Adam Tendler: Cage's Sonatas & Interludes

Presented by Nonsequitur. John Cage was at Cornish College in Seattle in 1940, when he was asked by Syvilla Fort to score a new dance called Bacchanale. He was mainly writing percussion music then, but the stage was too small to accommodate his instruments. He placed a variety of objects between and on the strings of a piano, thus putting "in the hands of a single pianist the equivalent of an entire percussion orchestra." Cage went on to compose many works for "prepared piano," including the wonderful Sonatas & Interludes (1946-48). Tonight, acclaimed pianist Adam Tendler performs the complete 70-minute work from memory.

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Crystal Beth

Crystal Beth* (multi-instrumentalist/composer Beth Fleenor) spins sound using voice, clarinet, loops and effects, weaving a participatory aural ritual that encompasses Fleenor's body of urban tribal chants & improvisations, alien disco breaks and robot love songs.

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Jim Bartz/StringStation

The StringStation is a new guitar-like instrument that combines 40 strings with a vast array of original perspective and new technique. An accelerated music evolution designed by former Passport recording artist and engineer/producer Jim Bartz.

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Viva Vocalists: Two One-Act Operas

Viva Vocalists, the first class taught through Fisher Ensemble’s new education division, led by instructors Shawna Avinger and Kristen Ramer Liang, presents two one-act operas: Kurt Weill's Down In The Valley (1945-1948) combines American folk tunes with strikingly modern harmonies to tell the Depression-era tale of two star-crossed lovers. Douglas Moore's Gallantry (1958) pokes fun at the melodramatic world of television soap operas.

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Viva Vocalists: Two One-Act Operas

Viva Vocalists, the first class taught through Fisher Ensemble’s new education division, led by instructors Shawna Avinger and Kristen Ramer Liang, presents two one-act operas: Kurt Weill's Down In The Valley (1945-1948) combines American folk tunes with strikingly modern harmonies to tell the Depression-era tale of two star-crossed lovers. Douglas Moore's Gallantry (1958) pokes fun at the melodramatic world of television soap operas.

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Quatrain

Quatrain is a small ensemble with the core instrumentation of Taina Karr (oboe/English horn), Mary Riles (cello), and Moriah Neils (double bass) that performs contemporary repertoire. For this concert we will present four works with wide-ranging style, including music by Mark Jurcisin and Seattle composers Eyvind Kang, Jherek Bischoff, and Sarah Bassingthwaighte. With guest performers Maria Mannisto (soprano), Heather Bentley (violin), and Monica Schley (harp).

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Seattle Improvised Music Festival

Presented by Seattle Improvised Music and Nonsequitur. Made possible in part by support from the Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

Now in its 27th year, the Seattle Improvised Music Festival is the longest running festival of its kind in North America. This year’s festival features visionary musicians visiting from Tokyo, Berlin, Arizona, BC, Philadelphia, Portland and of course Seattle, performing in solo and duos, as well as first-time collaborations with Seattle Improvisers. For a complete list of artists, instrumentation, and bios, go here.

Wednesday, February 8
Jeph Jerman / Jonathan Way / Matthieu Ruhlmann
Paul Hoskin / Lance Olsen / Wilson Shook / John Teske / Mark Collins
The Seattle Phonographers Union
Jamie Drouin / Lance Olsen / Mattieu Ruhlmann

Thursday, February 9
Jamie Drouin / John Teske / Matthieu Ruhlmann / Jonathan Way
Taku Sugimoto composition
Mara Sedlins / Jamie Drouin / Lance Olsen / Mark Collins / Jack Wright
Paul Hoskin / Jeph Jerman / Doug Theriault

Friday, February 10
Matthew Carlson / Jason Anderson
Jack Wright / Gust Burns / Tim DuRoche
Jonathan Way / Tyler Wilcox / Jeph Jerman / Mara Sedlins
Taku Sugimoto solo

Saturday, February 11
Tim DuRoche / Tari Nelson-Zagar / Wilson Shook / Mark Collins / Doug Theriault
Jack Wright solo
Taku Sugimoto / Jeph Jerman / Tyler Wilcox / Gust Burns
Large ensemble

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Leviathan Worship Service + Derek Johnson + Ffej

Leviathan Worship Service creates a cocktail of space-age drone with uncontrollable noise through the keyboards and percussion of J. James Taylor and the guitar and theremin of B. Arthur Rouda. Utilizing broken loops and a bi-polar guitar they construct improvised and meditative soundscapes.

Olympia cellist Derek M. Johnson plays the acoustic/electric cello in non-traditional and improvisational settings, often as a soundtrack to a hand-made, direct animation slide show of his own creation.

Ffej is an analog synthesist, songwriter and sound artist on the run from normality. His experimental compositions defy description as does his multifaceted musical life. As well as playing his own material solo, he has participated in a number of group projects including Mutant Data Orchestra, Chaosmosis and has been a key member of the Sonicabal, a Seattle based collective of experimental musicians. He is the man behind Seattle's online creative music calendar, Cognitive Dissidents.

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SIMF Benefit: One-Minute Solos

A broad range of Seattle musicians improvise solos, each lasting one minute, in support of the 2012 Seattle Improvised Music Festival. Performers include Andrew Joslyn, Andrew Olmstead, Begin Scarseth, Brad Hawkins, Bruce Greeley, Cynthia Marie, Eric Rynes, Gust Burns, Ivan Arteaga, Jason Parker, Jim Knodle, John Teske, Justin Parker, Mara Sedlins, Michael Owcharuk, Michael Sentkewitz, Natalie Mai Hall, Neal Kosaly-Meyer, Neil Welch, Schraepfer Harvey, Steve Scribner, Wilson Shook and more.

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