Wild Shore Festival For New Music Benefit Party
A few of our raffle items are listed below. Come and see what else you can win!
The Cosmic Hamlet
TRANSIT went into the studio to record Conrad Winslow’s The Cosmic Hamlet, which was premiered this summer at the festival. The recording is now available!
Wrap Video
We had a fantastic inaugural season with packed events & oceans of love. This is what happened:
WILDSHORE FESTIVAL 2013 from Katherine Brennan on Vimeo.
Stay tuned for the New York fall fundraiser, and more information about next season!
inside the music
From our Homer-native composer and co-founder, Conrad Winslow:
When I lived in Homer, my teachers, mentors and friends knew me as a pianist. I am returning to Homer as a composer, so I am thrilled to reintroduce myself with a brand-new piece that I composed for Homer and a collection of five works that has made a strong impact on me. I want to say a little bit about why we chose these spectacular pieces, and about what to expect from them.
The first reason for picking these works is that their composers are alive; Fairbanks-based composer John Luther Adams is the oldest, I am the youngest, and nobody is over the age of seventy. There are legions of composers working today in every imaginable aesthetic, so it was easy for us to limit our selections to the works of living composers. The second reason for choosing these pieces is that each contains qualities that I feel resonate with Homer in particular. Sean Friar (b.1985) wrote SCALE 9 about mania & rapid shifts of mood, first ecstatic, uptempo, then serene and searching, the way one might suddenly feel when Kachemak Bay peels into sight on a perfect day. INDIGENOUS INSTRUMENTS by Steven Mackey (b.1956) conjures music from a fictional culture, highlighting funky, strange characters that definitely make me think of some of my childhood Homer neighbors. MAKE PRAYERS TO THE RAVEN by John Luther Adams (b.1953) was originally composed as a film score for a documentary about the Koyukon Athabascans of interior Alaska. Much of John Luther Adams’ music is deeply rooted in the Arctic, and his adaptations of two Athabascan songs in Prayers sculpt this profoundly Alaskan work. Another work about place—this time about water—is LIEUX RETROUVÉS: I. LES EAUX (Places Revisited: I. The Waters) by British composer Thomas Adès (b.1971). As someone who has returned to Homer after years away, I can’t think of a more appropriate tribute to Kachemak Bay than this gorgeous cello and piano duet. Another duet on the program, LEND/LEASE, by David Lang (b.1957), refers to the Lend-Lease act between the U.S. and Britain that shepherded our entry into World War II. It’s about friendship and coöperation, qualities I’ve always felt at the center of Homer culture. You immediately sense that when you hear the flute player and the percussionist literally on the same wavelength, in total hypnotic unison.
The third reason for picking these works is that they are all influential to my own music in ways that I hope you will be able to hear in my piece, THE COSMIC HAMLET. My work is a meditation on Homer life in two parts: the first part is Tides, with billowing music not just for the enormous ocean tides that so completely change the appearance of the Spit every six hours, but also for the spectacular changes in season, in daylight, and even the abundance and price of fish that determine Homer’s lifeways. The second part, The End of the Road, is music on the people of Homer. It begins with an ambling motive that leads to a parade of characters (based on people I grew up with), followed by a sudden detour into the wilderness (which so immediately surrounds Homer), ending with a tranquil return to town.
Come hear these works at Bunnell Street Arts Center on Friday, July 5, at 7:30 after the First Fridays art opening, and in Halibut Cove on Sunday, July 7!
Halibut Cove Live’s Floating Stage
We are very excited to announce our Floating Stage concert in Halibut Cove, directly across the bay from Homer, on Sunday, July 7! The tide will be high, so we can float our way into the cove and share some incredible new music over a fantastic meal. Enjoy listening to world class musicians, performing on Alaska’s only floating amphitheater. Unique, healthy cuisine created by some of Alaska best chefs includes locally grown produce, fresh caught seafood, and specialty meats.
Tickets for each event are $160 per person and include round-trip transportation from Homer to Quiet Place Lodge in Halibut Cove. Also included is one specialty drink at the no-host bar.
Presented by Halibut Cove Live. Tickets are available today at the Halibut Cove Live website! Get yours today!
Bunnell Street Arts Center
Friends! We are pleased to announce that TRANSIT will be the resident ensemble for the inaugural season of Wild Shore Festival for New Music this summer! We have also confirmed our first concert date: Bunnell Street Arts Center, Homer, Alaska, on Friday, July 5 at 7:30 PM, featuring music by John Luther Adams, the premiere of a major new chamber work by Conrad Winslow, and more! Stay tuned!
http://transitnewmusic.com/
More about the incredible Alaskan composer, John Luther Adams: http://www.johnlutheradams.com/
Video of Adams’ masterwork, INUKSUIT, for 99 percussionists:
Happy Holidays!
Finish your charitable donations for 2012 by helping us bring great new classical music to South-central Alaska in 2013! Our team is working on many exciting developments for the festival, including our brunch/boat trip to a floating stage concert in a magical little cove. But we need your support. Donate now.
Your donation to Wild Shore will help fund our expenses such as composer commissioning
Warm wishes and happy holidays,
The Wild Shore Festival for New Music Team: Kelsey Christian, Conrad Winslow, Andie Springer and Katie Cox
* Wild Shore Festival for New Music is a sponsored project of Artspire, a program of the New York Foundation for the Arts. All contributions to Wild Shore Festival for New Music are tax-deductible within the fullest extent of the law
Fundraiser pics!
Thanks to all who were able to come and contribute. A special shout-out to our raffle donors, Kent Fine Art, and the musicians who turned in fantastic performances. It was a huge success, we raffled and drink and listened among gorgeous pastels of boats, and we still have a little wine for an Alaska party in the spring… Here are some pictures from the benefit:
FALL FUNDRAISER
JOIN US FOR OUR FALL FUNDRAISING PARTY, FEATURING ALASKAN RAFFLE, DRINKS AND PERFORMANCES
Wild Shore Festival for New Music is a presenting organization dedicated to bringing adventurous new chamber music, with an emphasis on living composers, to the communities in and around Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Through these activities, Wild Shore aims to create an inspiring concert series set amidst the glaciers, volcanoes, 24-foot tides and endless days of summer in Kachemak Bay.
Next summer we’re bringing new music to Alaska, and in order to do that we’re bringing Alaska to New York! Join us for a night of Alaskan raffle prizes, unlimited drinks and great performances by Alaskan musicians to help raise funds for our inaugural season.
WILD SHORE FESTIVAL FOR NEW MUSIC 2013 FUNDRAISER
Saturday, November 17
6:00-9:00
Kent Fine Art, 210 11th Ave (at 25th St)
$25 tax-deductible donation includes admission
wine and refreshments provided all night
Featuring performances by:
Dane Johansen, cello (Fairbanks, AK/NYC)
“brave virtuosity,” “staggering aplomb” —The New York Times, New York Magazine
Caitlin Warbelow, Celtic fiddle (Fairbanks, AK/NYC)
“championship titles at the New England Fiddle Championship and the Fleadh Cheoil”
Redshift+Katie Cox, flute (SF/NYC)
“dazzling technique and out-of-box creativity” —Lucid Culture NY
Check back next week to purchase your ticket online, which will also include a free raffle ticket!
—Conrad, Kelsey, Katie, & Andie