Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
In Full Bloom
Ahh, long-awaited Spring has finally come... Blossoming apricot tree branches from the Brooklyn Botanical are the proof!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Drawing Music :: Ecstatic Music Festival's Grand Finale
Here are a few drawings from the Ecstatic Music Festival's closing concert at the Merkin Concert Hall that took place on March 28 of 2011. Drummer and composer Bobby Previte premiered 'Terminals' with So Percussion, Zeena Parkins (harp/electric harp), John Medeski (piano, Hammond organ), Jen Shuy (er hu, voice) and DJ Olive (turntables, computer).
Congratulations and thanks to composer and Ecstatic's curator Judd Greenstein for his first [amazing] music festival! It lasted from January 17 untill March 28 and showcased a constellation of most unusual and interesting musical explorers. I attended a few shows. Here is a recap, with thoughts written and drawn:
Judd Greenstein with Olga Bell
Roomful of Teeth
So Percussion with Dan Deacon
So Percussion and Jen Shuy
Zeena Parkins on harp and So Percussion's Josh Quillen
John Medeski
Bobby Previte
DJ Olive and So Percussion's Eric Beach
Jen Shuy playing Er Hu
Congratulations and thanks to composer and Ecstatic's curator Judd Greenstein for his first [amazing] music festival! It lasted from January 17 untill March 28 and showcased a constellation of most unusual and interesting musical explorers. I attended a few shows. Here is a recap, with thoughts written and drawn:
Judd Greenstein with Olga Bell
Roomful of Teeth
So Percussion with Dan Deacon
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Theater :: The Rover
The New York Classical Theater must be the city's best kept secret. They do FREE stagings all over Manhattan during warmer months of the year. The 12th season has been opened with the Restoration comedy "The Rover" by Aphra Behn inside the World Financial Center complex. The spectacle is called "panoramic theater": the location becomes the stage set, and the audience follows actors from spot to spot every 5-10 minutes.
"There's no sinner like a young saint."
I've attended "The Rover" twice, and did some reportage drawings. I was really impressed with the cast and the powerful performance. Last year's "Hamlet" and "Richard III" set the expectations very high. "The Rover" was delightful, fun and funny, from the plot and language to vibrant costumes and musical arrangement. It's a story of love, lust and jealousy.
Couldn't help but favor one character: Angellica Bianca, the courtesan "who never loved before". Her evil laugh was hair-raising. Here she is, striking a pose.
The rover Willmore tells her:
"Though I admire you strangely for your beauty, Yet I condemn your mind."
There is a parallel between the courtesan, Angellica Bianca, and the playwright, Aphra Behn: not only do they share the same initials, but also, according to Aphra, both "playwright and prostitute are entertainers of men."
________________________________________________________________________
"There's no sinner like a young saint."
I've attended "The Rover" twice, and did some reportage drawings. I was really impressed with the cast and the powerful performance. Last year's "Hamlet" and "Richard III" set the expectations very high. "The Rover" was delightful, fun and funny, from the plot and language to vibrant costumes and musical arrangement. It's a story of love, lust and jealousy.
Couldn't help but favor one character: Angellica Bianca, the courtesan "who never loved before". Her evil laugh was hair-raising. Here she is, striking a pose.
The rover Willmore tells her:
"Though I admire you strangely for your beauty, Yet I condemn your mind."
There is a parallel between the courtesan, Angellica Bianca, and the playwright, Aphra Behn: not only do they share the same initials, but also, according to Aphra, both "playwright and prostitute are entertainers of men."
________________________________________________________________________
NEXT UP:
The School for Husbands by Moliere
Central Park (at West 103rd & Central Park West)
Thursday through Sunday, June 2 - 26 at 7:00 pm
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Drawing Music :: Ecstatic Music Festival : Judd Greenstein & Olga Bell
"Heritage": Composer Judd Greenstein performing Sh'lomo.
drawn on paper + iPhone
Another beautiful Ecstatic Music Festival event! This time, it was the festival's curator himself who was on stage. Judd Greenstein, an immensely talented New York-born-and-raised composer, presented 4 movements from Sh'lomo. The work tells the story of King Solomon and the Jewish people. Judd Greenstein brings his heritage and the wisdom of ancestors to modern life through shimmering voices of singers and his pulsating music. Truly ecstatic.
I left humming the last musical phrase from Sh'lomo. Turned out, I was not the only one...
Stage full of musicians. Judd Greenstein's Sh'lomo.
drawn on paper + iPhone
Singers from "Roomful of Teeth" performing Sh'lomo's 1st movement "These are the Sons of Israel".
drawn on paper + iPhone
Composer Judd Greenstein performing Sh'lomo.
drawn on paper + iPhone
Judd Greenstein shared the stage with Olga Bell, a Moscow-born/Alaskan-raised/New York-based musician and composer. Olga presented an ambitious piece in 7 movements that told the story of Russia's frontier lands. It is titled Krai and is sung in Russian. Similar to Judd Greenstein, Olga draws on her heritage, folk fables and even an ancient Orthodox prayer.
Musician and composer Olga Bell (left) performing Krai.
drawn on paper + iPhone
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Spring Past
I found this drawing I made three springs ago at the Central Park's Bethesda Fountain and it made me smile. There's nothing quite like an early spring day in the park, when it's still cool but the sun is warm, and the people pour outside for their Saturday stroll. The air is filled with sounds of jazz, children's laughter and fresh leaves ruffling in the breeze... Hurry up, Spring!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)