 01237 478860)

Sat 25th Sept. Patriots MC (Crumlin, NP 114 PT, 01495 247178)

Sun 26th Sept (4pm) Coopers Arms (Pewsey, SN9 5BL, 01672 562495)

Mon 27th Sept. The Bell (Bath, BA1 5BW, 01225 460426)

Tues 28th Sept. The Sun (Lancaster, LA1 1ET, 01524 66006)

Thur 30th Sept. Penny Street Bridge Hotel (LA1 1XT, 01524 599 900)

Fri 1st Oct. Aspinall Arms (Mitton, BB7 9PQ, 01254 826223)

October 8-10 – see Lancaster Music Festival Schedule

Grants from municipal or county arts agencies are a great way to fund community related arts projects by professionals. Artists and arts organizations (performing, visual, composers, etc) based in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Rockland county, NY, should note these important upcoming grant deadlines. For most of these you MUST attend a workshop before applying – put these dates on your calendar.

1. Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (for all of Manhattan)
Grant due: SEPTEMBER 21
Remaining workshops

2. Brooklyn Arts Council
Grant due: SEPTEMBER 22
Remaining workshops

3. Queens Council on the Arts
Grant due: SEPTEMBER 30
FAQs

4. Arts Council of Rockland
Grant due: September 15/22 (depending on grant)
Remaining workshops

Peter McDowell Arts Consulting is available for questions or assistance with the application process. Contact us with any questions.

Gemini & Scorpio present: The Lost Circus (circus meets dark cabaret with a steampunk twist)

Sat, July 31, 11:59pm-4am, $15 w/RSVP; $20 without
Littlefield, 622 Degraw, Gowanus, BK
Details & RSVP
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The Circus is said to have started in ancient Egypt when the court entertainers of an immortal Pharaoh escaped their slavery under a midnight moon. They have traveled the globe for centuries, gathering talent from every great empire as the empire itself begins to crumble: Istanbul, Saint Petersburg, London, Berlin…and now they have made it across the sea.

At the stroke of midnight, discover a circus long lost. With music from times gone by or times that never were: dark string fusion by Brooklyn’s own Copal, and bohemian cabaret in 13 languages by Vagabond Opera – our special guests from Portland, OR. The circus unfolds to the bands and in between: mind-bending contortion by Jonathan Nosan, aerial dance by Madeline Hoak; tribal fusion bellydance by Lauren Robbiani; fire & gorgeousness by Ali Luminescent; gypsy fortunetelling by Kai Altair; an original installation & performance by artist (and Minsky Sister) Kristen Rhea van Liew. Beautiful costumed creatures perform feats of fire in the courtyard. Dusty circus visuals set the mood. DJ sophybot fascinates your ears with a renegade circus tent soundtrack. With your ever-dapper host, steampunk author G.D. Falksen. Plus photo-op custom art installation with works by Molly Crabapple and Kathleen Green. And a few surprise guests we can’t mention.

Dress code (required): dark cabaret, traveling circus, steampunk Victorian, Edward Gorey, Tim Burton, Mad Max, City of Lost Children.

Peter McDowell Arts Consulting and HelloARI Design are proud to launch Erica’s new web site which we feel reflects the visual and theatrically compelling nature of Erica’s performance.

Through mask, clown, butoh-inspired movement and site-specific performance, she attempts to capture and heighten the magic, mystery and tragedy in everyday activities and interactions. She endeavors to find universality in these actions and her performance that may be communicated across social, economic, and cultural boundaries.

Thanks to her grant from the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, from June 2010-July 2011, Erica will be developing new choreography based on intensive research into the intersections between objects and dancers’ bodies. Her research will take her to France to work with acclaimed puppetry and spectacle performance company Royal Deluxe and to San Francisco for an ongoing collaboration with choreographer, Sara Shelton Mann. She will continue to research and develop this new work for a premiere in July 2011.

The Chicago Dancemakers Forum is a catalyst for innovation and a means to increase dynamic interaction among Chicago’s dancemakers. The Lab Artist program supports artistic exploration, research, and development that leads to production of a new work, culminating in public performances. The select choreographers are active in their field and developing a distinctive trajectory in their work. They possess the skills and experience to undertake a larger project of extended scale, and the capacity to benefit from an environment of artistic interchange.

Music by John Adams (“Fellow Traveler,” for string quartet) and Chen Yi anchors the latest concert by the organization, which only programs music less than a decade old; also featured is music by Malcolm Goldstein (the première of “The Sky Has Many Stories to Tell”), Evan Hause, and Joel Hoffman. The performers include the violinist Calvin Wiersma and the harpist Anna Reinersman. (Riverside Church, 10th Floor Performance Space, 91 Claremont Ave. June 10 at 8. No tickets required.)

New York City based cellist, vocalist and composer Jody Redhage and her band Fire in July will perform at Baltimore’s An die Musik LIVE! on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 8 and 9:30 pm, to kick off the group’s Summer 2010 east coast tour. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students/seniors. An die Musik LIVE! is located at 409 North Charles Street, Second Floor, in Baltimore, Maryland. Phone is 888.221.6170 or 410.385.2638.

Fire in July is comprised of Jody Redhage, voice & cello; Daisy Press, voice; Alan Ferber, trombone; and Tim Collins, vibraphone. At this concert, the band will be previewing new music that has been written for the upcoming song cycle “The Spirit of the Garden,” using poetry that explores the nexus of spirituality and nature.  The lyrics are from poets from all over the world: French, Japanese, American, middle eastern–all different traditions that celebrate spirituality through gardening.

Called an “adventurous cello songstress” by Time Out NY, cellist, composer, and vocalist Jody Redhage is “a new music dynamo…Redhage is cultivating a repertoire of indie art song that breaches genre boundaries and makes for stirring listening” (MusicWorks Magazine).  Redhage has spent the past seven years developing the ability to simultaneously sing and play rhythmically complex and intricate lines.  Her passion is setting 20th and 21st century American poetry into art song, and she principally composes for her ensemble Fire in July.  Redhage’s compositions meld the detail and finesse of chamber music with the energy and drive of jazz improvisation and more popular genres. With tinges of Medieval chanson and hints of Kurt Weill, Redhage creates a captivating blend of genres that simply comes across as her own unique voice.

Fire in July released their debut album Ancient Star on Sept. 15, 2009.  Ancient Star has been called “a real accomplishment, refreshing and enjoyable, music that is exploring and pioneering a new style and doing so with real thought and skill” – George Grella, The Big City. The band features: Jody Redhage, voice, cello, compositions; Ken Thomson, clarinet & bass clarinet; Alan Ferber, trombones; Tom Beckham, vibraphone; and Fred Kennedy, drums & percussion.

Having begun composing at age 19, Jody studied composition at the University of California Berkeley and cello performance at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York, Jody continued her composition studies with Bang on a Can founder Julia Wolfe. Redhage has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and on NBC, CBS, and ABC. Redhage’s original compositions have also been featured on several NPR stations across the country, including a recent feature of songs from “Ancient Star” on WNYC’s Spinning on Air.

Flute/percussionist duo Conor Nelson and Ayano Kataoka will close the inaugural season of Music at First on May 28th, 2010 at 7:30pm. This special concert is held in celebration of the release of the Duo’s CD “Breaking Training,” (New Focus Recordings). Music at First is a new music series held at First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn through May, 2010. First Presbyterian Church is located in Brooklyn Heights at 124 Henry St. Directions are at www.fpcbrooklyn.org. There is a $10 suggested donation at the door with no advance reservations or ticket sales. Contact musicatfirst@gmail.com for more info.

Involved in several exciting commissioning projects for their genre, the Conor and Ayano Duo has performed in Merkin Concert Hall, CAMI Hall, The Tokyo Opera City Hall, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Izumi Hall, and as guest artists for the Ottawa Flute Association in Canada. Their new CD, “Breaking Training”, features works by Dennis DeSantis, Roshanne Etezady, Gareth Farr, Naoko Hishinuma, Chan Ka Nin, and Teruyuki Noda.

Percussionist and marimbist Ayano Kataoka is known for her brilliant and dynamic technique, as well as the unique elegance and artistry she brings to her performances. A versatile performer, she regularly presents music of diverse genres and mediums. Last season, together with cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the American Museum of Natural History, Ms. Kataoka gave a world premiere of Bruce Adolphe’s Self Comes to Mind for cello and two percussionists, based on a text by neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, and featuring interactive video images of brain scans triggered by the live music performance. She also performed Leon Kirchner’s Flutings for Paula with Paula Robison in honor of Mr. Kirchner’s 90th birthday concert at New York’s Miller Theater and at the Gardner Museum in Boston. Kataoka was the first percussionist to be chosen for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two, a three-season residency program for emerging artists offering high-profile performance opportunities.

Praised for his “long-breathed phrases and luscious tone” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Canadian flutist Conor Nelson is established as a leading flutist of his generation.  Since his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, he has appeared frequently as soloist and recitalist throughout the United States and abroad.  Recent performances include engagements  with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Philharmonia of Yale, the Manhattan School of Music Philharmona, the Stony Brook Symphony, the Oshawa-Durham Symphony Orchestra, the Brevard Repertory Orchestra, the Festival Wind Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra and at the Banff Centre. The only wind player to win the Grand Prize at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition, he recently won first prize at the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition. In addition, he has received top prizes at the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition and the Haynes International Flute Competition.

This series, curated by Wil Smith (composer who also serves as organist at First Presbyterian), occurs monthly, featuring one performer or ensemble per evening. Smith describes Music at First as “a diverse mix of New York City’s best new music ensembles and performers, accessible to a wide audience of both community members and seasoned new music listeners.” Earlier performers in the series began included Threefifty Duo, a “critic’s choice” (Time Out NY) performance by pianist Kathleen Supové, and cellist/vocalist/composer Jody Redhage and her band Fire in July.

Fulcrum Point's Stephen Burns

Chicago’s Chinese Fine Arts Society (CFAS) is pleased to present the 21st Annual All Chinese Music Concert on Sunday May 16th, 2010 at 3:00pm, at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall located at 78 E. Washington St. This concert presents traditional and contemporary Chinese music and themes in a creative blend of instrumentation and compositional styles, all performed by Chicago’s top professional classical musicians.

The All Chinese Music Concert will feature internationally & locally acclaimed ensemble and solo musicians from Chicago, including special guests from Fulcrum Point New Music Project Stephen Burns, trumpet; Jeff Handley, percussionist; and Brandon Prodjasek, percussionist. Other musicians performing include Gerald Carey, flute; Katherine Jui Chang, piano; David Cunliffe, cello; Desiree Ruhstrat, violin; and the CFAS Chorus (Rita Lopienski, guest conductor, Wen Ming Leung, piano).

Program highlights this year include “Chanted Rituals” by Vivian Fung, “Romance of Hsiao and Ch’in” by Chen Yi, and the world premiere of “Away” by Yang Qing – first prize winner of the 2009 Julia Liu Beijing Composition Competition, sponsored by the Chinese Fine Arts Society. The 21st Annual ACMC Concert also features the premiere of new repertoire pieces for the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius Scholarship Competitions, held annually in October.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project is dedicated to being Chicago’s leader in diverse new music that boldly straddles the barriers between new art music and traditional music from around the world. Fulcrum Point’s primary mission is to ensure a future for new art music by actively commissioning innovative new works, presenting vibrant multi-media performances, and generating novel cultural collaborations and educational programs.

For over twenty-five years, the Chinese Fine Arts Society (CFAS) has nurtured the Chicago public’s interest in Chinese cultural heritage through the form of music and arts, to create a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures. Beginning as a small group of parents eager to create opportunities for their children to learn more about Chinese culture, the group has evolved into a highly visible, multi-level non-profit organization on the center stage of arts and culture. From Chinese art exhibitions to musical events encouraging the learning of Chinese music (Music Festival in Honor of Confucius) to International Music Composition Competitions to large scale presentations in Millennium Park and Navy Pier, the Chinese Fine Arts Society continues to make a positive cultural contribution to the city of Chicago.

Founded in 1984, CFAS provides programs and activities that promote the understanding of Chinese culture through music and other fine arts in Chicago’s culturally diversified society. By presenting traditional and contemporary Chinese music compositions by Chinese composers and performances of Chinese music on western instruments, CFAS hopes to reach a greater number of people and heighten their awareness of the richness of Chinese culture. For more information on the Chinese Fine Arts Society, please visit www.chinesefinearts.org or write to info@chinesefinearts.org