Live at Grabinski Point, Bologna - out on Impulse Response
Out today - a recording of Fluency of Trees performed live at Grabinski Point in Bologna. A truly special encounter back in February thanks to Stefano Pilia, Matilde Piazzi, Michele Bonifati, Giulio Stermieri, Liviana Davi, SIlvia Tarozzi and Impulse Response. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Michele Bonifati, Artwork by Dario Martorana. Listen/download at impulseresponse.bandcamp.com
Review of Practicing Sands
“Practicing Sands is a poignant document of a very strange time, and one that blurs the boundary between creation and reception, between performer and listener and between personal and collective experience. What is more, it is simply good, experimental music.” Thanks to Nick Ostrum for this review of Practicing Sands in the Squid’s Ear - read the full review here.
Upcoming trio with Haruka Fujii and Kanoko Nishi-Smith
I’m very excited for this first time performance in trio with Haruka Fujii (percussion) and Kanoko Nishi-Smith (bass koto). We’ll be playing an evening of improvised music at Spruce Street Concerts, a house concert series in Berkeley curated by Harry Bernstein. To reserve a seat, email: harry@fullplatemedia.com. Tickets are $30, payable in advance of the concert via PayPal (to harry@fullplatemedia.com) or Venmo (@harry-bernstein). Join us on May 27th at 8pm!
New piece up on Assemblage Manifesto
Here’s a solo piece I made for cello and 2 electric guitars for Brandon Locher‘s “Ongoing Solo” series, which will be part of a larger music and visual art series “Assemblage Manifesto”. assemblagemanifesto.bandcamp.com
Composer-in-residence with Peninsula Women's Chorus
I’m very pleased to share that I'm the 2023-24 Composer-In-Residence with Peninsula Women’s Chorus, led fearlessly by Anne Hege. Upcoming this May 6th and 13th in the SF Southbay, PWC’s Radiance Ensemble will be performing “To Burst To Bloom”, setting 6 poems by the 12th Century Taoist Sun Bu’er, which I originally composed in collaboration with Vajra Voices. I’ll also be performing on cello for other pieces of this fantastic program. Stay tuned for a newly commissioned work for PWC coming in 2024! Concert info here
Interview at MAO Torino, Italy
Here is an interview I did in February with Chiara Lee at the Museo d’Arte Orientale in Torino Italy about my work and recent performance of In the Cave of Guanyin, for live and multi-tracked cello. Many thanks to Chiara, Freddy Murphy, Barbara Corradino, Yi Zhong Art and the team at MAO for such a terrific evening!
Upcoming European dates:
Residency at the Emily Harvey Foundation, Venice, Italy: Jan 10 - Feb 12
Solo Performances:
Feb 1: Masterclass and performance, Fabrica, Treviso, Italy
Feb 9: Grabinski Point, via grabinki 2/g, Bologna, Italy 19:00
Feb 11: Cavana dei Miracoli / Studio Morgan O’Hara, Campo dei Miracoli, Venice, Italy 16:00
Feb 13: Duo w/ Francesca Naibo, Spazio Pontano, Civico 35, Milano, Italy 21:00
Feb 16: La Fine Gueule, Paris, France (presented by Infuse) 21:00
Feb 23: Raum 013, Progr, Waisenhausplatz 30, Bern, Switzerland 20:00
Feb 26: MAO, Torino, Italy
Mar. 3: Echoraum, Vienna, Austria
Evolving Soundscapes on Radio Banda Larga, Torino
In preparation for my performance at the Museum d’Arte Orientale di Torino, curators Freddy Murphy and Chiara Lee share some of my music on “Evolving Soundscapes”, a program of Torino’s Radio Banda Larga.
The program also includes conversations with members of Yi Zhong Art Project, which will perform an opening ritual to Sunday’s concert at MAO.
Composers Now IMPACT video is now online:
Many thanks to Composers Now, founded and directed by Tania León, for the invitation to share this video on my recent work on the IMPACT series.
Interview on Practicing Sands - with Frantz Loriot in Recordedness
I’m pleased to share a conversation with Frantz Loriot on Practicing Sands, out in the latest issue of Recordedness along with other writing by Silvia Tarozzi and Deborah Walker, Matt Robidoux, and many more.
Infuse présente podcast - on "Fluency of Trees"
In preparation for an upcoming concert presented by Infuse in Paris, here is a short podcast about compositional aspects of “Fluency of Trees”, which I’ll be performing on Feb. 16th in Paris. Many thanks to Sarah Elzas, Nissim Schaul and Masha Lankovsky.
Practicing Sands - reviewed by Massimo Ricci
Thank you to Massimo Ricci for this review of Practicing Sands, “…a genuine highlight of 2022…flexible, soaring chamber music for a lone performer that is infused with poetic sensibility and an organic fluidity.” Purchase or listen to the full album here.
She Dances Naked Under Palm Trees - out on First Hand Records
I'm over the moon to be part of Sarah Cahill’s newest release, "The Future Is Female - Vol.2 THE DANCE", out today on UK's First Hand Records. This album includes my piece, She Dances Naked Under Palm Trees commissioned by Sarah and sumptuously recorded and produced by Matt Carr at St. Stephen's Church in Belvedere, Tiburon. What a gift it has been to bring this piece to life with Sarah!
Other Minds Festival 26 @ The Great Star Theater in SF
photo: ebbe roe yovino-smith
Guillermo Galindo & Raven Chacon
What a joy to kick of Other Minds 26 with these beautiful souls! Backstage with Raven Chacon, Guillermo Galindo and Mari Kimura at the historic Great Star Theater in Chinatown. Deepest gratitude to Charles Amirkhanian, Blaine Todd, Liam Herb, Joseph Bohigian, Mark Abramson, Jacob Felix-Heule and all the folks working behind the scenes at Other Minds for a terrific festival. Deep thanks also to Giacomo Fiore and San Francisco Classical Voice for this write up about the Other Minds 26 opening night performances.
Flatlands - a film about redlining in West Berkeley
My short film, Flatlands, is now up online as part of Thingmajig.org’s Redline Redefined project - an ongoing artistic exploration of the effects of the US Federal Government’s redlining policies of the 1930’s. Many thanks to curators Edward Schocker, Erica Lee, historian Richard Schwartz, and all the participating artists who are beginning a discussion that I know will continue to be amplified. Check out all the projects here in this interactive map of the East Bay.
On the airwaves at Other Minds Radio
Take a listen here to tracks from Practicing Sands and Harbors (with Ellen Fullman), included in Other Mind’s radio broadcast “Music for Celebration”, in anticipation for the upcoming Other Minds 26 Festival. Hosted by Ed Herrman with music by Lou Harrison, John Cage, Henry Threadgill, Kui Dong, and many more…
Practicing Sands - on The Wire's Resonance FM playlist
Thanks to Chris Bohn for including “Wrong Bird” from Practicing Sands on The Wire’s September playlist of Adventures in Sound and Music. Take a listen to the full program here. Photo: Clockwise from top left: Otaco; Mali Obomsawin by Abby Lank and Jared Lank; Theresa Wong in The Wire 439 by Nicholas Albrecht; Peter Brötzmann in The Wire 345 by Ronald Dick
Practicing Sands - on the BBC airwaves
Tuning in now to BBC Late Junction and thrilled to have Practicing Sands included in Jennifer Lucy Allan’s playlist with lots of other great new music. The show will be up for a short while after it airs…
Journey To The Core - on "15 Questions"
This interview is an extension of a recent feature I did for 15 Questions, entitled “Tools of Creation - The Cello”. In “Journey To The Core”, you can read about the nuts, bolts, and clothespins of making Practicing Sands. Deep gratitude to editor Tobias Fischer for including me in this rich online resource.
Practicing Sands - out on fo'c'sle!
Practicing Sands is officially out! Thank you to all the folks who have supported this album and especially to all the people along the way who have helped in developing this work, including Civitella Ranieri Foundation for time and space way back in 2012, to Fred Frith for continually inspiring and giving ears to this project, to Myles Boisen for the artful mastering and guidance on the mix, and to Maggi Payne, Adria Otte and Sean Meehan for recording technique tips during the thick of lockdown in 2020. Take a listen and purchase your digital download or CD at focslemusic.com