COLLABORATORS JOSEPH BERTOLOZZI & SUSAN SANTORO - "OUR TOWN" BALLET, 2011-2012

Reprising the success of last fall’s Our Town, a ballet based on the Thornton Wilder play with music by Joseph Bertolozzi and choreography by Susan Santoro, the New York Academy of Ballet will perform at the 2012 Vassar College Modfest. The performance is 7pm, January 19, 2012 in the Villard Room, Main Building.

Also on the evening’s program is music and original poetry by high school students from the Mill Street Loft’s Art Institute and girls empowerment programs, as well as the Stringendo ensemble, the Cappella Festiva Treble Choir.

Earlier in the day at 5pm in the College Center’s James W. Palmer Gallery, Teen Visions ’12 will be presented, an exhibit of original artwork exhibition featuring a wide variety of paintings, drawings, mixed-media, photography and sculpture by students of The Art Institute of Mill Street Loft. It will remain on on view through February 9.

The Vassar College Music Library will also present a display highlighting Modfest activities and musicians, curated by Sarah Canino, music librarian. On view through February 4. Open daily at Skinner Hall of Music, 1st floor.

The Orange County Community College Symphonic Band, directed by Kevin Scott will premiere Joseph Bertolozzi’s “Trances & Visions” with Christine Sacchi, french horn soloist.

This will be the premiere of the symphonic band version of Trances & Waltzes, as realized by conductor Kevin Scott. The concert begins Saturday December 10, 2011, at 8:00pm at the Paramount Theatre, 17 South St., Middletown, NY.

Also on the program are Robert Longfield’s immortal poem “The Bells of Christmas,” a short work for narrator and band  narrated by Frances Backofen; Larry Clark’s symphonic selections of Albert Hague and Eugene Poddany’s music from the classic 1966 TV cartoon version of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”; Alfred Reed’s arrangement of the English folksong “Greensleeves”; Larry Kerchner’s adaptation of Michael Praetorius’ “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”; Tom Wallace’s orchestration of John Jacob Niles’s “I Wonder as I Wander”; the spiritual “Go Tell It On the Mountain” in a stirring arrangement by Jay Dawson; and additional selections by Hawley Ades, Steve Knight and Hugh M. Stuart.

The event is sponsored by the College’s Arts and Communication Department. General admission is $5. SUNY Orange Students with a current ID and active military personnel will be admitted free.

For more information, contact the Arts and Communication Department at (845) 341-4787. The SUNY Orange Symphonic Band, comprised of students and members of the community, is also seeking musicians. Interested performers may contact Scott at (845) 341-4393.

Bridge Music Listening Station in the Mid Hudson Children's Museum

Positioned on the second floor with a stunning view toward the bridge, the Listening Stations play music created using only the sounds of the span itself by simply pushing a button. Additionally there is an interactive component of PVC tubes and pot lids for kids to play along to the music.

The exhibit remains thru March 2012 after which it returns to the Mid Hudson Bridge.

MHCM Director Ed Glisson had this to say: “Children and parents are always intrigued with the idea of making music from the bridge steelwork. But, they recognize the concept first-hand as they compose their own music on the pipes and pans here.”

For information call The Mid Hudson Children’s Museum, (845) 471-0589, or mchm.org.

After sampling the school’s playground surfaces (the slides, swings, etc.), the students worked with Audacity, a free software, to organize and manipulate the sounds. They combined their computer skills with a music composition skill set, and learned about the nature of physical sounds.

Says Bertolozzi:”I was heartened by the creativity the class showed. They used the samples straight, reversed them, changed their pitch, etc. Some of the works were very elaborate, others were simple rhythms or sound effects, and others were as avant-garde as you can imagine.”

President of the Dutchess County Arts Council Linda Marston-Reid, adds “Cross collaborations between the arts and sciences are an exciting way for children to learn vital skills that will prepare them to be part of the creative workforce of the future – Joe Bertolozzi’s work in arts and education exemplifies this collaboration.”

St. Peter’s School is located at 12 Father Cody Place, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12601.

This project is made possible in part by funding provided by the Dutchess County Arts Council’s Arts in Education Program, administrator of public funds through the New York State Council on the Arts.

Mundo Divino from l.-r.: Willie Smith, sax; Joseph Bertolozzi, Bronze Collection; Scott Beall, guitar; Rafael Figueroa, drums; Doug Franck, bass; Doug Corrallis, piano.

l.-r.: Doug Franck, bass; Rafael Figueroa, drums; Doug Corrallis, piano; Joseph Bertolozzi, Bronze Collection.

l.-r.: Scott Beall, guitar; Rafael Figueroa, drums; Joseph Bertolozzi, piano

Bertolozzi with Mundo Divino

Here are some evocative photos from last week’s Mundo Divino concert, with Joseph Bertolozzi, Rafael Figueroa, Scott Beall, Willie Smith, Doug Corrallis and Doug Franck.

Joseph Bertolozzi's BRONZE COLLECTION

Come hear Joseph Bertolozzi and The Bronze Collection in creative & classic jazz, world music and experimental soundscapes in Sacrifice of Paradise, presented by Mundo Divino @ The Howland Center, Beacon, NY, Saturday Nov 26, 2011, 8:30pm.

Featuring a monster band that will transform the heart, mind & soul!
Scott Beall – Guitar
Doug Correllus – piano
Joseph Bertolozzi -percussion (The Bronze Collection)
Jeff Haines – percussion
Lew Scott – bass
Rafael Figueroa – percussion, vocals, master of ceremonies

DON’T DARE MISS THE MAGIC! CELEBRATE SPIRIT and DANCE! CELEBRATE FREEDOM!

$12.00; Students & Elders – $8.00

Bronze Collection CDs will be available for sale and you can also purchase them at the Beacon Art Emporium, just around the corner on 500 Main St, Beacon.

Bertolozzi at the organ in 2004

Presented by the Central Hudson Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, music will include organ solos played by chapter organists on the newly refurbished Gress-Miles pipe organ, favorite hymns of the Presidents, and choral anthems sung by a regional massed choir directed by Laura Ramsey Russell.

Freewill donations accepted at the door.

In conjunction with the Poughkeepsie BIG READ program (an NEA initiative), The New York Academy of Ballet presents an original ballet inspired by Thornton Wilder’s play ‘Our Town‘ set to original piano music by Joseph Bertolozzi who will perform his music live.

Event Location:
Poughkeepsie High School Auditorium
70 Forbus Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Date: Sat, Nov 12, 2011
Time: 2:30pm – 4:00pm

Poughkeepsie Public Library District
93 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Tel: 845/485-3445, ext. 3702

After having gathered the sounds from the playground, I went into K-Town Studios with Ron Kuhnke, our engineer, and cataloged them according to their tones. We had over 100 sounds, some more interesting than others. The diagonal poles holding up the swing set had piercing, bell-like sounds and the chains on the swings themselves made for a nice guiro or washboard-type effect….very good for rhythmic sounds.The slides, rock wall, and various bridges between sections of the playgrounds provided myriad thumps and even surprised us with some deep melodic tones.

Heading back to the classroom, I played the raw samples to the class, I showed them how to use the free software Audacity, to modulate the sounds. Then we went into the computer room and began work.

One young man took a simple, nondescript thud, cut and pasted it sequentially many times, added reverb, modulated the frequency, turned up the volume and VOILA! A machine gun!

Bertolozzi editing sounds with a student at St. Peter's School, Hyde Park, NY

Bertolozzi editing sounds with a student at St. Peter's School, Hyde Park, NY

Others of the budding sound artists provided more poetic sound expressions, but most of it was a wonderful exploration and experimentation with the software. As the students get more facile with handling the sounds, they are discovering radically different alterations of the same material. Like seeing paintings of the same subject matter from artists of different aesthetic styles, they are experiencing their own musical personalities by hearing what they and their friends have chosen to keep as their finished work.

We closed our time together with a lesson on formal structure in music (i.e.: ABA form or ABBA, ABCA, etc.). We broke down a simple tune into its components and re-arranged them from their original ABCCAB form into such permutations as BBBCAAC, CCABAC, etc. Two young men got up and acted as the “conductors,” pointing to each section as I played it on the piano. When the kids saw how easy it was to identify simple verse-chorus structure within a familiar song , one boy shouted “THIS IS EPIC!” To which everyone agreed. Ah…mission accomplished.

We have one more session together and then we present our work to the parents at the annual Christmas concert. More to come!

Bertolozzi with the 6th Grade at St. Peter's School, Hyde Park, NY