
I’ll be performing next at the annual Garden of Memory performance walk-through event at Chapel of the Chimes, in Oakland, California, where I have performed every June 21st for the past several years, usually with the Cornelius Cardew Choir, a new music/sound art vocal ensemble. This is an amazing and totally unique performance event, which features a who’s who of the San Francisco Bay Area’s New Music scene and often includes composers, musicians and vocalists who cross musical genres. It is held in a historical landmark, a Julia Morgan-designed colombarium that has over 110 chambers or rooms, gardens, palm trees, ponds, trickling streams, skylights and other unusual features.
The best part—you can arrive anytime between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on June 21st, the Summer Solstice, and you can bring children, who are usually fascinated by the experience. You receive a map of the building at the door, and there are both stairways and elevators. The musicians are staked out in many different types of rooms and in some of the gardens on all of the floors, and as you make your way through the winding hallways, courtyards and passages, you hear a wonderful cross-blend of the music wafting from the different chambers. The range of performers is nothing short of amazing and includes anything from cutting edge electronics that interface with the natural elements of the space (trickling streams, the wind, etc.) to vocal ensembles and almost all acoustic instruments, to dancers, poets and experiments with text and sound, and much more.
Even the deceased seem to appreciate the event, to which some of the musicians dedicate their performances. The silent residents of Chapel of the Chimes are encased in urns that look like sculptured books on the “shelves” in each chamber. There are also two chapel spaces on the ground floor and several larger spaces on the upper floors where keyboardists, ensembles and those drawing larger audiences usually perform. You are drawn to explore each of the 3-4 floors and “discover” each performer or ensemble as you move through the extraordinary building. A palette of sunset colors streams through the skylights as the event progresses, adding an incredible atmosphere to what is truly a remarkable adventure. You can bring cameras and video equipment, but it is best to check first at the door and to remain unobtrusive so you won’t disturb the experiences of either the performing musicians or the “moving audience.”
On the map, you should be able to locate the ensemble I’ll be performing with this year, the Cornelius Cardew Choir. Come listen and join in—at least one piece we’ll be doing will involve optional audience participation. We’re still rehearsing, but at this point, I know we’ll be performing pieces by contemporary composers that include Pauline Oliveros, Joseph Zitt, and probably a few others (to be updated).
In 2005, an original composition of mine was performed by the Cardew Choir, entitled Wings of Silver Light, an anti-war (or pro-peace) piece, which was a memorial to those who have passed away in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a general memorial to loved ones who have passed on. I love the Chapel of the Chimes and this event, so it is likely that I’ll compose another piece for a future Solstice performance.
Here’s the vital information—please stop by and say hello if you come to the event!
New Music Bay Area
and
Lifemark Group Arts
present
Garden of Memory 2009:
a walk-through concert to celebrate the summer solstice
Sunday, June 21st, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.
at Chapel of the Chimes
4499 Piedmont Ave., in Oakland.
Admission is $15 general, $10 students and seniors, $5 kids under 12
(kids under 5 are free). Tickets available from
www.brownpapertickets.com or at the door.
For information, contact New Music Bay Area: listings@newmusicbayarea.org or call Allison at (510) 228-3207
Composers and Performers
- John Bischoff
- Brassiosaurus
- Sarah Cahill
- Joe Colley
- Cornelius Cardew Choir
- Cindy Cox
- Beth Custer
- Del Sol Quartet
- Thomas Dimuzio and Wobbly
- Paul Dresher and
Joel Davel - Adam Fong
- Larnie Fox and the Crank Ensemblei
- Matthew Goodheart
- Laura Inserra
- Jaroba
and Byron Blackburn - Stephen Kent
- Walter Kitundu
- Gregory Moore
- Nature Sounds Society
- Kitka
- Jaron Lanier
- Silvia Matheus
- Natto
- Amy X Neuburg
- Orchestra Nostalgico
- Maggi Payne
- Philip Perkins
- Gino Robair
- Jason Victor Serinus
- Kent Sparling
- Donald Swearingen
- Tango No. 9
- Threshold Choir
- Svetlana Voronina
- Vorticella
- William Winant Percussion Group
- Theresa Wong
- Pamela Z
Articles and Blog Posts
- CatSynth.com
- The Standing Room
- Oakland Magazine
- San Francisco Chronicle
- The Civic Center
- SFGate’s Culture Blog
- New Music Box
- San Francisco Bay Guardian
- Contemporary Music Review
- Urban View
- SF Gate’s Clef Notes
- Daily Planet
- Blog: Phantom of the Crematorium
Photos and Videos
- Flickr Photo Pool
- YouTube: Jorge Boehringer - Garden of Memory 2008
- YouTube: Summer Solstice Concert - Garden of Memory 2008
- lindgrenstudios’ photo set
- Atomicmonk’s
photo set - YouTube: Phantom of the
Crematorium
New Music Bay Area .
Chapel of the Chimes .
Directions
Come join us!
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