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Presskit

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Beth Silverman/Eric Eatherly
The Silverman Group, Inc.
(312) 932-9950
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Current Press Releases

Heroes and Demons

February 26, 2010- Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the city’s leader in new art music and inventive collaborations between classical music and popular culture, continues its 2009-10 season with Heroes and Demons: Legends of Urban, Latin and Native America, a spellbinding evening celebrating modern interpretations of ancient myths at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Tuesday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m.

The one-time-only concert event features premieres aplenty including the World Premiere of Urban Legends, by Fulcrum Point composer-in-residence Randall Woolf, showcasing Woolf's recent exploration of hip hop and spoken word poetry.  Also on the program will be the American Premiere of Mexican composer Hilda Paredes’ Óox p’eel ikil t'aan (Three Poems), featuring Fulcrum Point Founder and Artistic Director Stephen Burns on trumpet and special guest artists from Luna Negra Dance Theater; the Midwest Premiere of Sulvasutra, based on an ancient Sanskrit treatise, by Evan Ziporyn, composer and founding member of Bang on a Can All-Stars; and two seminal works by David Dzubay: Wintu Dream Song, a Native American funeral song, being performed in a new version with flugelhorn solo, and Kukulkan II, a flight of fantasy evoking the monuments at Chichén Itzá.

"Our lives are bound by symbolism, ritual, and stories. The French adage 'Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose' says it all-- even though we've developed civilizations and technologies, the meaning of life centers around the most archetypal ideas; life, death, love, dignity, justice, creativity, and survival. Whether the myth derives from Mesopotamia or the New World, it essentially strives to define and elaborate upon the mysteries of human nature, spirituality, and the world around us,” said Burns. “The music on this program is inspired by ancient and contemporary legends, myths, stories, and treatises. From Neo-Classical to Electronica, Spectral to Post-Minimalist, the pieces presented are designed to take the audience on a journey investigating our inner and outer world.”

The concert begins with two works by David Dzubay: a new version of his Wintu Dream Song (2008), a Native American funeral song text of the west coast’s Wintu tribe, originally written for the Orion String Quartet, and Kukulkan II (2007), a flight of fantasy evoking the ritualistic character of some of the monuments at the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá, including the main pyramid of Kukulkan (the “Feathered Serpent”). For this performance, Wintu Dream Song will present the World Premiere of a new version with flugelhorn solo, to be performed by Stephen Burns. Dzubay is Professor of Music, Chair of the Composition Department and Director of the New Music Ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, at which Orion is the resident quartet.  

The concert continues with the Midwest Premiere of Evan Ziporyn’s Sulvasutra (2006), based on an ancient Sanskrit treatise, dating from approx. 800 BCE, that gives rules for the proper construction of Vedic altars.  Performed by a traditional string ensemble augmented with pipa (featured artist Yang Wei) and tabla (featured artist Kalyan Pathak), Sulvasutra is composed in three continuous movements, built around rhythmic cycles of four, five, and three—the sides of a right triangle. A Chicago native, composer/clarinetist Evan Ziporyn’s work is informed by his 25+year involvement with Balinese gamelan, which has ranged from intensive study of traditional music to the creation of a series of groundbreaking works for gamelan and western instruments. Further, he is a founding member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, with whom he has toured the globe since 1992.
Following is the American Premiere of Óox p’eel ikil t’aan (Three Poems) (2007) by Hilda Paredes, one of the leading Mexican composers of her generation.   Óox p’eel ikil t’aan, for trumpet, percussion, tape and live electronics, is based on three poems in contemporary Mayan language read by the author, Briceida Cuevas Cob, who has been previously recorded. The piece will feature Burns on trumpet, along with special guest artists from Chicago’s Luna Negra Dance Theater performing the World Premiere of “Misplaced Flowers,” with choreography by Joel Valentin-Martinez, an active performer/choreographer/ dance teacher, currently serving as Senior Lecturer in the Theatre Dept. of Northwestern University. For more than ten years, Luna Negra Dance Theater has created, performed and taught contemporary dance by Latino choreographers, such as Valentin-Martinez, giving expression to their stories and bringing new life to the cultures of their communities.  Luna Negra Dance Theater will be represented by Javier Amaya, Melissa Bourkas, Veronica Guadalupe, Justine Humenansky, Marc Macaranas, Tanya Myers, Hamilton Nieh, and Jason Anthony Williams; this is the first collaboration between Luna Negra and Fulcrum Point.

Completing the Heroes and Demons program will be the World Premiere of Urban Legends by Fulcrum Point composer-in-residence and Brooklyn native Randall (Randy) Woolf, in a commission by “Music Alive.”  Woolf explores hip hop and spoken word poetry, enlisting four New York City rap artists to record their own versions of a classic myth: Liza Jessie Peterson creates an original myth for herself as poet-activist-seer, "congregating, activating mystics in the hood;" Wordisbon exposes the myth of free self-regulating financial markets; Tongo Eisen-Martin presents a harrowing vision of the hell of prison life, transformed into a source of redemption; and Jeremy Inspo Smith takes on the myth of a certain word and a renunciation of its supposed power.  Woolf interlaces these rap segments with a composition for chamber ensemble performed live by Fulcrum Point.  Woolf will be in attendance at the concert.  His Fulcrum Point residency is made possible through “Music Alive,” a program of the League of American Orchestras and Meet The Composer.  This national program is designed to provide orchestras with resources and tools to support their presentation of new music to the public and build support for new music within their institutions.  Funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the ASCAP Foundation-Joseph and Rosalie Meyer Fund.

Fulcrum Point’s 2009-10 Season concludes at the Harris Theater with Computers Come Alive!, showcasing a series of works influenced by or incorporating computer-driven technology, Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

Since its formation by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998 under the auspices of Performing Arts Chicago, the mission of Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been to champion new classical music and highlight contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music.  Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the 25-member Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world. Burns, himself, has been acclaimed on four continents for his widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture.

Single tickets are priced at $30 each, with student and senior tickets priced at $15, and all tickets include a post-concert wine & cheese reception with the artists.

To order tickets, please call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. Discount tickets at $20 are available for groups of 10 or more.

A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales fund Sound Tracks, Fulcrum Point’s innovative program that brings global and new music to Chicago Public Schools.  The Sound Tracks project, designed to appeal to fourth- and fifth-graders, takes students around the world, mixing an introduction to world instruments with geography, architecture, visual art, cultural history and more.
Fulcrum Point New Music Project programs are supported in part by: the Illinois Arts Council, a City Arts Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Music Alive, The Irving Harris Foundation, an Arts Engagement Grant of Chicago Community Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, Arts Work Fund of Chicago Community Trust, Polk Bros Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Neisser Family Fund, The Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., and the National Endowment for the Arts, with The Seneca as the official hotel sponsor.

For more information on the Fulcrum Point New Music Project 2009-10 season, please call (312) 726-3846 or visit www.fulcrumpoint.org

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Fulcrum Point presents... Art Without Boundaries

MICHIGAN AND DUTCH CREATIVE MASTERMINDS COLLABORATE WITH FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECT TO CREATE IMPROVISATIONAL PAINTING AND MUSICAL PERFORMANCE AT EVANSTON’S SPACE, MARCH 10, 2010

CHICAGO—February 2, 2010—The Fulcrum Point New Music Project proudly presents Art Without Boundaries, a unique performance combining improvisational art created by Michigan/Dutch design team, Two Designing, famous Dutch musician Wilbert de Joode, and Fulcrum Point.  Art Without Boundaries will be held at SPACE in Evanston, 1245 Chicago Avenue, Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. 

Art Without Boundaries will combine the improvisational talents of Fulcrum Point musicians Stephen Burns (trumpet), Collins Trier (bass), and percussionists Jeff Handley and Tina Laughlin and special guest de Joode (bass) along with visual artists Royce Deans and Tali Farchi of Two Designing.  Deans and Farchi will unite in Chicago for one night only to create their collective artwork.  Fulcrum Point’s and de Joode’s live music will inspire Deans and Farchi as they paint, resulting in an original, in-the-moment creation that blends two distinctly different genres.

According to Two Designing co-founder, Royce Deans, “Performances of Art Without Boundaries are completely based in improvisation.  This way of working live exposes the artists and their creative process so completely as to make them naked.”  Royce continues, “It is a dialogue between the music, paint, movement and sound.  It is giving and taking, listening and reacting, painting and playing. Live painting with live music is all about being in the moment.  Chances are you have never seen anything like this before, and it is for certain that you will never see it quite like this ever again.”

Tickets for Art Without Boundaries are $15 and can be purchased online at http://www.evanstonspace.com/buytix.html or by calling 847-492-8860.  The appearances of Dutch artists de Joode and Farchi are made possible by the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

About the Artists
Geographically, the artists Tali Farchi and Royce Deans are worlds apart:  Farchi resides in the Netherlands and Deans lives in Michigan.  However, their collaboration and creativity is what makes their company, Two Designing, so unique.  Together Farchi and Deans have worked projects ranging from company logos to children’s books. 

Royce Deans graduated from Chicago’s American Academy of Art in 1983 and has been pushing the artistic envelope ever since.  Royce owned a design firm in Chicago, which was the first small company to make the leap to desktop publishing. This opened up many doors for them as they began to work with large companies such as McDonalds.  Deans has spent his life immersed in art and enjoys drawing, illustrating, and painting.  His artistic works can be seen in galleries across the United States in places such as Michigan, New York, Illinois, Indiana, and Utah.  He recently started teaching art from his private studio, which increased his satisfaction with his own work and has given him the pleasure of helping others reach their goals. 

Tali Farchi was born and raised in Israel and decided to pursue her passion for the arts in the Netherlands where she attended art academies in The Haage and Amsterdam.  After her completion of school, Farchi moved to Tel Aviv, Israel to open an animation and visual arts studio where she created works for Sesame Street, other children’s programs, videos, and DVD’s.  Also in Tel Aviv, she worked as an art director for feature films, commercials, and promotional videos. Farchi decided to move back to Holland in the late nineties and was drawn to modern multi-media and blending the many disciplines of art.  Since 2003 she has been presenting her multi-disciplined performance, Mo(ve)ment, around the globe.

Wilbert de Joode is a self-taught musician from the Netherlands, who has been playing the double bass since 1982.  Joode got his start working with improvisational jazz musicians such as Vera Vingerhoeds, Armando Cairo, and Ig Henneman.  He is now one of the most active bass players on the European improvised music circuit.  Joode also has a solo CD which features seventeen improvised musical pieces. 

Since its formation by trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns in 1998 under the auspices of Performing Arts Chicago, the mission of Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been to champion new classical music and highlight contemporary composers who are inspired and influenced by popular culture, including literature, film, dance, folk, rock, jazz, blues, Latin and world music.   Through multi-disciplinary concert performances and educational programs, the Fulcrum Point ensemble seeks to encourage audiences to make cross-cultural connections between new music, art, technology and literature, gaining greater insight into today’s diverse world.   Burns himself has been acclaimed on four continents for his widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre and sculpture. 

Fulcrum Point New Music Project programs are supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a City Arts Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Music Alive, The Irving Harris Foundation, an Arts Engagement Grant of Chicago Community Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, Arts Work Fund of Chicago Community Trust, Polk Bros Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Neisser Family Fund, The Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., and the National Endowment for the Arts.  The Seneca is the official hotel sponsor.  

For more information on Art Without Boundaries, or the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, please call (312) 726-3846 or visit www.fulcrumpoint.org.
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