Félix Pastor and Michael Douglas Jones, Västerås Konserthus, Sweden. Photo by by Henny Linn Kjellberg.
drömseminarium (dream seminar) is a new piece of music-theater based on the texts of contemporary Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer and music of American composer Ellen Lindquist, produced by Companion Star, and developed collaboratively by an international company of musicians and artists.
drömseminarium creates an environment in which the spaces between the real and unreal elements of life are bridged, an important theme that appears throughout Tranströmer’s work. It is bilingual, mixing Tranströmer’s original Swedish with English translations (Robin Fulton). The cast of drömseminarium, which includes two singer/actors and thirteen instrumentalist/actors, are all members of Skogensemble, an international ensemble of performers dedicated to the performance and dissemination of contemporary classical music from Scandinavia (a part of Companion Star). A highly unique aspect of the piece is that all players, instrumentalists and singers alike, are characters in the piece, and also movers (with coaching from Swedish choreographer Helena Högberg). Set design by ceramic artist Henny Linn Kjellberg is a central element of the piece. Costume design by Camille Assaf. Directed by Patrick Diamond. drömseminarium is a large-scale work, roughly 75 minutes in length, and is slated to premiere in 2011 in Sweden and the United States.
Listen to music from drömseminarium:
Längre in:
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Romanska Bågar:
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Listen to an interview with Ellen about drömseminarium:
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Resources:
drömseminarium
Companion Star
dream seminar blog
YouTube
dream seminar Facebook page
Skogensemble is an international ensemble of performers dedicated to the performance and dissemination of contemporary classical music from Scandinavia.
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I am writing a piece for the Thelema Trio in Belgium:
Ward de Vleeschhouwer, piano
Peter Verdonck, saxophones
Marco Antonio Mazzini, clarinets
They will premiere it on their tour to the US in November 2010.
A research project carried out during a collaborative residency with ceramic artist Henny Linn Kjellberg (Sweden) and percussionist Birgit Løkke (Denmark) at the International Ceramic Research Center in Skælskør, Denmark. Read more »
I am writing a new piece for the Zoco Duo (Barcelona, Spain):
Laura Karney, oboe and English horn
Jacob Cordover, guitar
The premiere is planned for…
The Musicians’ Alliance for Peace (MAP) existed from 2001-2007 as an active group of musicians concerned with the role that music can play in creating momentum towards a more peaceful world. I was a co-founder (together with Michael McCurdy and Benjamin Robison), and an organizer (together with many other wonderful, big-hearted people). The Musicians’ Alliance for Peace was based at Stony Brook University, with the core of its members graduate students in the University’s Music Department. The goals of the Musicians’ Alliance for Peace were as follows: to promote the use of music for peace; direct attention toward meaningful causes; foster an active local and global peace community; promote empathy, ethical thought and critical social involvement through music.
Map produced many local events such as benefit concerts for Hurricane Katrina victims, …
Our reach was also global: In 2004, we initiated the first of four annual international networks of concerts dedicated to Peace. People from around the world were invited to join us in dedicating their concerts during one specific weekend to the concept of Peace. These concerts could take any form, present any kind of music, be played by anyone, in any location at all—the only common denominator was that the concert be dedicated to a larger vision of a more peaceful world. This was called The Music for Peace Project. Each year, The Music for Peace Project took place over the course of a single weekend. During the four Music for Peace Project weekends between 2004 and 2007, more than 350 concerts in 30 countries around the world were dedicated to peace.
MAP produced four major festivals (“A festival of music, film, and ideas”) at Stony Brook University in conjunction with the Music for Peace Project weekends. Events included concerts of world music, speakers, film, an international art show (2006), and concerts by The Musicians’ Alliance for Peace.
Festivals:
Music for Peace Festival 2004 (February 4-6)
Music for Peace Festival 2005 (April 8-10)
Music for Peace Festival 2006 (March 28-April 2)
Music for Peace Festival 2007 (March 24-April 1)
