About this project
I always knew I'd end up writing orchestral music. - Kip Winger
Kip Winger, lead singer of the rock band Winger, is an accomplished, award nominated ballet composer. For his next symphonic piece, Conversations With Nijinsky, he wants to record exclusively with students of Oberlin College.
Winger has arranged with the Dean of the Music Conservatory to hire the school's orchestra. They will practice and record his composition for an upcoming CD. The project will be filmed. The money raised through Kickstarter will hire approx. 60 students, conductor Scott Yoo, and a sound engineer. It will also subsidize travel and accommodations for a small documentary crew.
Should we go over our funding goal any extra money will be dedicated to more time at Oberlin and other out of pocket expenses that were not included in this budget.
CONVERSATIONS WITH NIJINSKY ARTIST'S STATEMENT:
Conversations with Nijinsky is my imaginary musical dialogue with a great historical figure. Universally cited as one of the greatest male dancers of the 20th century, Vaslav Nijinsky was celebrated for his virtuosity, for the depth and intensity of his characterizations, and his legendary gravity-defying leaps.
I spent the winter of 2010 reading several books on Nijinsky, composing sketches of music I heard while reading his story.
In 1909, Sergei Diaghilev created what became the Ballet Russes in Paris, and commissioned Nijinsky to choreograph numerous works that extended the limits of traditional ballet. But in 1919, at the age of 29, Nijinsky's career suddenly ended when he suffered a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
He spent the rest of his life in and out of psychiatric hospitals and asylums. During the last days of World War II, Nijinsky danced in public for the last time. He encountered a group of Russian soldiers outside of Vienna, playing traditional folk tunes. Inspired by the music and his reunion with his countrymen, he leapt into an exquisite dance, astounding the men with the complexity and grace of his figures. The experience restored some of Nijinsky's capacity for communication, after having maintained long periods of silence.
Particularly when I read Nijinsky's Diaries, I felt both disoriented and inspired. The Diaries reminded me that creating art can feel like a dangerous, psychologically unstable enterprise: long stretches of nonsensical meandering may be followed by small moments of searing lucidity. My reading inspired me to imagine all the ways Nijinsky would have fulfilled his artistic expression through dance had he not had his illness.
I conceived of my new work as the accompaniment to the "unseen" dances of Nijinsky.
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This project successfully raised its funding goal on December 18.
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Everyone who donates will receive a personal thank you email from C. F. Kip Winger and be added to our mailing list for updates.
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All of the above... and exclusive access to our live behind-the-scenes UStream shot on site at Oberlin.
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All of the above and... a special thanks on the project's website.
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All of the above and... a digital download of Conversations With Nijinsky.
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All of the above and... a signed copy of the CD Conversations With Nijinsky. (Domestic shipping included. Canada please add $5 for shipping, International please add $10.)
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All of the above and... an autographed production still of the Oberlin orchestra, Kip Winger, and Scott Yoo. (Domestic shipping included. Canada please add $5 for shipping, International please add $10.)
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All of the above and... VIP tickets to the NYC listening party, location and date TBD, with a special appearance by the composer.
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All of the above... and a framed original, handwritten page of the Conversations With Nijinsky score.
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All of the above and... a copy of the score signed by the composer and an invitation to attend 1st day of rehearsal at Oberlin Conservatiory's Warner Hall with the composer, conductor and orchestra.
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All of the above and... an invitation to attend 1st day rehearsal and 2nd day recording session at Oberlin Conservatory's Warner Hall with the composer, conductor and orchestra. There you will be interviewed about your experience for a documentary film.
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All of the above and... Co-Producer credit on the Conversations With Nijinsky CD and documentary film about the project.
Project By
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Musician/composer C.F. Kip Winger discovered his passion for music at an early age. His parents were jazz musicians and he began studying piano at age six. Two years later, he began playing professionally with his two older brothers. He began studying classical guitar with Sam Guarnaccia, director of the nationally recognized guitar program at Denver University, when he was still in his teens. Mr. Winger’s early study of baroque music inspired his pursuit of classical music composition, and over the years he found himself studying intensively with such masters as Richard Danielpour, Michael Kurek, and Richard Herman.
Early in his career, Mr. Winger’s performance and compositional skills brought him considerable success as a singer and songwriter of popular music. In the early 1990s, his band Winger was at the top of the charts, selling millions of records worldwide and going on several sold-out world tours. London’s Classic Rock Magazine called the band's namesake “one of the most gifted composers and arrangers in the rock genre."
But Mr. Winger's foray into popular music didn't distract him from his interest in classical music composition. In the 2009/2010 season, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra became the first orchestra to perform a C.F. Winger composition with the world premiere of Ghosts in the MasterWorks Chamber Orchestra Series. A recording of Ghosts conducted by Lynn Bingham, Assistant Conductor of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and featuring New York Philharmonic Associate Principal Lisa Kim on violin, drew the attention of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s composer-in residence, Dan Coleman, and top choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon. Using Mr. Winger's orchestral score, Wheeldon created the ballet Ghosts which premiered at the San Francisco Ballet in February 2010 and garnered Mr. Winger a nomination for the Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music.
