Sonic Frontiers founding Artistic Director, Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, was recently featured in Chamber Music magazine, a national-level publication, for his efforts with the series - Check it out HERE!
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The Grocery and Sonic Frontiers Team Up for Experimental Music Workshop Series Click here for The Grocery's press release! The Grocery at 900 Main Ave in Northport, AL is pleased to announce the Sonic Frontiers Workshop Series, presented in partnership with the Sonic Frontiers Concert Series based at the University of Alabama. Whereas the concert series brings world-class visiting artists to our community to perform, the Sonic Frontiers Workshop Series explores and cultivates experimental musical practices from within the local community. Conceived as a combination of open rehearsal, community sound workshop, critical music discussion space, and sonic laboratory for works-in-progress, the sessions will be facilitated by West Alabama’s own Andrew Raffo Dewar, Tim Feeney, and Holland Hopson, collaborating together with those in attendance. Each session will highlight a different aesthetic take on musical experimentalism. These casual monthly exploratory music sessions will allow the local community of sound makers to workshop, perform, and discuss new ideas as well as work through existing scores in an open and low-pressure environment that also invites interested attendees to investigate these musical practices through focused listening, discussion, and hands-on engagement. . The series kicks off this week and runs through June:
The workshops take place at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at The Grocery, an artist-run studio, exhibit, and performance space located at 900 Main Avenue, two blocks north of the main intersection in downtown historic Northport. The Sonic Frontiers Workshop Series is made possible thanks to support from the University of Alabama. For more information, visit our websites or follow us on Facebook. The University of Alabama’s New College is pleased to present the fourth season of Sonic Frontiers, with another jaw-dropping lineup of forward-thinking music. This fall’s events feature musicians who explore the outer boundaries of jazz, and a cross-continental performance incorporating cutting-edge digital technology in an internet connected live performance. Sonic Frontiers is a concert series of innovative and experimental music that enriches the cultural life of West Alabama and invites creative exchange between world-class performers of adventurous music, students, and the greater community through public performances and lively post-concert discussions with the artists and audience.
The fall events of the 201415 season begin on October 3rd with critically-acclaimed trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas with his Quintet, and continue on November 5th with an internet-connected transcontinental concert by ECM recording artists Dans les arbres. All Sonic Frontiers events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the University of Alabama’s New College, College of Arts and Sciences, Jazz Studies and School of Music. SONIC FRONTIERS FOURTH SEASON KICKOFF EVENT Dave Douglas Quintet Friday, October 3rd, 2014, 7:30 PM University of Alabama’s Moody Concert Hall 810 Second Avenue Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 $10 general admission, $5 seniors, $3 students Video preview: http://youtu.be/Qw0BESvKWIw The University of Alabama Jazz Studies program in partnership with the Sonic Frontiers concert series is proud to present the Dave Douglas Quintet, featuring a stellar lineup of musicians including Troy Roberts/tenor saxophone, Bobby Avey/piano, Linda Oh/ bass, and Anwar Marshall/drums. Tickets can be found here: http://uamusic.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=671782 Dave Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer and educator from New York City. His unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Aaron Copland award and two Grammy nominations. Since 2005, Douglas has operated his own record label, Greenleaf Music, releasing his own recordings as well as albums by other artists in the jazz idiom. Douglas has held several posts as an educator and impresario. From 2002 to 2012, he served as artistic director of the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at The Banff Centre in Canada. In 2013, he begins his second year as International Jazz Artist in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music in London. TRANSCONTINENTAL CONCERT: DANS LES ARBRES + DEWAR/FEENEY/HOPSON TRIO Wednesday, November 5th, 2014, 8:00 PM UA School of Music Moody Recital Hall 810 Second Avenue Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Free Admission Video preview of Dans les arbres: http://youtu.be/ddC7C3Rlm_8 A transcontinental internet-connected performance that brings the innovative Dutch and French quartet Dans les arbres into dialogue with University of Alabama professors Andrew Raffo Dewar (soprano saxophone), Tim Feeney (percussion), and Holland Hopson (electronics). ANTHONY BRAXTON SCHEDULED FOR RESIDENCY February 11, 2014 / Permalink Musician and composer Anthony Braxton, left, is scheduled to spend a week at UA in spring 2015. From the University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences February 2014 Desktop News | MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton will spend a week at the Capstone in spring 2015 thanks to a $40,000 grant won by Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, assistant professor in New College and the School of Music and co-director of UA’s Creative Campus. Braxton’s weeklong residency is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, and plans are in the works to give University of Alabama music and dance students the opportunity to rehearse with Braxton and participate in interdisciplinary, world-premiere performances combining original music and choreography. Braxton’s musical career spans more than five decades. His many awards include a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2009 honorary doctorate from the Université de Liège in Belgium, a 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and a 2013 New Music USA Letter of Distinction. He is also a 2014 NEA Jazz Master and recently retired after serving 24 years as a tenured professor at Wesleyan University. Braxton’s visit to UA is part of Sonic Frontiers, a concert series organized by Dewar and New College instructor Holland Hopson. The series brings innovative and experimental musicians to West Alabama and invites creative exchanges between world-class performers, students and the greater community. Dewar, who studied with Braxton in graduate school and has performed and recorded with Braxton professionally since 2005, said Braxton’s music is exploratory, uncompromising and a “celebrated and singular voice of the 20th and 21st centuries.” “I can say unequivocally that [Braxton’s] presence in our community will have a profound effect,” Dewar said. “He has an incisive, yet open, positive and generous, critical view of the role of the arts in our world. It should be a momentous series of events.” During the residency, Braxton will perform alone, with professional ensembles and with students. He will rehearse with the University’s percussion and jazz ensembles, perform his interactive electroacoustic “Diamond Curtain Wall Music,” and rehearse and perform his “Pine Top Aerial Music” interdisciplinary piece of music and choreography with UA dancers and faculty. Braxton’s residency is being funded through an Art Works grant provided by the NEA. This grant is the third major award Dewar has received within the last two years. Dewar received a New Jazz Works grant in 2012 from Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Foundation, which provided funding for Dewar to compose a new hour-long piece for his San Francisco Bay Area-based quartet. The commissioned piece, “Ekphrasis Suite,” premiered in November 2013 at the Center for New Music in San Francisco. Dewar also received in 2013 a Southern Constellations artist fellowship from the NEA to fund his summer residency at the Elsewhere museum in Greensboro, N.C. The NEA received 1,528 eligible Art Works applications this year requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 895 were recommended for grants for a total of $23.4 million. Grant amounts ranged from $10,000 to $100,000 with an average grant amount of $26,154. UA English Department's Bankhead Visiting Writers Series and Sonic Frontiers presents poet Jon Woodward and pianist Oni Buchanan.
Poet Jon Woodward and pianist Oni Buchanan perform "Uncanny Valley," on Wednesday October 30th at 7:30pm in the Moody Music Building Recital Hall. This event is co-presented by the UA English Department's Bankhead Visiting Writers Series and Sonic Frontiers. “Uncanny Valley” features a performance of poet Jon Woodward's serial poem with music by composer John Gibson. Gibson provides a concert-length sonic environment for Woodward's poetry that reflects the poem's text in ever-changing ways. Pianist Oni Buchanan and author Jon Woodward perform while audio samples triggered by the reader enmesh the piano and spoken text with echoes of itself. UNCANNY VALLEY Oni Buchanan, piano and Jon Woodward, poetry Wednesday, October 30, 2013, 7:30 PM UA School of Music - Moody Recital Hall Free Admission Uncanny Valley is a poem in 16 sections, meant to be read out loud, with numerous optional repeats throughout the text. These repetitions act as accumulations of sound, maddening as well as hypnotic. Gibson’s music allows the text to float freely--its pacing determined by the pianist and reader. Uncanny Valley explores the phenomenon of "semantic satiation," searching through repeated poetic lines and musical forms for what is most uncanny, and most human, in both language and music. Video preview: http://youtu.be/P1hyPKvwhfY Concert pianist Oni Buchanan brings grace and intensity to an incredible range of piano literature, from exceptional music by women composers of the 21st century, to French music ranging from Couperin to Fauré to Ravel to Messiaen, to the works of such established masters as Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Prokofiev, and Bartók. A published poet as well as a pianist, Ms. Buchanan's concert programming is often interdisciplinary in nature, directly engaging the intimate connections between the arts. http://www.arielartists.com/artists/oni-buchanan/ Jon Woodward was born in Wichita, KS, and has lived in Denver and Fort Collins, CO, as well as Boston and Quincy, MA, where he currently resides. His books are Uncanny Valley (Cleveland State University Poetry Center), Rain (Wave Books), and Mister Goodbye Easter Island (Alice James Books). Other recent projects include a 40-foot-long Möbius strip poem, called "Mockingbird," which was typed on adding machine tape; a suite of time-dependent visual poems called "Poems to Stare At;" and an ongoing poem called "Copyleft," to which quatrains are added at the rate of one per day. He works at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, where he specializes in digital imaging and a variety of other curatorial activities. John Gibson’s works have been performed across the world by groups like London Sinfonietta, the Da Capo Chamber Players, the Seattle Symphony, the Music Today Ensemble, Speculum Musicae, and Ekko! He writes sound processing and synthesis software, and has taught composition and computer music at the University of Virginia, Duke University, and the University of Louisville. He is now Assistant Professor of Composition at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. http://john-gibson.com/ The Bankhead Visiting Writers Series brings emerging as well as internationally renowned writers to the University of Alabama campus to read from their work. Past visiting writers include Charles Simic, Alice McDermott, Kevin Young, Andre Dubus, Robert Pinsky, Alice Walker, Bei Dao, Neil Gaiman, and George Saunders, among others. All readings are made possible by an endowment from the Bankhead Foundation, The Program in Creative Writing, The Department of English, and the College of Arts and Sciences. Books, as well as keepsake broadsides of the authors' work made by UA's Book Arts program, will be available at the readings. Admission is free to all. Sonic Frontiers is a cutting-edge concert series of innovative and experimental music that enriches the cultural life of West Alabama and invites creative exchange between world-class performers of adventurous music, students, and the greater community through public performances and discussions. All Sonic Frontiers events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the University of Alabama’s New College, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Music, Creative Campus, Honors College, Blount Undergraduate Initiative and Capstone International. For more information call 205.348.9928 or visit: http://sonicfrontiers.ua.edu Up Next for Sonic Frontiers: Composer and performer Judy Dunaway performs music for balloons on Wednesday November 20th at 7:30pm in the Moody Music Building Recital Hall. TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s New College is pleased to present the third season of Sonic Frontiers, with a lineup of genre-defying concerts. This fall’s events feature musicians who explore the outer boundaries of folk and rock, incorporate cutting-edge digital technology into live performance, and transform everyday materials into expressive instruments. The fall events of the 2013-14 season begin on September 24th with Birmingham's Them Natives, and continue on October 30th with “Uncanny Valley” and November 20th with Dr. Judy Dunaway, "The Mother of Balloon Music." All Sonic Frontiers events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the University of Alabama’s New College, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Music and Creative Campus. For more information, please call 205.348.9928 or visit: http://www.sonicfrontiers.ua.edu/ THIRD SEASON KICKOFF EVENT! THEM NATIVES & TUSCALOOSA MONORAIL TV FILMING Tuesday, September 24, 2013, 8:00 PM Green Bar, 2350 4th St, Tuscaloosa AL Free Admission, ages 19 and up Audio preview: http://snd.sc/1cdsbAC Them Natives will perform at the Green Bar on Tuesday, September 24th at 8:00 pm. The joyfully unpredictable music from this Birmingham-based band veers from freak folk banjo with harmonized vocals to neo-psychedelic rock and "walls of sound" that would make Phil Spector blush, but would make Captain Beefheart feel right at home. The concert will also be a live video shoot for Tuscaloosa’s deviously inventive lo-fi music TV show, Tuscaloosa Monorail. Them Natives has been active in central Alabama and touring nationally since 2006. Originating with the trio of Jasper Lee, Milton Ragsdale and Turner Williams Jr., the group evolved over time to encompass a variety of revolving players which now include Leah Hamby, Amber Locke and Carter Glascock. While rooted in the folk history and mythology of the Deep South, their music is informed by a desire to communicate with distant cultures, both in space and time. Them Natives explores their geographical landscape and genetic inheritance through a mixture of ritual, improvisation, songwriting and visual presentation. Sonic Frontiers is thrilled to present notable talent from West Alabama alongside our national and international programming. UNCANNY VALLEY Wednesday, October 30, 2013, 7:30 PM UA School of Music Moody Recital Hall Free Admission Video preview: http://youtu.be/P1hyPKvwhfY Composer John Gibson and pianist Oni Buchanan perform "Uncanny Valley," on Wednesday October 30th at 7:30pm in the Moody Music Building Recital Hall. This event is copresented with the UA English Department's Bankhead Visiting Writers Series. “Uncanny Valley” features a performance of poet Jon Woodward's serial poem with music by composer John Gibson. Gibson provides a sonic environment for Woodward's poetry, performed by pianist Oni Buchanan, that reflects the poem's text in everchanging ways. Digital samples triggered by the reader enmesh the piano and spoken text with echoes of itself. JUDY DUNAWAY Wednesday, November 20, 2013, 7:30 PM UA School of Music Moody Recital Hall Free Admission Video preview: http://youtu.be/eUoLIQR4Rg4 Judy Dunaway performs Wednesday, November 20 at 7:30pm in the Moody Music Building Recital Hall. Boston-based composer/performer Dr. Judy Dunaway’s chosen instrument is the balloon. Ms. Dunaway will present a concert of the incredible, singular balloon music she has been developing for more than two decades that will stretch both ears and rubber. The concert will include a family-friendly, interactive audience performance of her "Balloon Symphony #2." *ADVANCE NOTICE FOR SPRING 2014* LONNIE HOLLEY Friday, March 13, 2014, 7:30 PM Paul R. Jones Gallery Free Admission, but seating is extremely limited. Video preview: http://youtu.be/vDh_GyrMU4A Birmingham-based outsider artist Lonnie Holley performs Friday, March 7, 2014 at 7:30pm in the Paul R. Jones Gallery. Holley, known to locals as “The Sandman,” has created an internationally recognized body of sculptures, paintings, and art environments. Mr. Holley has also been a longtime performer of unique, soulful and experimental songs. His first album of original music, “Just Before Music” was released to critical acclaim in 2012 by Atlanta’s Dust to Digital. Holley recently performed his music at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. MORE EXCITING EVENTS FOR SPRING 2014 TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! ABOUT SONIC FRONTIERS Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s very own adventurous music series, Sonic Frontiers premiered in spring 2012, building on a number of successful experimental music events organized in the area since 2008 by series founder and artistic director Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, a composer/musician and assistant professor in New College and the School of Music at the University of Alabama. The 20122013 season included seven events including the chamber jazz of Vox Arcana, the masterful free jazz of the Ullman/Swell Quartet, a raucous reunion of the Alabama-grown avant-garde collective Raudelunas, and the contemplative Meridian percussion trio. The season culminated in an immersive outdoor performance of New Yorkbased composer Aaron Siegel’s composition “Science is Only a Sometimes Friend” for eight glockenspiels with audience participation. The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is experiencing significant growth in both enrollment and academic quality. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of Choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians. ### Contact: Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, 205.348.9928, adewar@ua.edu SONIC FRONTIERS RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL PRESS IN APRIL 2013 ISSUE OF UK-BASED WIRE MAGAZINE4/16/2013 Sonic Frontiers has received its first international press, with a full page feature article penned by Kevin Nutt in the April 2013 issue of the UK-based Wire magazine, the world's premier magazine for adventurous music, with an international circulation of ~30,000! The University of Alabama’s Sonic Frontiers concert series is pleased to present the spring finale of its 2012-13 season with a concert by NYC composer Aaron Siegel and the University of Alabama Percussion Ensemble at 6pm on Monday, April 8th on the Black Warrior River at the Park at Manderson Landing. The UA percussion ensemble led by Dr. Tim Feeney will perform Siegel’s hypnotic piece for eight glockenspiels, Science is Only a Sometimes Friend. Siegel’s piece welcomes audience engagement, so the public is encouraged to bring pitched instruments of any kind to take part in this interactive sonic experience. Music lovers should bring chairs and blankets to enjoy this sunset performance. A Q&A with composer Aaron Siegel will follow the concert. Science is Only a Sometimes Friend was praised by Sequenza 21 as an “elegantly shaped and often beguiling soundworld.” NewMusicBox said “While you are listening to it, you feel like you have been teleported through a vortex of endless doorways which keep opening but ultimately never go anywhere, and that your journey will never end.” Science is Only a Sometimes Friend was named one of the Best Classical CDs of 2011 by Time Out New York, who also wrote that it “frees ambient music from its dour, eerie reputation [and] taps into a joyful flow of energy.” Funded in part through NewMusicUSA's “MetLife Creative Connections” program. About Aaron Siegel: Aaron Siegel’s inquisitive and playful work represents a personal vision of how we live with and respond to the sounds of our world. Percussionist Jonathan Ovalle premiered his Dioramas for Prepared Vibraphone in Fall 2012 and Experiments In Opera premiered his new monodrama, The Collector, in February 2013 as part of its New Shorts concert. He is currently working on an opera for percussion, strings, singers and actors called Brother Brother, based on the lives of Orville and Wilbur Wright. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and son. For more information visit: aaronsiegel.net. Aaron Siegel and the UA Percussion Ensemble perform Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6pm at the Park at Manderson Landing, Jack Warner Parkway at Hackberry Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL. Admission is FREE and open to the public. The rain site for this event is the pavilion in the Park at Manderson Landing. Video preview: Excerpt of Science is Only a Sometimes Friend performed in NYC’s Central Park by the Aaron Siegel Ensemble: http://youtu.be/mpd_bUNdPsg Sonic Frontiers is pleased to announce that the series has been awarded two "MetLife Creative Connections" grants from the New York City based arts agency NewMusic USA to support the visits of composer/performers Justin Peake and Aaron Siegel for the 2012-13 season!
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