Check out this incredible poster art by @assortedpsychedelia Andrieu Todd!!! 😍😍😍
Saturday, 11/11/2023 Common Sage 934 Drake Street
BC Grimm Def Sonic Hunter Nicholson
Potluck @ 7pm Music @ 8pm $10 suggested donation
I’ll be performing the title track from my 2014 album of experimental zither music called, “The Ideating Knell”. It’s a long-form piece for a ‘prepared guzheng’ Chinese zither, exploring all of the non-traditional sounds you can make on the instrument. In the spirit of John Cage’s groundbreaking solo prepared piano works, this music prepares the guzheng with shell necklaces, clay pottery tools, mixing bowls, small gongs, bows, dulcimer hammers, clay teapot shards, and more! I would describe the 21-string guzheng with its spine of bridges and large coffin-like resonating chamber as a “cathedral of sounds”.
I’m very excited for this opportunity to perform at Common Sage, hosted by Tim Russell and Liz Sexe! An experimental musician and dancer couple who I’ve known nearly the entire time I’ve been in Madison! What they are cultivating with these monthly experimental house shows and potlucks is in kindred spirit to what Ka Baird used to do in Madison before she moved to NYC. It is helping to rekindle a sense of community for the experimental and improvised community here in Madison. It’s something that’s been missing in our scene for years now, and I’m so glad it’s back!! It’s been really hard for Tim and me to schedule a month where I’d be around and available to perform, and we finally got one! Hope to see some of you tomorrow night!
I’ll be taking the new sounds that I’ve been creating for this updated version of the piece and working on a new album of prepared guzheng music for another label soon! More details to come in the coming months, but I’m very excited to release a new album of prepared guzheng sounds on the 10th anniversary of the original release of this concept!
From a performance of the piece at an outdoor festival back in 2014, photo by Audre Rae PhotographyPicture of the setup from a recent performance of The Ideating Knell in Cleveland, OH at the Cleveland Institute of Art
Brennan Connors & Stray Passage maintained a regular presence in Madison as an improvising/experimental jazz unit for over a decade. Their album “Emergence” was released in 2017 via the Italian record label Setola Di Maiale. Saxophonist and leader Brennan Connors has been delving further into his own musical and compositional concepts. Brian Grimm (bass guitar and electric cello) has been composing scores and sounds scapes for live theatre in Chicago, Indianapolis, and throughout Wisconsin for the past 2 years as Geoff Brady (drums, theremin, and electronics) maintains his presence as one of the top percussionists in Madison. “All three members weave in and out of freely tumultuous passages and desolate spaciousness, achieving a collective, convincing direction that challenges the listener’s understanding of the passing of time in live composition” (Emili Earhart, Tone Madison). Always listening deeply to one another and the audience in the room, the trio connects directly to the listener with sensitivity, a wide dynamic range, and deep emotional engagement. Don’t miss the rare chance to see this trio live and in full swing!
Live from Cafe Code in 2021
BlueStem Jazzis a non-profit venture dedicated to presenting progressive, avant-garde, experimental jazz in Madison WI.
Be sure to check out their website to see their many upcoming events! BlueStem Jazz has been working incredibly hard to book as much high quality Jazz and Improvised music as possible in Madison, WI. Including supporting both local and touring talents.
(from their website) Located on Madison’s near East Side, nestled behind Olbrich Gardens, the award-winning Garver Feed Mill® is a multi-faceted destination that features local artisans, producers, wellness studios, and retailers offering visitors everything from coffee to ice cream, catering to kombucha.
The renovated Feed Mill honors and preserves Madison’s rich agricultural and industrial history by re-activating the building as a next-generation food production center and provide visitors with the opportunity to taste the best of Madison. The historic Mill has been transformed into a platform for local food businesses to grow, and in turn, expand Madison’s profile as a Midwestern hub of high quality, hand crafted food and drink.
Private and public events in our indoor and outdoor event spaces keep Garver bustling throughout the year, bringing people from near and far to “the Soul of Madison” – the vibrant East Side of the City. In winter months, Garver is home to the Dane County Farmers Market, the largest producer only farmers market in the nation.
Health and wellness enthusiasts looking to connect with themselves, each other, and the world around them will also find community at Garver Feed Mill through a variety of spiritual and physical wellness offerings from yoga and meditation classes to aromatherapy and spa retreats.
Garver is a foodie and wellness destination for locals and out-of-towners alike, benefiting from the close proximity and future programming with Olbrich Botanical Gardens and Olbrich Park.
The mission of LunART Festivalis to support, inspire, promote, and celebrate women in the arts through public performances, exhibitions, workshops, and interdisciplinary collaboration; thus enriching our community and creating a welcoming space for learning and experimentation. This international art festival features engaging and accessible events and concerts in Madison, an educational program for emerging composers, as well as community building events for artists. LunART interweaves art forms throughout events, offering diverse and exciting programming, where creativity is queen!
Join us for a Playhouse Gallery Reception from 6 PM – 8 PM! Art Discussion with Kelly Parks Snider starts at 6:30 PM!
We are women united against hate. We are mothers, sisters, grandmother and caretakers. We are joined together purposely to shine a light, capture attention, and push back against injustice.
A collective effort of artists and activists, “Women Against Hate United by Love” is a platform, an entry point for a female-led anti-hate campaign united against bigotry, intolerance and racism. The creative building blocks for our artwork and messaging are women’s stories—powerful, tough, revealing stories of injustice, tragedy, strength, and amazingly, hope.
The goal of “From Page to Stage” is to support emerging women composers in gaining a clearer understanding of not only expressing their creativity, but also creating clear scores, cultivating relationships with performers, and the art of collaboration. The master class with festival composer-in-residence Valerie Coleman will explore works submitted by participants, while talks about collaboration and the role of the independent composer will offer participants a well-rounded approach to growing their own careers.
Join the LunART Festival in celebrating women in the arts with our opening gala concert. Featuring chamber music, poetry, monologues and aerial dancing, this concert will be a spectacular showcase of creativity by women artists!
Program: Kirsten Volness little tiny stone, full of blue fire for flute/alto, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin & cello
Valerie Coleman, Tzigane for woodwind quintet
Barbara Strozzi, L’Astratto, Opus 8.04 Che si può fare, Opus 8.06
Hilary Tann, The Walls of Morlais Castle for oboe, viola & cello
Kate Soper, Only the Words Themselves Mean What They Say for flute & soprano
Special guests: Andrea Musher – poet Deborah Hearst – theatre artist Linda DiRaimondo – aerial dancer + BC Grimm guqin zither
What does it mean to create art as a woman in the 21st century, and how do our experiences shape what we produce and perform? Join us to hear stories of modern women and their unique personal journeys that led them to lives and careers in the arts.
This is a free pre-concert lecture that is open to the public. Stick around for the 7 PM concert Portraits of Josephine featuring an evening of music and dance.
Join us for a night of music and dance! Featuring a percussive string quintet by composer Edna Alejandra Longoria and a choreographed exploration of rhythm by dancer Liz Sexe & Kimi Evelyn, this concert will have you moving in your seat throughout the evening.
Program:
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Concerto for trumpet and five players
Valerie Coleman, Portraits of Josephine wind quintet
Edna Alejandra Longoria, Danzas Cautivas for string quintet & piano
Liz Sexe, Lone Sum: Part II (choreographed dance)
Stacy Garrop, My Dearest Ruth for soprano, violin, cello, clarinet & piano
Kimi Evelyn, She (choreographed dance)
Missy Mazzoli, The Sound of the Light for flute, violin, trumpet, trombone & piano
This lineup of amazing comedians is gonna be a stunner! Featuring local comics from the Midwest who are blazing a trail of funny that will leave you gasping in their wake. Come to the Robinia courtyard where these Queens will be “Holding Court.”
We are extremely excited to welcome our 2019 participants to LunART’s educational program “From Page to Stage: Emerging Composers!” After attending masterclasses and workshops, these 6 talented composers will have their compositions performed by Madison musicians during this free concert at Capitol Lakes.
Program:
Emily Joy Sullivan – Dangerous Curves Ahead for violin, cello & piano
Claudia Sofía Alvarez Cuba – Nada queda (Nothing Left) for soprano & marimba
Shelby Scott – Going Thoughts for piano solo
Veronica Cator – Direction for string quartet
Anna Marcus-Hecht – Transfiguration for mezzo-soprano & piano
Join us for our final gala concert of the festival! This program will feature a wickedly upbeat clarinet & piano duo by Eunike Tanzil (who will be here to perform the piece herself!), Clara Schumann’s classic Piano Trio in G minor, and Valerie Coleman’s groundbreaking Afro-Cuban Concerto for wind quintet.
The ARTemis Women’s Choir returns for a second year and we’ll be featuring the artwork of women artists from Studio 84, Inc. and ARTWORKING, two nonprofit organizations that support artists with disabilities.
Full program:
ARTemis Women’s Choir: Joan Szymko, Eli Eli Meg Huskin, Oblivion Jocelyn Hagen, Moon Goddess Alexandra Olsavsky, What Happens When a Woman?
Eunike Tanzil, Catching Time! for clarinet & piano
Clara Schumann, Piano Trio in G minor for violin, cello & piano
“Mooning Around” Poetry Reading and Artist Mixer – no better way to close our 2019 season! Join us for a performance of “One for Mileva Maric (Einstein)” by Andrea Musher, with special guests Sarah Whelan and Jackie Bradley, and poetry readings by The Line-Breakers: Andrea Potos, Eve Robillard, Rosemary Zurlo-Cuva & Katrin Talbot.
Enjoy your morning coffee and brunch while making creative connections with other artists. Open the public and all artists – bring your portfolios, business cards, and get creative!
Sun, 4/28 | 4-5pm Free @ Fort Atkinson Club 211 S. Water Street East, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 Chamber Series Concert featuring Sound Out Loud
From Fort Atkinson Club: “Join us on Sunday, April 28 2019 from 4-5pm for the second 2019 Chamber Series Concert. Stay after the concert for a complimentary wine and appetizer reception. This is a great opportunity to meet the performers! This event is FREE and open to the public.
The Sound Out Loud Collective is a contemporary music ensemble based in Madison. While the specific instrumentation of the group fluctuates with each program, the core ensemble is comprised of flute (Iva Ugrcic), violin (Aaron Yarmel), cello (Brian Grimm), and two pianists (Satoko Hayami and Kyle Johnson). Sound Out Loud specializes in engaging works from the early 20th century–present and commissions new pieces from composers around the world. April’s concert will feature a diverse program of National Styles. Bryce Dessner’s “Murder Ballades” features intense, rhythmical arrangements of American ballads, while Arnold Schoenberg’s “Chamber Symphony” offers a mix of high modernism with popular European styles.
While these concerts are open and free to the public, many dedicated patrons and sponsors are to be thanked for their generosity and support of the Chamber Series Concerts. “
Features on the Program, notes by Brian Grimm
I am thrilled to be joined by Todd Hammes (tabla) for a performance of compositions and variations in Drut Ektaal (fast 12 beat cycle) on Raga Bageshree. These theme and variations were given to me by my guruji pandit Sugato Nag, a sitar master based out of Kolkata, India. Sugato’s style of playing is highly melodic and vocal, which has been one of the great advantages as he has helped me to adapt this music on my ‘sarangicello’. Todd studied under Pandit Sharda Sahai and for a period of time, was my brother AJ’s tabla teacher. I’ve had a lot of fun rehearsing with Todd and can’t wait to perform more Indian Classical with him in the future! Here is a performance of my guruji Sugato Da and his son Snehesh Nag performing the same main compositions, with different variations:
Ravi Shankar, one of the greatest musicians of all time has remained a favorite inspiration of mine throughout my life. Only in the last year did I stumble upon one of his masterpieces for dance and theater, Ghanashyam: A Broken Branch (1989). Back in college, I found a CD of Indian ensemble music featuring a concerto for two sitars and ensemble music highlighting bansuri flute that Ravi had composed – I’ve always kept my eye out for more of that sound. Most people in the Western World have come to know of Ravi Shankar via his influence on the Beatles, being that he was George Harrison’s guru. Ravi became one of the first Global Musicians to help spread and educate on the deep joyful experience of Indian Classical and Folk music. I first heard the Overture of Ghanashyam on a compilation disc I found years ago at a Half Priced Books, and was blown away! This was exactly what I was looking for and what an exciting piece to kick off any album or production! I couldn’t find any more info on this piece and for a couple of years, I simply enjoyed it and stopped looking further. Then, curious again last year I happened upon the good news that the entire project was remastered and re-released in 2017! I immediately ordered a copy and it has become one of my favorite albums of all time.
Ravi of course was know also as one of the greatest sitar soloists of his time, but few Westerners know of his ensemble compositions that he did for film, radio, and dance. Shankar grew up performing traditional Indian dance and music, so he was the perfect person to create this dance and theater piece about the ultimate death of a dancer due to drug abuse, and the effect on those around him. If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that the Brothers Grimm have composed many scores for dance and theater, so this is kind of an ultimate geek out album for me.
I have arranged the overture for Sound Out Loud to play at this Fort Atkinson performance. One brilliant idea executed in this overture is that no matter how that each musical theme presents it self later on in the production (4, 6, 7, 12, 16, etc beat cycles), they are all stitched together and made one by fitting each theme to an 11 beat cycle within the overture.
The remaster sounds amazing, they really did a great job cleaning up the mix and opening up space and definition around each instrument, bringing out the color in each instrument voice. You can pick up your physical copy here: East Meets West Shop
From East Meets West, Ravi’s legacy record label: ” Nine Decades Vol. 5 is a special re-mastered recording of the music-theater piece entitled, Ghanashyam: A Broken Branch, originally commissioned by he Birmingham Touring Opera Company and premiering in 1989. Created out of his deep concern over the youth culture’s preoccupation with drugs as an “easy escape from the sadhana found in disciplined hard work,” Ravi Shankar wrote this outstanding piece of music in the folk tale tradition. It is an examination of the forces that can dilute the world-changing potential of the artist. The music is lush, featuring Shankar’s usual proclivity to combine Eastern and Western orchestral instrumentations to great effect. Featuring dance music in the North Indian Kathak style, as well as the South Indian Bharatanatyam and Kathakali styles, Ghanashyam is a dynamic work of unearthly beauty and one that is very much influenced by Shankar’s eight years of dancing in his brother Uday Shankar’s troupe. Originally released on CD in the early 1990s at a truncated 60 minutes, East Meets West has re-mastered the original reels and restored a full twenty more minutes to the music, making this recording a more faithful to the audio that accompanied the original theater production. “
Behind the scenes footage of the production!
Murder Ballads
Sound Out Loud will close the program with a performance of Murder Ballads (2013) by Bryce Dessner. Dessner is famously known in popular music circles as the guitarist for the National and the Clogs. Murder Ballads (recording below by Eighth Blackbird, in Chicago) explores a wide range of folk styles converted to 21st century Classical chamber music. This piece is a ” set of seven instrumental ballads, the piece was inspired by the tunes, stories and playing styles from the great American folk music tradition. The ballads include pieces loosely based on classic tunes, plus Dessner’s original compositions which were informed by the many months he spent inhabiting the seductive music and violent stories of these murder ballads. “It has been super fun and challenging to learn this piece, there are a number of movements which require very accurate bow technique. However difficult individual technique gets, it always remains melodic and easy on the ears. No matter how dark the murderous folk lore subject matter may be, we find it to be quite an enjoyable ride and a nice way to close out the concert.
