Greetings All,

I am delighted to announce that I have two (premiere) performances–in the great white north of New England–of my composition A Child Sings at Thanksgiving for solo guitar. This work was written for Boston-based guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan and the New Lullaby Project.

A Child Sings at Thanksgiving was adapted and rewritten for guitar from the final selection from my Songs for Children, composed for solo piano in 1994. By presenting the Thanksgiving Hymn We Gather Together in an abstracted and fleeting way, the work perhaps evokes an adult’s distant memories of holidays past.

The performances on December 10 and 18 will take place in Cambridge, MA and Nashua, NH respectively. I am very happy that I will be in attendance for the December 10 premiere.

Information on the concerts here:

#1 – Saturday, Dec. 10 at 8pm
Wild Night of New Lullabies in Cambridge
FB Event (click here)
Tickets & Information: www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/212596 or call: 1-800-838-3006 (event 212596)
New School of Music
25 Lowell Street
Cambridge, MA

#2 – Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3pm  
Studio 99 Nashua, NH
FB Event (click here)
Tickets & Information:  www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/214063 or call: 1-800-838-3006 (event 214063)
Studio 99 Nashua
17 Factory Street
Nashua, NH

Thank you all for your continued support!

Demetrius

Hello All,

Those of you from outside the East Coast of the US are probably very aware widespread destruction that Hurricane Irene has caused us. The devastation of communities from North Carolina to Canada has been incredible, and major areas of the Northeast–like Long Island, Westchester County (NY), Connecticut, Boston-area, Vermont–who are not used to such storms were hit very hard. I want to say right now that I’m extremely thankful for the precautions taken by Mayor Bloomberg of NYC and the great work by the FDNY, NYPD, and the various other offices and the great number of volunteers. NYC was spared the brunt of storm, but even so without such a plan or infrastructure in place, many more lives would’ve been lost and damage would have been more widespread. Again, thank you. And although many of my fellow New Yorkers may have been upset with the inconvenience of shutting down the MTA and the airports, if they would just look a few miles in every direction towards New Jersey and Long Island and even to the surrounding counties, I believe that they may start to consider themselves pretty damn lucky.

We’ve had some extreme weather this year in NYC: heat, tornadoes, earthquake, hurricane…this has caused some of my more religious-minded fellow Americans to speculate that these weather patterns are not due to global climate change, but to Divine design to punish NYC for its ‘evil’ ways…hmmm…if I were more of that thinking, I would probably chalk it up to the omnipresent spirit of George Gershwin commenting on the rewrite of Porgy and Bess…but I digress…

Well, onto the good news!

This week begins my time as the Con Edison/Exploring the Metropolis Resident Composer for the borough of Queens. The best part about this residency is that I get to use the wonderful facilities at Flushing Town Hall, which is in the center of a vibrant community.

Now, the idea of my project is to research and create source material to compose a new large-scale piece entitled Roots Music. This piece will combine traditional Chinese instruments, traditional Irish instruments, European classical instruments, and a solo jazz saxophone (performed by yours truly:)) Flushing is a perfect location to begin researching the traditional music and instruments of China since it has the largest Chinese population in NYC. The schools, shops, restaurants (yes, restaurants!) and community centers will provide incredible access into the culture.

The commission for this piece came from Benoit Granier, who is a composer and director of the TIMI Modern Music Ensemble, in residence at the Beijing Central Conservatory. Roots Music will have its premiere on St. Patrick’s Day, March 2012 at the Beijing Irish Modern Music Festival.

My thought is to base the piece on traditional melodies (or create my own that ‘sound’ like traditional melodies) and styles from all of these cultural genres. I also plan to take this ‘source material’ and use it as a basis to compose a series of new pieces for varied instrumentation over the next year. I expect to use some of these smaller pieces as part of my final residency concert at Flushing Town Hall, which will take place in February 2012.

Many of you remember that I started working with Dr. Granier in 2009, a collaboration that led to performances at the 2009 Musicacoustica Festival in Beijing. In April 2011, we collaborated again for a series of concerts in Boston (Northeastern University and Berklee College of Music), NYC (at (le) Poisson Rouge), and in New Jersey (Rutgers University). During this tour, TIMI performed the new version of my work Gymnopaedia. Here is the video of the premiere at Northeastern University, as part of the TransCultural Exchange International Conference on the Arts:

I’m excited to begin researching and preparing Roots Music, and the other smaller works which will be generated from it.

Well, that’s all for now. I do promise you that I’ll write the 4th (and probably final) blog on volume sometime in the next week or so.

Thank you all again for your support!

Demetrius

KAZAAM! love songs, recollections, and contemporary improvisations

Demetrius Spaneas, winds, and Jeffrey Goldberg, piano

Please join us for our annual Boston-area concert where we weave improvisations on Bach to Beatles to Coltrane to Cabaret…usually all in the same tune!

Jeffrey Goldberg’s mentors include Luise Vosgerchian, Sarah Benson,
Leonard Bernstein, and Joe Maneri. His improvisations have been
featured at Palau de la Música Catalana and the Darmstadt Festival of
Contemporary Music. His compositions range from music used for sound
healing to two commissions by the Hannover Opera: an electronic ballet
on the life of Marlene Dietrich; and an opera that set a Wagnerian
libretto to klezmer music, and featured the first use of rap on a
German opera stage. He collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin
in the film “Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood,” and has been a piano soloist
with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops.

Dr. Goldberg has served as music-director for several Boston-area
theatres (including Gloucester Stage Company, the Sugan Company, the
Nora Theatre), and as a vocal coach/conductor with the State Operas of
Hannover, Darmstadt, and, currently, Chemnitz. He has served on the
faculties of Harvard, Boston Arts Academy, The Rivers School
Conservatory, and New England Conservatory of Music (Preparatory
School/Continuing Education).

Multi-wind instrumentalist/composer/c​onductor/recording artist Demetrius Spaneas leads a varied international career and has worked with such diverse artists as John Cage, Ray Charles, and Kyrgyz traditional musicians. He has been featured soloist and composer at major concert venues and festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Through his work with the US Embassy system, he has presented concerts and lectures on American music and culture throughout the former Soviet Union. Interested in connecting cultures and creating international artistic dialogue through cultural diplomacy, his current initiatives focus on Central Asia, the Balkans, China, and Russia. He has won grants and awards from ASCAP, Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, and other organizations, including a special certificate from the Russian Duma (senate) for enriching the cultural life of St. Petersburg. Mr. Spaneas, a New York City-based artist, is a native of Lowell, MA and holds both bachelor and master of music degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied classical and jazz performance, composition, and world music. Recordings on Capstone and DSM (as soloist), and Cantaloupe, Mode, Centaur, and BMOPSound (as ensemble member).

Monday, August 1 · 7:00pm

Lily Pad

1353 Cambridge Street

Cambridge, Massachusetts

From Lily Pad show, 25 July 2010

From Lily Pad show, 25 July 2010

From Lily Pad show, 25 July 2010

From Lily Pad show, 25 July 2010

From Lily Pad show, 25 July 2010

(photos by Allison Ahearn)

I’m posting a blog that has absolutely nothing to do with music.

Or me…amazing, isn’t it? Don’t worry, I’ll get back on track with the next blog.

The fact of the matter is, I have been surrounded by pain and death very recently. Not only in my own family with my uncle/Godfather passing, but also the passing of friends and members of friend’s families. My Memorial Day post referenced my close friend Sam Parkins who passed–along with another dear friend halfway across the world–the week of Thanksgiving. I have been touched as recently as this past week by the death of people and also learning about the struggles of others who are fighting with their last will to survive.

So what I want to do today–here and now–is publicize some links and give information that may potentially make a difference in someone’s life. Much of this is Boston/Lowell, MA centric, but information is applicable anywhere.

****************************************************

First and foremost, if there is any plague or pestilence ever levied upon mankind that could ever be traced to Infernal doings, it is cancer. I am at a loss to even go into my feelings towards this one, having lost so many people to it very recently, including my father who passed on Father’s Day weekend–that anniversary is coming up next week for those of you outside the US. The pain, the slow decline into oblivion…horrible…and it seems that more and more people that I know are getting it.

A friend from my high school has it. He is not winning…

There are kind and loving people who are helping by organizing a benefit to help his family pay their bills:

Skaff Family Benefit

If you are in the Greater Lowell area, please consider helping this family.

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Also in Lowell on September 23rd will be the Show Of Hope Benefit Concert

Website:

Greetings,

I want to muse about perception and the sense of belonging.

I think what has generated this topic has been my work here at ARTErra. Probably the crux of it is the type of music that I’m writing. I am writing what I’m hearing, and I am having fun doing it, but…maybe my concern is expectation; what is expected of me, from my peers and colleagues…I think I’m bothered that what I’m doing may actually be perceived as nothing but a vanity project and go no further…I mean, the music is good, really quite good, and maybe part of my perception of this project is clouded by the fact that it has been so easy to write (granted, being away from my normal over-taxed lifestyle probably has something to do with it…).

And it IS fun…but it is also causing me some existential angst…

You know, I am an improviser. I came to through-composed music from a  jazz/rock background. I have always had my career on both sides of the fence–classical and (for lack of a better term) jazz/commercial–and had taken quite a lot of grief professionally for it during the Boston-centric period of my career: the jazz guys called me classical, and the classical guys called me jazz. I saw it as making a living…it wasn’t until I started to become more in touch with the NYC scene (and eventually moving there) that I realized that what I did was purely acceptable, even lauded.

Boston is a rather small and conservative music scene…a great place to study, and greater place to leave…

But back to my dilemma:

After my first solo CD (classical), I swore never to do another classical CD; my second, however, was also classical–granted, more experimental with more improvisation, but still contemporary classical. Both of these CDs were on Capstone Records. There were numerous reasons why I did these, and many had to do with certain composers who I liked and worked with and who supported (both artistically and financially) the projects. I have no regrets, but I’ll still never do another one…

My third CD was a collection of improvisations with vocalist Galina Parfenova (Sfumato); this was a gem, but a once in a lifetime gem. It won’t (probably can’t) be repeated. And to be honest, I didn’t know what to do with the masters, but it was the end of 2009, it had been almost 3 years since my last CD, and I had to get something out, so I produced it. Even if it could be repeated or evolved, I don’t know if I would.

Which brings me to what I’m writing now. I have been wanting to do something like this for years, but maybe I’ve been afraid of perception and no longer ‘belonging’ within certain circles…of course, I never really was in any given circle, which is what makes a lot of this ambivalence very funny…I NEVER felt I belonged…sure, I skimmed the periphery of certain circles: orchestra, music theater, big band, etc., even the NYC contemporary music scene, but I never felt part of the clique…but again, I don’t think I ever wanted to…

I am a soloist…a loner, really…that’s how my career, my life, has evolved. Outside looking in…invited to all the parties, but never go…

[Side note: You know, it's funny. On Facebook there is a lot of action happening on a page dedicated to my Lowell High School graduating class because of the upcoming 25th HS reunion. I'm thoroughly enjoying the interaction with people whom I haven't seen since that time, and many whom I didn't really speak to that much then. It's interesting because sites/pages like this also create an interesting sense of belonging...very human while being very abstract...if I actually go to this reunion (which will more than likely be when I'm out of the country; these things usually are) I'll tell you if this sense is actually reality...]

Perception is a funny thing. I was discussing with my host about the village here. She said that it is 1000 years old, and also jokingly said that something “100 years is very old in America, but here, this village is 1000; Americans are babies!” My response: well, my family is from Greece; 1000 years? Please. Villages there are well over 3000…you are babies. Of course, I then related similar conversations with colleagues from Egypt…”3000? Please…you Greeks are babies!”

Reading Don Quixote hasn’t helped matters. In fact, it’s quite difficult to read because I think it hits very close to home. Artists live in a state of perpetual illusion: our perception of the world is a little different…our perception of what we do and our connection to it defines our psyche; the fact that our ties to reality are gossamer at best enhances this. The sense of delusion in Don Quixote is similar, in certain ways. I mean, we’re not clinically crazy, us creative types, but we do see the world in a very different way. What we create relates in a way to the Platonic Ideal…are we just Demiurges of our own little universes trying to put in physical terms what can’t ever be? Are we ’tilting at windmills’…?

I’d like to believe that what I’m doing with this project isn’t ’tilting at windmills’ but that it is a representation of my purest expression in a different format. I feel as if this needs to happen at this point in my life. I am actually more convinced today then yesterday; this morning, I penned what will be probably be the closing track…I’m calling it Only The Beginning…

Let’s hope so.

Yours,

Demetrius

Quiet contemplation...

It is my lovely pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of my ‘family’:

Selmer Mark VI 122xxx

This is my ‘new’ early 1965 (Serial Number 122xxx, for those who keep score of such things) Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone.

I finally came to the decision to get a Mark VI; it was a tough decision. I had my Selmer Series II tenor (when I got it, it was still referred to as a Super Action 80 Series II, and it was the newest top-line model; my soprano and alto are also Series II’s)–a really great horn, mind you–since my Freshman year at New England Conservatory. This was to be become the instrument that I used the most in my professional life, the one I toured with, the one that I used on-stage with Ray Charles, Aretha Frankin, the Funk Brothers, and dozens of other top acts. I was/am a tenor player, and this was my voice; this horn has been a part of me and that voice since the late 80′s.

There did come a point, however, that I felt that I had taken that horn as far as it could go. I spent some years trying to expand it’s harmonic spectrum with various alterations and equipment, including a series of different mouthpieces and even a solid silver neck. All gave me glimpses of what I wanted, but it was still vague…still ethereal…

If I were just doing classical/orchestral/Broadway/big band playing, it would be perfect; since I work in very modern jazz and experimental improvisation and focus on exploring the color spectrum, I needed something that would give me freedom to do so.

My guess was that about 5 or 6 years ago, I decided to get a Mark VI, assuming that I could find one that could give me more of what I wanted. I had starting trying other tenors (different Selmer models and other brands) as far back as the early 2000′s and had decided that nothing out-played mine. I tried all of these newer horns with fancy designs, special resonant energy rocks (seriously…), different metals, including a solid silver tenor that weighed more than my Honda Civic…nothing stood out, which is why I started to think vintage.

I then started looking at vintage horns–Kings and Conns, as well as older Selmers–nothing did it for me. I even tried a number of Mark VI’s and Balanced Actions (an older Selmer model from the 30′s and 40′s), but still nothing outplayed mine.

Then…a few months ago…I went to Rayburn Music in Boston. I was determined to try some newer horns–Selmer had a few years back released two new models called the ‘Reference’ series: one similar to a Mark VI, the other to a Balanced Action.

(You see, Selmer got a lot of bad rap in the 70′s from stopping the Mark VI and moving to a new model called the Mark VII, which had all of these new designs but was a commercial disaster–not bad instruments, I’ve played some beauties, just not a Mark VI. The Super Action 80 (released around 1980) and the forthcoming Series II (mid-late 80s) and Series III (mid-90′s) were Selmer’s move to recoup losses and reputation. The Reference horns (2000′s) were an admittance that their earlier horns in general were superior; a newer version of a classic–but they are not as good, believe me. The issue wasn’t as much the design (although it IS an issue for me–I’ll explain later) but of the fact that the brass alloy mix had changed–the brass used in the Mark VI’s was taken from artillery shells used in WWII–a very high-grade brass. Selmer eventually ran out of this brass, and also the machinery used to make the Mark VI eventually wore out. Selmer–and I admire them for this–was always into innovation, so they were constantly adapting their horns, so that no two from the same model, even close in age, would be identical–some would be radically different–the Mark VII experiment was just a matter of time. I still think that of the post-Mark VI horns, the Series II’s are the best.)

Anyways, I was convinced that as a contemporary player that I needed a contemporary horn. Emilio Lyons (the Sax Doctor!) and Jim Hobbs at Rayburn’s were going to work with me and Selmer to get me a customized Reference. I was ready to pick one out…then they gave me two Mark VI’s to try, both were fantastic, but one was just a universe above the other, and above any of the new horns I tried. It was also really expensive–I agonized over this for like 2 months–I even had dreams about this horn, so it was in my consciousness. I went back to Boston and Rayburn’s and Emilio and Jim worked with me to make purchasing this horn–which included a special Emilio overhaul that customized the horn to my hands and replaced the cork with an imported European sponge which makes the horn practically silent–possible. I am, as always, in their debt.

There are a couple of physical characteristics of this new horn that I have to talk about:

The first is the weight. Mark VI’s are light horns–my tenor probably weighs as little as my Series II alto (which is silver plated, which makes it heavier). Considering that the tenor has 1/3 more brass, this is considerable. In recent years, the idea of lighter instruments has become more and more of a factor–heavy instruments hurt…also, the lightness of the horn/brass alloy mix adds to the horn’s unique color spectrum: this makes it more difficult to control for younger players, but gives us seasoned ‘old-timers’ more ‘possibilities’…

The horn is soft and dark. Newer horns (all instruments) are so much louder and brighter–they are easy to play, loud, and in-tune. The older ones make you work to produce what you want (see my ‘old-timer’ comment above). My student’s instruments are soooooo loud and easy to play…and bright…and limited…

There is no high f# key. The high f# is a newer invention, from the 70′s. I never really used it much–mostly for alternate-fingering trills and such, since there are much more ‘fluid’ ways to play passages up there without it. I was concerned that not having this would be difficult–it’s not, provided that I remember it’s not there and not try to hit it–I’m getting better. I still am amazed that they are making horns with high g keys now…learn how to produce it the old-fashioned way…this is a rant for another blog…

So, me being me, I had to give this horn a baptism of fire: my first performance was as a soloist in DJ Spooky’s China +New York: Contemporary Asian/American Music, on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at (le) Poisson Rouge in NYC–mind you, I had owned the horn for only two days. We premiered Benoit Granier’s point[a] for myself and violinist Mari Kimura as soloists, accompanied by the TIMI Modern Music Ensemble (and computer) from Beijing.

Here are a couple of photos from the show:

At (le) Poisson Rouge, April 10, 2011

At (le) Poisson Rouge, April 10, 2011

Click this link to hear what it sounded like:

LPR_April_10_2011

Cool, huh?

So, that’s my story–I’m delighted with the new addition. I am a little sad about parting with my old horn, but it’s in good hands: my friend Evan Ziporyn, the wonderful reed player with Bang On A Can All-Stars, assured me of its continued play at a high level. A parent can’t ask for more than that…

’till next,

Demetrius

Greetings All,

As you know, this past weekend was the TransCultural Exchange International Conference on the Arts, which was be held in Boston from April 7 to April 10. This conference is considered the international forum for emerging and established artists, cultural administrators, residency directors, teachers, critics and curators providing a unique cross-disciplinary platform to network, showcase, support and promote artists’ work.

The Conference and the successive collaborative concerts with the Beijing-based TIMI Modern Music Ensemble, under the direction of Benoit Granier, at NYC’s (Le) Poisson Rouge and NJ’s Rutgers Univ. were all very successful.

The video is from the premiere performance of my Gymnopaedia at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center. The concert, entitled World Music-The Next Generation occurred on April 7, 2011. The video and sound were mastered by Brain Dixon.

Enjoy:

Greetings All,

Well…I just returned from a lovely week in Spain, engaging in the one activity that I am least proficient in: taking a break…but, I am happy to say that even with my lack of skill and experience in this realm, the week was successful, and I was in fact able to relax somewhat before this next week of craziness begins.

This week is centered around the TransCultural Exchange International Conference on the Arts, which will be held in Boston from April 7 to April 10. This conference is considered the international forum for emerging and established artists, cultural administrators, residency directors, teachers, critics and curators providing a unique cross-disciplinary platform to network, showcase, support and promote artists’ work.

I am one of the featured artists at this conference, and am engaged in two collaborations:

The first is with Laura Evans and is part of her exhibition, entitled White Noise, at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. This exhibition will feature our sound/sculpture collaboration Corpus Apparatus, which opened officially on March 19; my music was created with the support of the CAP Grant from the American Music Center. This is a featured work at the conference; in fact, it was the director of TransCultural Exchange–Mary Sherman–who connected us and suggested that we collaborate. This will be up through April 17.

You can hear the music of Corpus Apparatus on my homepage at American Music Center. I will post it here on my website after the conference weekend.

The other collaboration is with the Beijing-based TIMI Modern Music Ensemble, under the direction of Benoit Granier. TIMI mixes western classical and Chinese folk musicians with live/interactive computer. We will be performing music written by Mr. Granier (a new work entitled It will Snow Tomorrow), as well as the premier of a new version of my piece Gymnopaedia.

Now, some of you may remember that Gymnopaedia was originally written for clarinet and piano and was premiered by myself and Susanne Kessel at Beethovenhaus in Bonn, Germany on April 20, 2008. Benoit asked me to adapt this piece for his ensemble (two violins, clarinet (with me playing), guzheng, dizi, pipa, and erhu)–we will perform it in Boston on April 7 at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center and on April 8 at the Berklee College of Music, and in New Jersey on April 11 at Rutgers University. We will also play NYC concert on April 10 (the day the conference ends, mind you–back on an early Amtrak…) at (Le) Poisson Rouge that will be a grand computer-processed improvisation between TIMI, myself, Mari Kimura, and DJ Spooky.

Benoit and I began working together in 2009 in projects that culminated at the Musicacoustica Festival in Beijing. Our current collaborations are gearing towards a festival of contemporary music and cultures also in Beijing in 2012.

There will be another newsworthy event happening this week, but that is the topic for the next blog…yes, I know, I’m a tease…

But here is a hint.

Until then!

Demetrius

Hello All,

Sending out a short post to update you all on my current whereabouts and events.

Firstly, I want to say that my March 10 Womens Work concert was a great success. We had a very good crowd, especially considering that we were experiencing great amounts of rain. I also was delighted that many of the composers attended, including Lynn Job (all the way from Texas) whom I had not met prior to premiering her solo clarinet piece Arcangelo Red. It was a good evening for all. Below is a photo after the show:

Womens Work 2011

Back Row: Elzbieta Polak, Beth Anderson-Harold, Molly Thompson, Jill Miller-Thorn

Front Row: Lynn Job, Yours Truly, Alexandra Honigsberg

This Saturday is the opening of the exhibition of my collaborator, Laura Evans, at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. This exhibition will feature our sound/sculpture collaboration Corpus Apparatus. This will be presented as both a featured work in Laura’s exhibition from March 15 to April 17, 2011, and as a featured work for the TransCultural Exchange 2011 Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts: The Interconnected World, April 7-10, 2011. My music is an acousmatic (electronic music, created in the studio and using as source material recordings of me created specifically for this) piece which will emanate from within the sculpture. My electronic score to Corpus Apparatus won the CAP award from the American Music Center this past Fall.

And finally, I posted a new video from my performance in August 2010 at the Mozartiana Festival in Gdansk, Poland. This solo soprano sax piece was my improvised encore. It started as Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady, and went from there–remember, it was about 11PM and it was outside on the Baltic Sea…it was cold, but I was energized by the crowd. I hope you enjoy it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMUSicggwaQ

More soon!

Demetrius

Greetings All,

March is here…which means that my schedule is once again in a period of grand intensity. It’s crazy, it’s fun, it’s Spring.

Firstly, I hope that you all have enjoyed the recent video postings. I plan on adding more over the next couple of months, including another from Poland, probably one or two from recent NYC performances, and even a short film (or two…) which I composed music for.

Well, those that have been following me know, next week begins Womens Work 2011, in which my March 10 concert launches this year’s series. I will perform Carol Alban’s Elegy for clarinet, Beth Anderson’s Comment for clarinet and Toledo Swale for soprano sax and 2 violins (with Alexandra Honigsberg and Elzbieta Polak), Denise Broadhurst’s Equinox for clarinet, Alexandra Gardner’s Two Breathing Songs for clarinet, Lynn Job’s Archangelo Red for clarinet, Jill Miller-Thorn’s Lament for clarinet, Molly Thompson’s Magnolias and Speed for tenor sax, Joan Tower’s Wings for tenor sax and Judith Lang Zaimont’s Astral for clarinet. Several of the composers will speak before the performances of their works. 8 PM in the Renee Weiler Concert Hall at Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street, Manhattan.

Immediately following the concert, preparations begin for a series of recording sessions that next week for OCTET, a new project by my dear friend William Susman. I am not allowed to divulge any information about this, other than these facts: I am the reed player, the Music Director, and it will be totally cool

Immediately (again!) after the last recording session, I jump on the Amtrak to Boston for the official opening (March 19) of the exhibition of my collaborator, Laura Evans, at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. This exhibition will feature our sound/sculpture collaboration Corpus Apparatus. This will be presented as both a featured work in Laura’s exhibition from March 15 to April 17, 2011, and as a featured work for the TransCultural Exchange 2011 Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts: The Interconnected World, April 7-10, 2011 (more on this later). My music is an acousmatic (electronic music, created in the studio and using as source material recordings of me created specifically for this) piece which will emanate from within the sculpture. My electronic score to Corpus Apparatus won the CAP award from the American Music Center this past Fall.

Here are the program notes on the project:

Corpus Apparatus will take the form of a physical and sonic sculptural installation that utilizes both biological and mechanical elements. The physical form of the sculpture evokes a human heart–the basis of our humanity, but also a powerful machine. Elements recalling machinery and technology invade the humanity of this heart–an evolution, or a perversion? In Corpus Apparatus, sound will provide an important level of psychological stimulus to suggest this altered reality. As the sculpture itself is a blending of human and mechanical, sound emanating from the sculpture will create a constant flow between these two extremes. To create this acousmatic piece, I have recorded myself in the studio vocalizing and playing flute, alto flute, tenor saxophone, and Pamiri (Tajik) nai; these recordings are my complete source material for the work.

Well, once this bit of traveling is finished, I switch gears from performer/composer to educator/producer for the 2011 High School Jazz Festival at Five Towns College, where I am Assistant Professor of Music and direct the College’s large jazz ensembles. This event will present High School jazz ensembles from both Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island on March 24 from 9AM to 3PM. at the Dix Hills Performing Arts Center.

Following this will begin my collaboration with the Beijing-based TIMI ensemble which combines both Western Classical and Chinese Traditional instruments and is directed by my friend Benoit Granier. Now, here is where the interesting overlapping happens…both TIMI and my collaboration with Laura Evans will be featured at the TransCultural Exchange Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts: The Interconnected World, April 7-10, 2011 in Boston. Corpus Apparatus will be at the Boston Sculpture Gallery, which is one of the featured venues for the conference. I will perform a concert with TIMI on April 7 at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center in which we will premier the new version of my composition Gymnopaedia.

Now, some of you may remember that Gymnopaedia was originally written for clarinet and piano and was premiered by myself and Susanne Kessel at Beethovenhaus in Bonn, Germany on April 20, 2008. Benoit asked me to adapt this piece for his ensemble–the plan is to play it both in Boston April 7 and at Rutgers University on April 11 with me playing clarinet. We are also planning another concert in NYC  between the other two on April 10 (the day the conference ends, mind you–back on an early Amtrak…) at (Le) Poisson Rouge that will be a grand computer-processed improvisation between TIMI, myself, Mari Kimura, and DJ Spooky.

Benoit and I began working together in 2009 in projects that culminated at the Musicacoustica Festival in Beijing. Our current collaborations are gearing towards a festival of contemporary music and cultures also in Beijing in 2012.

My Spring sounds like a trip, doesn’t it…?

I would say that by mid-April I will be comatose, but, this is when the Summer schedule begins to take-off…there are plans in the works for many projects and travels. Well talk about those when they evolve to the point of being able to discuss them properly.

Again, I thank you all for your continued support; I hope to see some of you at these events.

Yours always,

Demetrius