FAQ

• So, when and where is this concert?

  Glad you asked:

  Saturday, September 17th, 8pm
  MiMoDa Dance Studio
  ‪5772 W Pico Blvd. (enter thru Paper or Plastik Cafe)
  Los Angeles, CA‬ 90019

  Last updated: Wednesday Aug 10, 2:13am EDT
• Who are the Eclipse Quartet?

  "A spellbinding performance... like breaths taken, each unique, but from the same source" -Los Angeles Times

  The Eclipse Quartet is an ensemble dedicated to the music of twentieth century and present day composers. This quartet is made up of four women (Sara Parkins and Sarah Thornblade, violins; Alma Fernandez, viola; and Maggie Parkins, cello) with extensive backgrounds in international and national chamber music performance, new music and recording. Their combined experience represents a wide range of musical styles and collaborations. The Quartet has performed frequently on both coasts and has taken part in festivals like the festival of New American Music in Sacramento and the Look and Listen Festival, NYC. They have been Visiting Artists at Mills College in Oakland, CA since 2008.

  Last updated: Wednesday Aug 10, 2:14am EDT
• Who are the composers?

  Jason Francesco Heath is a Los Angeles based composer and interactive media artist. Since 2008, he has worked as associate director of the new Experimental Acoustic Research Studio (EARS) at the University of California, Riverside. His music has been performed by Mládi chamber orchestra, members of the Denali string quartet, and has been heard at such diverse venues as KXLU 88.9, the Grand Performances series at Los Angeles' California Plaza, and the Culver Center of the Arts. Jason composes music for films and documentaries as well as art music for mixed media and chamber ensembles of various instrumentations. As associate director of the Experimental Acoustic Research Studio (EARS) he is dedicated to the advancement of new multi-disciplinary approaches to interactivity, digital music and new media composition, promoting new performance modalities and exploring emerging digital technologies.
  
  The sound compositions of Panayiotis Kokoras (Greece, 1974) develop functional classification and matching sound systems written on what he calls Holophonic Musical Texture. His works include significant influences of the electroacoustic studio upon acoustic instrumental compositions and vice versa. Panayiotis Kokoras' creative output consists of 50 works ranging from acoustic works to mixed media, improvisation and tape. His works have been commissioned by institutes and festivals such as FROMM (Harvard University) IRCAM (France), MATA (New York), Spring Festival (The University of York), Gaudeamus (Netherlands), ZKM (Germany), IMEB (France), and regularly performed in over 400 concerts in 70 cities around the world. His compositions have received 40 distinctions and prizes in international competitions among others Prix Ars Electronica 2011 (Austria), Métamorphoses 2010 & 2000 (Belgium), Giga-Hertz Music Award 2009 (Germany), ECPNM 2009 (Sweden), Bourges 2009, 2008 and 2004 (France), Gianni Bergamo 2007 (Switzerland), Pierre Schaeffer 2005 (Italy), Musica Viva 2005 and 2002 (Portugal), Look and Listen Prize 2004 (New York), Gaudeamus 2004 and 2003 (Holland), Jurgenson Competition 2003 (Russia), Seoul international competition 2003 (Korea), Takemitsu Composition Award 2002 (Japan), Noroit Prize 2002 (France), CIMESP 2002 (Brazil). Moreover, they have been selected by juries at more than 100 international call for score opportunities.

  Zeena Parkins, multi-instrumentalist, composer, improvisor, well-known as a pioneer of the electric harp, has also extended the language of the acoustic harp with the inventive use of unusual playing techniques, preparations, and layers of digital and analog processing. Zeena's unique vision is one that seeks to both meld and highlight opposites and extends to her work for her ensemble compositions. She has blurred boundaries between improvised and composed, acoustic and electric, digital and analog, and processed and concrete sounds to create many of her pieces. She achieves this engagement of contrasts by using instrument blending and morphing, the recombination of cut-up sounds to form odd and breathtaking soundscapes, and scoring and formal constructions derived from extra-musical sources. This process is evident in ensemble works such as the Trilogy written for her Gangster Band (a septet that includes strings and percussion and electronics), orchestral works commissioned by Bang on a Can, orchestrations for the Kitchen Blend Group and her on-going project of re-constructions of Debussy's La Mer. Ms. Parkins has appeared on over 70 CD's and in hundreds of concerts in both large and small spaces all over the world.

  Kotoka Suzuki composes for both instrumental and electro-acoustic as well as for dance and film, with a keen interest in combining visual element and sound. Since her DAAD residency in Berlin (2001-2002), she has been increasingly engaged in producing collaborative audio-visual works with several artists in Berlin. Artists such as the Arditti String Quartet, Continuum, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Canada), Pacifica Quartet, Earplay Ensemble, and Junge Musik have performed her works. Among her recent awards include first prize at the 30th Bourges International Electroacoustic Music and Sonic Art Competition in multimedia category (IMEB) (France), Musica Nova International Electroacoustic Music Competition Honor Prize (Czech), Robert Fleming Prize from Canada Council for the Arts, and Gerald Oshita Fellowship Award from Djerassi Resident Artists Program. Suzuki received a B.M. degree in composition from Indiana University and a D.M.A. degree in composition at Stanford University, where she studied with Jonathan Harvey. She is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Chicago since 2004.

  Dan Visconti (b. 1982) composes concert music infused with the directness of expression and maverick spirit of the American vernacular. His compositions often explore the rough timbres, propulsive rhythms, and improvisational energy characteristic of jazz, bluegrass, and rock—elements that tend to collide in unexpected ways with Visconti’s experience as a classically-trained violinist, resulting in a growing body of music one reviewer describes as “both mature and youthful, bristling with exhilarating musical ideas and a powerfully crafted lyricism.” His compositions have been commissioned and premiered by ensembles including the Kronos Quartet, the Da Capo Chamber Players, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Albany Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic Scharoun Ensemble, at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and LA’s Disney Hall. Visconti studied composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Yale School of Music, primarily with Margaret Brouwer, Aaron Jay Kernis, Ezra Laderman, and Zhou Long. He is a member of BMI and currently resides in Washington, DC.

  Last updated: Wednesday Aug 10, 2:16am EDT
• What is MiMoDa Dance Studio?

  MiMoDa Dance Studio, located near Culver City, provides a unique theatre space that is ideal for experimental performance projects, with its open floor plan and versatile lighting and sound capabilities. The building was a commercial laundry until 1978, when it was bought by David Greenberg and classical ballet dancer James Morency, who converted it into The Dancers’ Studio. For many years, celebrated Polish ballet master Stefan Wenta made the studio his professional home. In 2008, the building was renamed, extensively upgraded and remodeled by MiMoDa's new owner, dance guru and visual artist Yasha Michelson.

  Last updated: Wednesday Aug 10, 2:17am EDT