Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 68

Indie Music: New Singles From Nick Lamb

Pop/Rock Singles:
Gettin' High Off You
Simple Man
BY Nick Lamb
Independent - 19 February 2018
California indie musician Nick Lamb released a couple of singles in February that showcase his range of moods and styles. They come in advance of an album he has planned for May 2018 called Rock N Roll's My Road.

Gettin' High Off You is a punk-flavoured rock song with buzzy guitars and vocals with an insolent edge that's appropriate to the punk. The lyrics cover the usual boy-love object territory in a catchy, ear worm tune. It's radio friendly rock.

For Simple Man, Nick goes soft and acoustic with a simple message about love. What the lyrics may lack in originality, he makes up for in sincerity. The words are sung over nimble guitar picking. There are nice clean guitar licks in both acoustic and electric versions that mark the pair of singles.

Nick comes by the mood of simple sincerity honestly.



He was born into a backdrop of poverty in rural Pennsylvania. His parents, writer Lorraine Lamb and performer Tom Lamb, brought up Nick and four brothers in a coal town where Tom was the local celebrity. He'd play the acoustic guitar and sing all over the area. He died too young, leaving Lorraine as the single mother of five. She kept at her writing in spite of the busy life, and inspired Nick to write along with pursuing music like his father. He went to college late in life at the of age twenty-nine and earned a Bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University in film and video production. He then worked to get his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Wilkes University.

Nick wrote both songs, and plays guitar and bass on all the tracks. The new album is set to drop at the end of May.

Musicians:
Nick Lamb Vocals and Guitars lead, Rhythm, and Bass, some bass work by Steve Harding, and drums by Johnson Zhang in the studio.

Cello In Hand: Ian Maksin At le poisson rouge New York City April 15 2018

From a media release:

IAN MAKSIN. ZARIA. ONE YEAR LATER
Incredible journey around the globe with cello in hand
Sunday, April 15, 2018
(le) poisson rouge NYC
158 Bleecker St.

• Get Tickets
• Check out Zaria

6pm doors | 7pm show | All Ages
Table Seating: $20 advance, $25 day of show
Standing Room: $15 advance, $20 day of show

NEW YORK CITY - 235 performances on four continents since release of Zaria in April of 2017. 78 performances in 2018 so far. Zaria is not just an album. It’s a journey. It’s a way of life. A way of bringing people together through music. From East Siberian shamanic chants to Kurdish folk songs. From rugged rhythms of the Balkan Mountains to Afro-Cuban clave. Love songs in 15 languages and counting. Everything melts into a unique fusion through Ian Maksin's magical cello.
Ian MaksinRussian-born Chicago-based cellist and composer Ian Maksin has gained international recognition for his beautiful tone, his own unique innovative style of playing the instrument and for taking the cello well outside its conventional role. As a soloist, he gives more than two hundred public performances annually in North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has performed in many prestigious concert halls throughout the world and has appeared at festivals such as Ravinia and Lollapalooza in the USA, Spoleto and Ravenna in Italy, and the White Nights Festival in Russia. His recently released album of original music for solo cello titled “Soul Companion” has received great acclaim from critics and audiences around the globe alike.

Born in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Maksin began playing the cello at age six at the Special School for Gifted Children of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. At age seventeen he came to the United States to attend the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and later became the principal cellist of the New World Symphony, America’s one-of-a-kind training orchestra under direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. During that time he had an opportunity to receive personal mentorship from such artists as Lynn Harrell, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Bernard Greenhouse, and many others.



Maksin has premiered and recorded numerous works by contemporary composers, including a critically acclaimed CD “Sculpting Clouds” which came out on Albany Records in 2007 and featured works by Juilliard-based award-winning American composer Eric Ewazen. In 2006, he recorded on the album “Clocks” music by Miguel de Aguila, a collaboration with the celebrated string quartet ensemble from Mexico Cuarteto Latinoamericano. Maksin’s debut solo CD titled “Solo Flight” was released in January 2010 and is an eclectic compilation of works for cello solo ranging from J.S. Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello to a new piece by a Chicago-based composer Ilya Levinson, as well as the Suite for Solo Cello by Spanish cellist and composer Gaspar Cassado.

In 2011, Maksin has founded iAN&ANi DUO – a collaboration with Bulgarian pianist Ani Gogova. Their debut CD “Tango Plus” came out in October 2012 and featured music of Piazzolla, Ginastera, Ravel, De Falla as well as a world premiere of a work commissioned by iAN&ANi from Chicago-based composer Ilya Levinson. They have co-produced an award-winning music video “Strings Detached” based on music of Rodion Shchedrin, filmed by the Russian director Sergei Kvitko and featuring one of leading young American ballerinas Abigail Simon and iAN&ANi Duo. In the spring of 2012, Maksin and Gogova have co-produced a critically acclaimed multimedia project “Tango Obsession” which was sold out for many consecutive nights at the Chopin Theatre in Chicago.



Maksin’s latest solo album titled Zaria was released in April 2017, and it includes music for solo cello from a wide range of sources. There are tracks inspired by traditional music from all over the world, fusing Balkan, Middle Eastern, Sephardic, and Slavic influences. Then there's a dash of tango and RnB thrown into the mix. To call it eclectic is an understatement. He also sings covers of Amsterdam (Jacques Brel) and Ain't No Sunshine, the iconic Bill Withers hit. Other tracks are his original compositions, like Pensando en Ti, and Firebird.

Apart from being highly regarded as a classical artist, Maksin collaborates with other artists in a variety of musical genres: jazz, blues, flamenco, rock, R&B and world music, blending many styles together using cello as the common denominator. He can often be heard and seen in collaborative projects with artists from different corners of the globe: Morocco, Cuba, Serbia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Spain, Mexico, Japan, just to name a few. As a guest artist, he has performed and recorded with such artists as Andrea Bocelli, P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan and Barry Gibb. He has also opened performances for Sting and his guitarist Dominic Miller​

www.ianmaksin.com
youtube.com/ianmaksin
facebook.com/cellomaxx
twitter.com/ianmaksin

Dance Theatre of Harlem New York Season - April 4-7 2018

From a media release:

Dance Theatre of Harlem
New York Season - April 4-7 2018
New York City Center
FOUR PERFORMANCES, THREE PREMIERES & THE COMPANY REVIVAL OF DOUGLA!

• Tickets & More Info

NEW YORK CITY - The Dance Theatre of Harlem is taking over the New York City Center from April 4 to 7 for four performance, including three premieres, and a family-friendly matinee. Here's the details.

OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION & VISION GALA
APRIL 4 AT 7PM
Brahms Variations (excerpt) - Robert Garland
The inspiration for the ballet is Louis XIV, French Patron of the Arts, and Grandfather of the ballet canon. Arthur Mitchell was a big persona in my life, a Harlem version of the French Monarch. So, the ballet is, in part, Louis the XIV’s court meeting Harlem Swag.
Dougla (Company Revival) - Geoffrey Holder
Change - Dianne McIntyre
This work is inspired by women—Black, Brown and Beige—who have refashioned the neighborhood, the country, the world through their vision, courage, and endurance. Often unsung, sometimes inconspicuous, these individuals could be called warriors for change.

Pièce d'Occasion - Robert Garland for the DTH School
Le Corsaire Pas de Deux - Marius Petipa
The “Le Corsaire Pas De Deux” is taken from a 3-act tale of love’s ultimate triumph over betrayal and disaster. This excerpt is the ballet’s most popular bravura showpiece and is filled with sophistication and challenging technical feats.

Dougla (Company Revival) - Geoffrey Holder
In Trinidad, “Dougla” is the name given to people of African and Indian/South Asian descent. The late Geoffrey Holder, performer extraordinaire, visual artist and choreographer, drew on his Trinidadian heritage to create his masterpiece ballet, Dougla, a marriage ceremony as pageant. A long-time company favorite, Dougla returns to active repertoire with live music and all of its spectacle and glory.

VISION GALA
JOIN US FOR DINNER AND DANCING AT THE PARK HYATT, NEW YORK FOLLOWING THE OPENING NIGHT PERFORMANCE.
TICKETS EXTRA

PROGRAM A & INSIDE THE BALLET EVENT
APRIL 6 AT 8PM
Valse-Fantaisie (New York Premiere) - George Balanchine
When George Balanchine created this version of Valse-Fantaisie to Mikhail Glinka’s music of the same name, he employed his signature musicality, fleetness and brilliance. New to the Dance Theatre of Harlem repertoire, Valse-Fantaisie is performed by five women and one man who capture the music’s joyful spirit in this gem of neo classicism.
Valse-Fantaisie (New York Premiere) - George BalanchineThis Bitter Earth (New York Premiere) - Christopher Wheeldon
Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s sublime pas de deux, This Bitter Earth is set to a mashup of Max Richter’s minimalist “On the Nature of Daylight” and Dinah Washington’s soulful rendition of the 1960s Rhythm and Blues hit, “This Bitter Earth.” The resulting brief encounter between a man and a woman leads one to believe that “…this bitter earth may not be so bitter after all.”

Harlem On My Mind (New York Premiere) - Darrell Grand Moultrie
When asked to create his third work for Dance Theatre of Harlem, acclaimed choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie chose to reflect on the persistent and evolving mystique that is the place called Harlem. With music by Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis and others, Moultrie’s dynamic choreography for Harlem On My Mind draws on a rich continuum of jazz to burst from the stage.
Harlem On My Mind (New York Premiere) - Darrell Grand Moultrie
Dougla (Company Revival) with dancers from Collage Dance Collective - Geoffrey Holder
In Trinidad, “Dougla” is the name given to people of African and Indian/South Asian descent. The late Geoffrey Holder, performer extraordinaire, visual artist and choreographer, drew on his Trinidadian heritage to create his masterpiece ballet, Dougla, a marriage ceremony as pageant. A long-time company favorite, Dougla returns to active repertoire with live music and all of its spectacle and glory.

INSIDE THE BALLET
JOIN US AFTER THE BALLET FOR A CONVERSATION WITH CARMEN DE LAVALLADE ON THE CREATION OF GEOFFREY HOLDER’S MAGNIFICENT MASTERWORK, DOUGLA.

FAMILY MATINÉE & MEET THE BALLERINA EVENT
APRIL 7 AT 2PM
Valse-Fantaisie (New York Premiere) - George Balanchine
Le Corsaire, Pas de Deux - Marius Petipa
Harlem On My Mind (New York Premiere) - Darrell Grand Moultrie
Dougla (Company Revival) with dancers from Collage Dance Collective - Geoffrey Holder

MEET THE BALLERINA
BRING YOUR KIDS TO THE EVER-POPULAR SATURDAY FAMILY MATINÉE AND DON’T MISS THE MEET THE BALLERINA EVENT AFTER THE FINAL CURTAIN!

EVENING PROGRAM & CLOSING NIGHT PARTY
APRIL 7 AT 8PM
Valse-Fantaisie (New York Premiere) - George Balanchine
This Bitter Earth (New York Premiere) - Christopher Wheeldon
Harlem On My Mind (New York Premiere) - Darrell Grand Moultrie
Dougla (Company Revival) with dancers from Collage Dance Collective - Geoffrey Holder

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY
SATURDAY EVENING TICKET HOLDERS 21 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER ARE INVITED TO CELEBRATE WITH THE DANCERS IN THE GRAND TIER LOBBY AT A FREE CLOSING NIGHT PARTY! SPACE IS LIMITED.

Finnish Design: Design Museum Helsinki Upcoming Exhibition of Timo Sarpaneva March 23 to Sept 23 2018

From a media release:

Design Museum’s forthcoming exhibition
Work by Timo Sarpaneva
March 23 to September 23, 2018
HELSINKI - Timo Sarpaneva (1926 –2006) is an internationally known and significant Finnish designer who helped establish the international reputation of Finnish design in the 1950s and 1960s. While best known for his designs of glass and art objects for the Iittala glassworks, his versatile, inquisitive and open-minded creativity also led him to work with metal, ceramics and textiles. Design Museum’s forthcoming exhibition is the first overview to present Sarpaneva’s oeuvre to this extent.
i-line, designed by Timo Sarpaneva, manufactured by Iittala in 1956. Sarpaneva designed a series of colored glasses for Iittala in 1956. The series was called i-line. He also designed a logo to be used in the series, the famous red circle, which was soon adapted as a logo for the whole Iittala company.Timo Sarpaneva began his career as a graphic artist and in 1951 he was hired to design for the Iittala glassworks. The first success of his career was the Milan Triennale of 1954, where he received the Grand Prix for his glass objects. Sarpaneva also achieved international success in exhibition architecture. The Finnish departments of the H55 exhibition, the Milan Triennale of 1957 and the Montreal World’s Fair of 1967 were all designed by him.

Timo Sarpaneva’s international career also led him to work abroad. The Suomi (Finland) tableware of the Rosenthal porcelain factory of Germany is still being produced and Sarpaneva collaborated with the Italian glass manufacturer Venini in the 1990s. He continued to create glass sculptures in the 1990s at Murano near Venice, where his last works were made in the early 2000s.

Timo Sarpaneva and one part from the work Ahtojää
 manufactured in Iittala 1967.
 Ahtojää was a large installation of glassworks,
 altogether over 400 pieces.
 400 x 900 cm large work
 was on display in Wold Expo in Montreal 1967.‘The composer is nothing without an orchestra’
Design Museum’s large and extensive Timo Sarpaneva exhibition will feature previously undisplayed material from the designer’s career: projects by a talented student of graphic design, designs for printed fabrics and textiles and a great deal of material that has not been shown to the public before. The exhibits include Timo Sarpaneva’s most important works in glass, such as Kayak (1954) and Orchid (1954). Also on display is a version of his large Pack Ice piece for the Montreal World’s Fair of 1967. The version on show in the exhibition contains 210 glass parts. Along with examples of Timo Sarpaneva’s artistic work, the exhibition contains a wide-ranging selection of utility objects designed by him.

The main material of the exhibition consists of unique videos of Timo Sarpaneva filmed by Marjatta Sarpaneva. They show him in glasshouses and glassworks and in familiar company at Iittala, Nuutajärvi, Murano near Venice, Helsinki and Washington. There are also videotaped interviews in which Sarpaneva tells about his own work and designs. Anne Lakanen, Professor of Film Editing at Aalto University, has edited the projected material and films of the exhibition.

"The exhibition focuses on Timo Sarpaneva’s endless capacity for renewal. This talented designer was prolific, inquisitive and communicative,’ says curator Harry Kivilinna of Design Museum, who is responsible for the exhibition. ‘Sarpaneva said that the designer is nothing unless he can communicate with those who make the works. The contribution of professionals is important when works are realised. There is no point in composing a brilliant symphony if the orchestra has no professional skills. Sarpaneva made his enthusiasm infectious, and this can be seen in the results,’ observes Kivilinna.

The exhibition architecture is by designer Ilkka Suppanen and the curator is Harry Kivilinna.

The Timo Sarpaneva exhibition will be on display at Design Museum from 23 March until 23 September 2018

Metal pot,
designed by Timo Sarpaneva,
 manufactured by Rosenlew, 1960,
 manufactured by Iittala 2000sFacts 
Timo Sarpaneva (1926 –2006)
Alongside his work in design, Sarpaneva was also a talented graphic artist. He had graduated in graphic design in 1949 from the Department of Graphic Art at the Central School of Industrial Art. Among other work in graphic design, he created Iittala’s iconic i-logo.

Sarpaneva began his career as a glass artist in 1949, when he won second prize in a Nordic glass design competition held by the Riihimäki glassworks.

Timo Sarpaneva became internationally known through the Milan Triennale of 1954, where he was awarded the Grand Prix for his Kayak, Orchid and Lancet glass pieces, among other works.

Sarpaneva began to collaborate with the Rosenthal ceramics factory of Germany in 1970. His Suomi tableware (1974) for Rosenthal became a commercial success and is still being made.

Textile design by Timo Sarpaneva included woven fabrics for the Porin puuvilla cotton mill and the successful Ambiente textiles for the Tampella company (1965).

In the early 1980s Sarpaneva began to concentrate more and more on works of art, employing not only glass but also granite and metal. He continued to make glass sculptures in the 1990s at Murano near Venice, where his last works were prepared in the early 2000s.

Timo Sarpaneva’s drawings for bottles, i-line, Iittala 1955Timo Sarpaneva was awarded the Pro Finlandia medial in 1958 and the honorary title of professor in 1976. He was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Art and Design Helsinki (present-day Aalto University) in 1993.


Timo Sarpaneva’s main works are: Lancet (1952), Orchid (1954), Kayak (1954), the Iittala i-series of glassware (1956), Festivo (1966), Pack Ice (1967), the Finlandia series (1964), the Suomi tableware collection (1974) and Archipelago (1979).


Design Museum (street address)
Korkeavuorenkatu 23, 00130 Helsinki
http://www.designmuseum.fi/en/

Opening hours:
Summer season: 1 June – 31 August
Mon. – Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Winter season: 1 September – 31 May. Tuesdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m./ Wed. – Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. / Mondays closed

New Classical CD Review - Jesse Jones: Ephemera (Innova Recordings, September 22 2017)

New Classical CD Review
Jesse Jones: Ephemera
(Innova Recordings, September 22, 2017)Composers: Jesse Jones
Performers: Argento Chamber Ensemble, Xak Bjerken, Sharon Harms, ensemble recherche, Joseph Eller, Nicholas DiEugenio, Kenneth Meyer

• Buy the CD

Moody and dramatic, you don't have to read the liner notes to guess that American composer Jesse Jones, winner of both the Guggenheim and Rome Prizes, is influenced by literary works, among other things. There is a vivid emotional depth to the music that reaches directly for the listener's nerve endings.

The first track, Abraxas, was inspired by Herman Hesse's novel Demian; in particular, the eternal struggles of birth and the search for the spiritual in the persona of the pagan god, Abraxas. Based on a 24-note quarter-tone row, the music is shimmering and expressive.

Ephemera, the title track, is the composer's meditation on the brief nature of life - like our experience of music itself, as he explains in the liner notes. It sounds in the moment, and then becomes only a memory. Commissioned by pianist Xak Bjerken, who also performed its premiere at Cornell University, the piano eloquently illustrates the heartbreaking beauty of its transient existence.

Harmonies poétiques et religieuses is the longest track, one that uses a spoken text by Alphonse de Lamartine to examine the spirituality of prayer. The words are spoken against a dissonant whirl of strings and a wavering soprano that embodies the vacillating nature of religious devotion.

Unisono, the fourth track, breaks from the largely serious tone of the other pieces with a playful piece Jones claims he wrote, "expressly to show off the musicians involved." It's bouncy and fun, anchored by the interplay between piano, clarinet, and violin pizzicato.
Composer Jesse Jones
He looks to Edgar Allan Poe for inspiration for the last track, The Mystery Which Binds Me Still. It is based on the poem Alone, and the words hold personal meaning for Jones. With its melancholic mood, as with much of Poe's writing, the words sung by soprano Sharon Harms are perfectly complemented by anxious, moody guitar lines.

Jones has fleshed out his compositions with an international roster of collaborators that includes soprano Sharon Harms, pianist Xak Bjerken, guitarist Kenneth Meyer, the Argento Chamber Ensemble, and from Germany, ensemble recherche.

It's an impressive debut album of deeply affecting music.

Jazz CD Review: Jungsu Choi Tiny Orkester - Tchuss Jazz Era (Challenge Records - 12 January 2018)

Jazz CD Review:
Jungsu Choi Tiny Orkester - Tchuss Jazz Era
(Challenge Records - 12 January 2018)
• Listen on Spotify
• Listen on Soundcloud

Take classic modern jazz, rev up the energy, add layers of complex rhythms and contrapuntal melody and bass lines, plus virtuosic musicianship and a dash of the avant garde, and you begin to get an idea of what South Korea's Jungsu Choi has to offer. Now, turn the music and arrangements inside out, and the fun really begins.

The 12-piece ensemble never lets up the kinetic energy on this exciting collection of tunes. Stolen Yellow is a blitz of hyperactive percussion, an insane walking bass line, and a sax player who, apparently, rarely needs to breathe.

Charlie Parker's Anthropology gets the Jungsu Choi treatment as a brisk, melodic track lit up by the play between flute and saxophone in an extended improv riff that goes all over the map. Choi is an inventive composer and arranger. What If Ellington Didn't Take The A Train? adds spacey electronic sounds and an avant garde edge to the Orkester's bag of musical tricks. After a tumultuous opening, it breaks into a trombone led section of old Harlem style swing intercut with bursts of hyper modern jazz.



Underneath the crazy playing skills, you get the feel that they're really having fun with the music. In a media release, Jungsu Choi says,

"From start to finish, writing music is a process of making one choice after another. Such choices may come from something inherent; mine were inside me for a long time, put there by something I saw, heard or read, which could even be someone's music, words, or life. This music has been affected, inspired and motivated by the following, and may be considered a homage to...

Nicolas Slonimsky, Mathias Ruegg, Carl Sagan, Mr. Yellow (the 16th President of Korea), Ludwig Wittgenstein, Fred Sturm, Michael Gibbs, Duke Ellington, my insomnia, Night sky in Byul-Nae and Yeonsun Choi."

Jungsu Choi studied and worked in Europe for a decade, including film music, electro-acoustic music, and jazz composition at the Vienna Conservatory and Kingston University London. He's arranged and written music for dance and theatre as well wel other bands and orchestras. This is his second release.

Track List:
1. Stolen Yellow
2. Anthropology
3. Nach Wien
4. What if Ellington didn't take the A train
5. Spain

Musicians:
Jungsu Choi (Composer/Arranger), Jinho Pyo (Male Voice), Eunmi Kim (Flute), Yusun Nam (Alto sax), Hachul Song (Tenor sax), Yejung Kim (Trumpet), Junyeon Lee (Trombone), Jungyun Ahn (Cello), Sungyun Hong (Guitar), Jungmin Lee (Piano), Inseob Song (Bass), Hyunsu Lee (Drums)

Stay in touch:
https://www.jungsuchoi.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ad305
https://soundcloud.com/j-c-jazz-symphony
https://www.youtube.com/user/jungsuchoijazz

CD Review: Andy Michaels - Revisited (Independent - Jan 02, 2018)

CD Review:
Andy Michaels - Revisited
(Independent - Jan 02, 2018)
&bull: Listen on Spotify

Revisited is an eclectic collection of polished pop songs from Australian Andy Michaels. The tracks cover a range of styles from the pure pop of When I Close My Eyes to roots and country rock, electronic dance music and back again. There is a definite vein of Brit-pop that runs through the release, and he lists Coldplay and Peter Gabriel among his influences, not suprisingly.

"People have compared me from Cat Stevens to Maroon 5, Coldplay, Counting Crows and even Pink Floyd. It seems I hear some new comparison every time," Andy says in a press release.

Vocalist Kerrie Ironside joins him on many of the tracks. She has a raspy, expressive voice that is reminiscent of Macy Gray, and knows how to use the soft edge as well as the rougher one. In Angel, it whispers and floats above a slow country rock swing. She joins him in a throaty RnB mode for Will There Be Love, singing over a moody synth track.



I Just Want To Be The One adds a jittery element of electronic dance music that nicely sounds out the angst behind the lyrics. In Just Because You Love Someone, Andy's nimble and breathy tenor nicely contrasts Sharon Court's soprano.

Production by Andy Court is suitably lush and does justice to the music without embellishing it beyond recognition. It comes across as an accomplished release by a seasoned musician and composer.

Sidelined temporarily by a serious car accident at an early age, Andy has been releasing music and touring in Australia for about a decade. Andy performs regularly through Australia, as well as in Asia, South Africa, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and Canada. His songs have been syndicated on multiple radio stations.

Track List:
1. Today's Tomorrow
2. Angel
3. Just Because you Love Someone
4. When I Close my Eyes
5. I Just want to be the One
6. I'll Be Alright Loving You
7. Will There Be Love
8. Where are you Now
9. Home
10. Back to Me
11.White Lies
12. Lucretia's Eylandt
13. Angel (With Choir)

Artist Links
FacebookInstagramTwitterYoutube ChannelMusicians:
Andy Michaels - Vocals and Guitars; Andy Court - Backing vocals and keyboard; Sharon Court - Vocals and backing vocals; Kerrie Ironside - Vocals and Backing vocals

KUNÉ – Canada’s Global Orchestra - A New Name, Debut Album on Universal & Concert April 7 2018 in Toronto

From a media release:

KUNÉ – Canada’s Global Orchestra
The New Canadian Global Music Orchestra changes its name, announces its debut album via Universal Music Canada, and gets signed by Opus 3 Artists
KUNÉ will perform a concert with David Buchbinder’s Odessa/Havana
on Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 8pm
in Koerner Hall

TORONTO - A major initiative by The Royal Conservatory of Music was the formation a new ensemble of musicians created to celebrate the cultural diversity and pluralism of Canada during the country’s sesquicentennial. It was conceived by Mervon Mehta, Executive Director of Performing Arts at The Conservatory. The ensemble, then known as the New Canadian Global Music Orchestra, launched in Koerner Hall on June 2, 2017 and toured Canada with stops in Ottawa, Calgary, London, Guelph, and Montreal. It has now been renamed KUNÉ – Canada’s Global Orchestra.

Kuné means “together” in Esperanto. The Royal Conservatory auditioned 150 newcomers to Canada and was overwhelmed with the talent that was heard. 13 virtuoso musicians were selected – 12 from abroad who had each chosen to start a new life in Canada and one Métis Canadian, whose ancestors have been here for centuries. The ensemble came together in December 2016 and, under the artistic direction of David Buchbinder, began the journey to create a band that looks and sounds like Canada today. Through writing, rehearsals, cultural exploration, and touring together, the members of KUNÉ have formed a sound that is at once global and uniquely local. They illustrate what is possible when we listen to each other and play together.

KUNÉ’s self-titled debut album is scheduled for release on April 6 via Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. As a celebration of Canada’s strong cultural diversity, the ensemble is an authentic reflection of the multicultural talent that UMC is committed to supporting. The album release comes just one day ahead of their launch concert at Koerner Hall on April 7 alongside Juno award-winning trumpeter and composer David Buchbinder and Grammy Award nominated Cuban piano master Hilario Durán and their band Odessa/Havana, renowned for textured and tuneful music with powerful, swinging, and lyrical playing.

Produced by David Buchbinder and recorded by L. Stu Young at the Media and Production Program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the album was mixed by Buchbinder and Young at LoudMouse Studios and mastered by Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel Mastering. Mervon Mehta serves as Executive Producer of the entire project. The debut album will contain 14 tracks, written by each member of the Orchestra, plus Oscar Peterson’s “Hymn to Freedom,” and lyrics are in English, Farsi, French, Portuguese, Tibetan, and Bwamu.

In addition to their global partnership signing with Universal Music Canada, KUNÉ have also been signed by one of the leading arts management firms in the world, Opus 3 Artists, who manage artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Project, pianists Emanuel Ax and Daniil Trifonov, Rosanne Cash, Béla Fleck, Branford Marsalis, and the late Hugh Masekela, all of whom have appeared in Koerner Hall. Opus 3 Artists will be the ensemble’s exclusive agent for the United States and Europe.
KUNÉ – Canada’s Global Orchestra; Photo - Nicola Betts
KUNÉ’s members are:
· Padideh Ahrarnejad (Iran): tar & vocals
· Sasha Boychouk (Ukraine): woodwinds & ethnic Ukrainian flutes
· Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk (Canada – Métis): violin, viola & vocals
· Luis Deniz (Cuba): saxophone
· Anwar Khurshid (Pakistan): sitar & vocals
· Lasso (Salif Sanou) (Burkina Faso): Fulani flute, n’goni, talking drum, djembe, doum-doum & vocals
· Paco Luviano (Mexico): acoustic & electric bass
· Aline Morales (Brazil): Brazilian percussion & vocals
· Demetrios Petsalakis (Greece): oud, lyra, acoustic & electric guitar
· Matias Recharte (Peru): cajón, drums & percussion
· Selcuk Suna (Turkey): clarinet
· Dorjee Tsering (Tibet): dranyen, flute, piwang & vocals
· Dora Wang (China): bamboo flute, flute, hulusi & xiao

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kuneworld
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kuneworld
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kuneworld
Website: www.kuneworld.com

Travel Germany 2018 #EnjoyGermanFood: a culinary voyage of discovery through Germany

With material from a media release:

Travel Germany 2018
#EnjoyGermanFood: a culinary voyage of discovery through Germany
With everything from traditional Bier und Wurst, Schnitzel, and more, to fine dining at the country's more than 290 Michelin-starred restaurants, Germany is emphasizing the culinary in this year's tourism campaign.

Along with cuisine, for centuries, Germans have also appreciated good wines. The country is home to about 80,000 producers who are currently cultivating vines on approximately 102,000 hectares of land, including some international award-winning varieties. Germany currently has no fewer than 13 wine regions. For the last few years, many very creative young people have joined forces with longstanding wine producers to offer tours and events in picturesque settings.

• Check them out at the link

Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, GermanyExplore Germany's great culinary diversityAlmost nothing else says more about a country and its people than the national cuisine and associated traditions. Food and drink are a means of immersing yourself in the lifestyle of a region and enjoying unforgettable experiences. Food is, quite simply, an integral part of national culture – and Germany has lots to offer in this respect.

Germany is famous for its traditional recipes that have been lovingly preserved and handed down from generation to generation. At the same time, many influences from all over the world are also apparent in German cuisine. And this is precisely what makes our food culture an exciting blend of tradition and innovation that is as diverse as our scenery: from 'Pannfisch' fried fish in the North to green sauce and 'Bratwurst' sausages in Central Germany to dumplings, 'Maultaschen' pasta pockets and 'Eisbein' ham hock in the South – German cuisine has a delicious speciality to suit every palate.
Hansens Brauerei in Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, GermanySCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN 
Germany's northernmost state, with its capital at Kiel. Lübeck, with its Gothic-style cathedral, and 14th century Marienkirche, is one of the larger cities in the region, along with Flensburg. It lies between the North and Baltic Seas, a flat land to the west, with cliffs and fjords to the east.

You'll find German and Scandinavian elements in its culture and cuisine. Here's a recipe from the region to give you a taste of what to expect.

Schnüüsch with Holsteiner Katenschinken(vegetable stew with Holstein cured ham)


Ingredients For 4 people200g baby new potatoes200g broad beans250g peas250g carrots250g kohlrabi250g green beans1 litre milk or creamChopped parsley1 tablespoon butterHolstein cured ham
Wine recommendation
A Sauvignon Blanc with a dazzling bouquet of herbs, grass, gooseberry and green pepper is the perfect accompaniment.

Directions:
Boil the potatoes in salted water, then peel and slice. Wash the beans, peas, root vegetables, kohlrabi and green beans. Cut into small pieces and cook in a little salted water.Heat the milk or cream with the parsley and butter, then add the potatoes and vegetables. Season to taste. Serve with a plate of original Holstein cured ham.

Vancouver Art Gallery Presents BOMBHEAD March 3 to June 17 2018

From a media release:

Vancouver Art Gallery Presents
BOMBHEAD
March 3 to June 17, 2018
Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Art Gallery is excited to present BOMBHEAD (March 3 – June 17, 2018), a thematic exhibition that explores the emergence and ongoing impact of the nuclear age through the work of artists, designers, filmmakers, photojournalists and physicists.

Bruce Conner, Bombhead, 1989/2002,
pigment on RC photo paper, acrylic,
Private Collection, © Estate of Bruce Conner/SODRAC (2017)Guest curated by John O’Brian, Professor Emeritus of Art History, Visual Art & Theory at the University of British Columbia, BOMBHEAD combines atomic ephemera with artworks drawn primarily from the Vancouver Art Gallery’s collection. Encompassing the pre- and postwar period from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 to the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, the exhibition brings together paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photographs, film and video that deal with this often dark subject matter, strongly associated with obliteration and destruction.

“We are very pleased to present BOMBHEAD, which explores the profound cultural and ecological impact of nuclear technologies through the art and visual culture of the nuclear era,” says Kathleen S. Bartels, Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “In a time marked by ongoing nuclear proliferation this timely exhibition compels us to observe and reflect on the major role Canada has played in nuclear events since their emergence in the mid-twentieth century.”

Artists in the exhibition include: Carl Beam, Henry Busse, Blaine Campbell, Bruce Conner, Gregory Coyes, Robert Del Tredici, Wang Du, Harold Edgerton, Gathie Falk, Robert Filliou, Richard Finnie, Betty Goodwin, Adolph Gottlieb, David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Robert Keziere, Roy Kiyooka, Bob Light and John Houston, Ishiuchi Miyako, Carel Moiseiwitsch, Bruce Nauman, Andrea Pineiro, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Mark Ruwedel, John Scott, Erin Siddall, Nancy Spero and Barbara Todd.
Nancy Spero - Bomb and Victims, 1967, gouache, ink on paper Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of Keith Westergaard and Cordell Couillar ©Estate of Nancy Spero/SODRAC, Montreal/VAGA, New York (2017) Carel Moiseiwitsch, Untitled
(Four Black Jets) 1992
Lithograph on paper
Collection of Vancouver Art GalleryThe themes explored in this exhibition will strongly resonate with the works on view in Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg (February 3 – May 6, 2018), which reflect Murakami’s own reckoning with the nuclear age.

About Curator John O’Brian
John O’Brian is an art historian, writer and curator. He has organized exhibitions on photography and the nuclear era—The Nuclear Machine (Copenhagen, 2016), Camera Atomica (Toronto, 2015), After the Flash (London, 2014), Strangelove’s Weegee (Vancouver, 2013)—and published twenty books, including Ruthless Hedonism: The American Reception of Matisse and David Milne and the Modern Tradition of Painting as well as Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism, which he edited. He lives in Vancouver and until recently taught at the University of British Columbia.

*Also opening this month at the Vancouver Art Gallery:
Living, Building, Thinking: art and expressionism (March 3 – May 21, 2018)
A Cultivating Journey: The Herman Levy Legacy (March 3 – May 21, 2018)