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This November, pianist-composer and Music Department faculty member Dawn Clement is headed east to perform at New York's prestigious Symphony Space. This is by no means Dawn's first performance in New York, but it is her first performance in Manhattan under her own name.
Mixed Doubles is a part of Symphony Space's Jazz Spectrum concert series, combining the performances of two featured jazz artists. This particular concert will feature pianist Bobby Avey, a Faddis protégé, and saxophonist Steve Wilson, of Chick Corea's band Origins, in addition to Clement's set with innovative saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom.
The performance marks the beginning of an exciting new season for Clement who is looking forward to upcoming record releases and a multitude of diverse performance opportunities in Seattle and New York. For more information on the November 9th event please visit www.symphonyspace.org.
Cornish College of the Arts is honored to present VOYAGER, a powerful series of paintings, wall carvings and funeral boats created by renowned artist and Cornish alumnus Steve Jensen. Thanks to the artist's generosity, selected works will be available for purchase with all proceeds benefiting the Cornish Scholarship Fund. Steve Jensen's VOYAGER runs November 1-27 with an opening reception on November 1st in the Cornish Main Gallery.
"Like the celebratory funerals performed by the Vikings, Jensen's work confronts the idea of death, asking the viewer to do the same. By including real objects such as the ashes of his dog (in Pablo), the bullets from the gun that killed his father (Norman), and the cast of his mother's face (Pat), he brings the viewer uncomfortably close to the subject but in a way that somehow remains gentle. The result is an intimate portrait of an artist's life through those he loved."
- Excerpted from Contemporary Warriors and Viking Ships, by Cornish Exhibitions Curator Jess Van Nostrand
Jensen's work reminds the viewer of a time when artists were asked to act as both craftsman and mortician. On this subject, the artist offers this comment: "My education at Cornish never prepared me to work with human or animal ashes but I feel honored to have this opportunity... Death is the one final thing we all have in common and the universal image of the boat in many cultures symbolizes a passage or voyage, perhaps to the other side."
Images:
Steve Jensen, Red Böt, 16"x 20", oil on wood, photo by Londe Young
Steve Jensen, Voyage to the Other Side, 50"x42", carved recycled wood, photo by Londe Young
Cornish is very pleased to welcome Robin Amrine to the Board of Trustees. Robin is Vice President and Business Banking Team Leader for Sterling Savings Bank in Bellevue. He is also a musician and arts aficionado.
Adapted from John Irving's novel by Peter Parnell, and directed by Theater Department Chair, Richard E.T. White, The Cider House Rules - Part One: Here in St. Clouds, marks the season's second collaborative production presented by the Theater and Performance Production Departments.
In the spirit of the great novels of Charles Dickens, John Irving spins an epic tale of orphan Homer Wells, who grows to manhood much like Dickens' Pip and David Copperfield, finding love and heartbreak and a true calling in life along the way. Spanning over 60 years, the story follows Homer from his birth in St. Clouds Orphanage and his tutelage by the visionary Dr. Wilbur Larch, to the verge of a new life. Like the original Homer's Odysseus, the journey takes Homer and his companions and mentors into some very dark and dangerous corners, and delves deeply into several cultural flashpoints, including child abuse, abortion and drug addiction.
This adaptation was originally inspired by artists at Seattle's own Book-It Repertory and Seattle Repertory Theatres. Performances are November 6, 7, 9, 8 pm; November 10, 7:30 pm; and November 11, 2 pm at the Raisbeck Performance Hall, Ned & Kayla Skinner Theater.
Cornish College of the Arts, in collaboration with the Seattle Theatre Group, welcomes multidisciplinary artist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) for an hour long lecture demonstration at PONCHO Concert Hall, Friday, October 12 at 11 am. The demonstration will discuss collaboration and multimedia performance through the framework of DBR's current project: One Loss Plus, a work written for violin, piano, electronics and video, to be performed at the Moore Theatre, October 12 at 8 pm.
One Loss Plus portrays and confronts feelings of loss, isolation, and optimism through recorded interviews and narratives of those who have lost and gained from their experiences. DBR's meditative and melodious score reflects the re-telling of these personal stories as he traverses the stage and interacts with a video installation by Janet Wong.
Known for fusing his classical music roots with a myriad of soundscapes, Haitian-American artist Daniel Bernard Roumian has carved a reputation for himself as a passionately innovative composer, performer, violinist, and band leader. His exploration of music rhythms and classically-driven sounds is peppered by his own cultural references and vibrant music imagination. As a violinist and performer, DBR has worked with DJ Spooky, Vernon Reid, Savion Glover, Susan Sarandon, and Cassandra Wilson, to name a few.
Hailed as being "about as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets" (New York Times), DBR brings his highly anticipated collaborative work to Seattle. Conceived and composed by DBR, One Loss Plus is an evening-length, multimedia work for 6-string violin, piano, electronics, and video; a collage of resonant conversations between people who have never met – interwoven with posts submitted from the general public via YouTube and MySpace.
Attendees of the lecture will be offered discounted tickets to DBR's performance at the Moore Theatre, 8 pm. This offer is for discounted tickets in the upper areas of the balcony with limited availability. Tickets must be purchased in advance by mentioning promotional code DBR15. The lecture demonstration at PONCHO Concert Hall is free and open to the public.
Eric Banks, Music Department faculty, and leader of The Esoterics, "Seattle's most innovative choir," recently received major funding from the Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs to compose a new concert-length work inspired by the 11th century codex of Persian cosmology, scheduled to be performed in October 2008. In support of this project, Banks made his second trip to India to continue research of ancient melodies from Zoroastrian chants, where his original idea for a twenty-minute composition began growing into a concert-length work. Additional funding for this project has been provided by 4Culture and the Cornish Faculty Fund.
The Esoterics is a Seattle-based vocal ensemble that is dedicated to performing and perpetuating contemporary a cappella choral settings of poetry, philosophy, and spiritual writings from around the world. To commemorate the end of Ramadan, The Esoterics present RU'IA: Sacred Visions Inspired by Islam, on Saturday, October 20 at the Olympic Sculpture Park Pavilion. Inspired by Islamic scripture and poetry, the concert features a premier by Cornish Music Department Faculty member Bern Herbolsheimer, Kader Kiç (The Night of Destiny), in addition to Banks' Twelve Qur'anic Visions. Banks' cantata was composed following his travels in India and Indonesia and influenced by his extensive study of the Holy Qur'an. The performance will feature contemporary choral music in Arabic, French, and Tartar with English supertitles. For more information please visit www.TheEsoterics.org.
