Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
I’m on my way to Europe for the month of July. I’ll be visiting London, Berlin, and Calvi dell’Umbria where I will be in residency at the Art Monastery and creating a new piece as a part of their Labirinto festival on July 25th.
It’s become a bit of a summer tradition for me to escape New York for a month or so, and it’s one I always look forward to.
There are a lot of exciting things coming in the next few months for Avant Media and for myself. I’m really excited for a few big announcements and projects that we have in the works.
I hope you will be too.
Tags: Art, Art Monastery, Avant Media, Germany, Hope, Italy, Summer, Travel, UK
Posted in Festivals, Life, Music | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
The Imagine Peace Tower at Night
Yoko Ono’s
Imagine Peace Tower is up in Reykjavík until Saturday. It is a stunning and interesting work, and there is a live webcam that is particularly amazing at night. Take a look around the
Imagine Peace site. [
via]
I’ve always been drawn to Ono’s work for its simplicity of vision and statement. As derided as she often is, I think she’s truly attempting to make change in this world. I have seen many of her works in person, and a truly breathtaking performance at the old Tonic on the Lower East Side a few years ago. Until you’ve experienced her work in person, and been allowed to interact with it in the way she hopes, it is difficult to see the power of her simple ideas.
Tags: 2009, Art, Hope, Iceland, Links, News, Peace, Yoko Ono
Posted in Installation, International, Links | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
I began working on Anger around the same time that Ana and I started this company. Even though it took us a long time to finally be ready to perform it ( a solid three years after the first notes were written) in many ways it was the first piece that Ana and I worked on after Alicia.
On Friday we will be presenting the next step in the evolution of this piece: Doleo Æternus (more…)
Tags: 2008, 2009, Ana Baer-Carrillo, Anger, Art, Caren McCaleb, Changes, Doleo Aeternus, Doleo Eternus, Doleo Æternus, Friday, Hope, ISIM, Just Intonation, Music, Performances, Randy Gibson, Rehearsals, Tuning, Video
Posted in Avant Media, Festivals, New Work, Performances | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
I’m thoroughly disheartened by the news of Gerard Mortier leaving City Opera. And it’s seeming more and more that his departure means we’re losing what was really going to be an interesting season and future.
Of course, I was most looking forward to the revival of Einstein on The Beach which he had planned. This is a piece I’ve been obsessed about since I first heard snippets of it years ago in the interdisciplinary performance class where I met Ana.
But Mortier’s decision to leave is bigger than just one piece. (more…)
Tags: 2008, Art, Avant Media, City Opera, Einstein On The Beach, Gerard Mortier, Hope, New Work, New York City, News, Opera
Posted in Avant Media, International, Music, New Work | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
President Barack Obama -
“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.”
simply amazing
Tags: 2008, Asia, BAM, Founders, Hope, Obama, Politics, President, Speech
Posted in Life | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
The last couple of weeks avantmedia.org has been experiencing some random, sporadic, and (luckily) short-lived server outages.
We still don’t have a definite fix for this, but we are in contact with our hosting service to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible.
Hopefully the outage this morning will prove to have been the last, but this seems unlikely. If you visit the site and get a 403 forbidden, please try back in 20 to 30 minutes.
Tags: 2008, Hope, Servers, Technical Issues, Website
Posted in Avant Media | No Comments »
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
Last night I went to see Rosas Danst Rosas, or significantly less elegantly: Steve Reich Evening, at BAM. The program had a lot going for it, and for the most part it completely delivered.
The program contained two pieces I have heard of and knew well, but had never actually heard: Pendulum Music by Steve Reich and Poème Symphonique pour cent Métronomes by Györgi Ligeti (a Ligeti piece on Steve Reich Evening admittedly a bit odd, but it works as a really nice precursor to drumming). Pendulum Music opened the evening, and it was a beautiful realization with two speakers in a nice beating interval. Once the audience stopped snickering (same during the Ligeti, although that was to the point of shhshing the people in front of us) and we were actually able to listen, it was beautiful. (more…)
Tags: 2008, Art, Artists, Audience, BAM, Dance, De Keersmaeker, Experiences, Extent, Hope, Lighting, Live Music, Live Performance, Marimba Phase, Minimalism, Modern Dance, Music, New Work, News, Next Wave, Pendulum Music, Piano, Piano Phase, Rosas, Steve Reich, Theater
Posted in Dance, International, Music, Performances | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 28th, 2008
I’m finally back in New York after a month in my home state of Massachusetts, including two non-stop weeks in North Adams working for Nick Brooke as lead audio tech, sound designer and live mix engineer for his residency at Mass MoCA. I wish I could say I’ll have some time to relax, but I wont. While I do have some free time, though, I thought I’d share some thoughts of the last few weeks.
(more…)
Tags: 2008, Actors, Art, Design, Documentation, Familiarity, Hope, mass, moca, Nick Brooke, Opera, Opportunity, Performances, Rain, Rant, Rehearsals, Support, time and motion, Video
Posted in Life, Music, Performances | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
I love this time of year.
Today was the first day that I really started to feel like Fall was upon us. I’m in very serious planning mode these days with a major redesign of this website, a couple of huge audition/application-based opportunities coming up, grant applications, and searching for space for a spring show focusing on text-based work, all on my plate. I have barely had time to be outside at all.
I went to meet Jo today to talk about fundraising, and as I walked up the street ran into a friend of mine who moved to NY right around the same time I did, and who I haven’t seen in probably six years. (more…)
Tags: 2008, Art, Changes, Design, Fall, Fundraising, Grant Applications, Hope, New York City, Rant, Swans, Web Presence, Website
Posted in Avant Media, Life, Work | No Comments »
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
Part II: The Performer’s Perspective
I don’t think I need to say “Crimson Grail is an ambitious piece of music.” I knew going into the recently failed attempt of performing Rhys Chatham’s magnum opus at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center that the sheer practicalities of it were going to be something to witness. And that they most certainly were. The whole production crew was not only skilled, but adept at handling the needs of 200 guitar players and their heaps of gear. By my calculations they were responsible for the care, feeding and shelter of half a million dollars in gear, probably more; I saw some Marshall Stacks and a vintage SG.
Rehearsals were an enjoyable process considering how mind numbingly boring they were. The first two days went by with little to report. Turns out some folks didn’t know how to read music. Those who did were surprised. Each camp half snickered about the other – one was taking it way too seriously, the other was shocked the organizers invited non-professional guitar players, but it was all in good fun. The rehearsals served mostly to give everyone a chance to meet their section and buddy buddy with some guys (and here I will pause to mention: 10 ladies were a part of 200 performers) who share similar interests if not hair-dos, weight classes and taste in vintage wrestling t-shirts. There were some good ones, trust me.
The caliber of people involved in all aspects of this piece was stellar. Crimson Grail NYC was cast with the friendliest group of 190 dudes and 10 ladies with guitars I have ever met. This fact made the rehearsals worth going to, because no matter how long we practiced extended tremolos or talked about the Soprano transition to Section G in part 2A, we were never, ever going to play that piece the way it is written.
There. I said it.
And here is why. (more…)
Tags: 2008, Art, Audience, Composition, Concerts, Dance, Friday, Hope, Lincoln Center, mass, Mike Rugnetta, Minimalism, Music, Musicians, Rain, Rehearsals, Rhys Chatham, Sessions, Support
Posted in Music | 2 Comments »
