Event Horizon Series
presents
Kip Rosser, Electric Diamond and George Wallace
Kip Rosser: For twenty years, Kip Rosser’s solo performances, staged productions, award-winning compositions and industry recognition have earned him a reputation as one of the most accomplished thereminists in the country. Rosser typically moves beyond a standard recital format, making for a unique event that combines music (ranging from classical to jazz to popular) with stories and performance art, continually pushing the boundaries of what the theremin can play and do. His programs for special events are tailored specifically to suit occasion and client musical preferences. In an academic setting, the programs are always age appropriate and the presentation specific to the class subject. Back in 1996, after a twenty-one year hiatus from serious musical study, Rosser crossed paths with the grandfather of all electronic instruments; he purchased a kit and built his first theremin. Previously, Kip graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in Acting/Directing and was then the sole candidate accepted in the graduate Directing program at Northwestern University. After receiving the MFA, he moved to New York City where he directed plays, worked as a playwright, as well as working as a graphic artist and copywriter.
Electric Diamond: Humanity has always been fascinated by the diamond: shimmering, multi-faceted and mesmerizing. That same description is more than apt when attempting to convey the impact of a performance by Electric Diamond. “Dispersion” is the term used to characterize a diamond’s colored light. The rainbow that should jump from a diamond is known as its “fire.” Although the official measurement of the fire can only be done by machine, the human eye can actually see and measure it. As for the fire jumping from Electric Diamond, 20th Century Music Magazine wrote: “a step beyond... A window into the future of music.” And Variety called it, “a wonderful trip into the asteroids...a fully symphonic piece of intense dignity and feeling.” At the heart of Electric Diamond’s fire are two extraordinary musicians, Don Slepian and Stuart Diamond. Their story spans forty years of composing, collaboration and performing together. Stuart Diamond is producer, composer, musician, writer, director, video artist, and journalist. He is also a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and Trustee for The California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. His instrument? The EWI – short for Electronic Wind Instrument. The EWI is essentially a synthesizer that’s played like a woodwind, requiring expert embouchure and breath control. In Diamond’s hands, the EWI can imitate any traditional woodwind as well as “go stratospheric,” creating both raw and deeply ethereal sonic textures and “voices.” Keyboard virtuoso, Don Slepian, has created his own descriptive mantra: “high technology, human touch.” During his career at Bell laboratories, he spent two years working with their most advanced digital synthesizer. A true pioneer in electronic music, he was a Synthesizer Soloist with the Honolulu Symphony. In addition to being presented by WNYC's “New Sounds” show in New York's Lincoln Center, he was selected by the French Ministry of Culture for a residency at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Together, Diamond and Slepian craft a seamless music experience that move “beyond sounds we explore. The actual sounds of our music are the outer coverings of deeper expressions, of the feelings, emotions...the sounds we explore are our vehicles to share what we discover with our audiences.”
George Wallace: In live performance, multi-instrumentalist George Wallace presents a dazzling array of wondrous, imaginatively crafted soundscapes bound to delight fans of deep ambient, techno-tribal, and space music. George is a seasoned performer, having spent years with bands playing various permutations of rock, jazz, and popular music. But for the past few years he’s been on hiatus from playing out, mainly producing studio recordings of his own compositions, with recent forays into making music for film and television. He has recently risen to the challenge of engineering a way to deliver his particular brand of ambient music - inherently layered and complex - in such a way that its live performance is faithful to the sonic dimension and depth of the recorded version. During the course of a given set (anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending) audiences will experience something akin to hypnosis as our senses are immersed in music fed by George’s fierce, spontaneous inspiration and tempered with his keen feel for rhythmic and dramatic flow. In addition to the synthesizers he plays onstage, George uses guitars both acoustic and electric, Native American flutes, rain sticks, bells and rattlers, and even a Tibetan singing bowl to round out the sonic palette. His musical program consists of pieces both old and new; a few older favorites culled from his several ambient releases are woven in with newer, as-yet unrecorded pieces, most of which are essentially structured improvisations based on predetermined soundstages, the end result being that no two performances are exactly alike. Naturally this calls up a certain amount of audience engagement (and lots of fun for all) as George often says he likes to read – and get energy from – the audience he’s playing for. Adding to the mix is his occasional blending of natural ambiences such as forest sounds, night sounds, wind…and a few which might be best described as unearthly. These aural treats serve as the ‘ear candy’ which help to put the whole thing over-the-top. Despite his affable stage demeanor, the intensity of the music itself makes it evident that George likes to play deep. Through his magical musings, we are invited to discover a new access to our true Selves, from the deepest regions of our souls to the ecstatic, sublime worlds of our highest potential. Presented here is wild, enriched sound, simultaneously borrowing from the primal past and the celestial future, creating an inspiring, cleansing, memorable experience of exotic places and times well beyond this one.
Admission is FREE
And don't miss Event Horizon's next two shows:
May 13th - Ritchie DeCarlos, Nathan McLaughlin & Seth Chrisman and Guitar Pilots
June 9th - Ombient w ith guest Chuck van Zyl, Elkhorn
September 23rd - TBA
October 27th - TBA
December 1st - TBA