An Evening of Performances: Dance, Music and Spoken Word
Friday, June 23, 7:00 p.m.
Northampton Center for the Arts
17 New South Street, Northampton
Dance
Spiegel im Spiegel (Mirror in the Mirror)
Music by Arvo Part, choreography by Lisa Leizman
The Lisa Leizman Dance Company
The Lisa Leizman Dance Company, a group of sixteen dancers, will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in 2011. The dance company is now in its eighth year as a Resident Company of the Northampton Center for the Arts. The group presents full-length concerts twice a year in NCFA's historic ballroom. The company also performs programs especially designed for particular audiences, including: What is Dance (ages two to five) for the Young People’s Performing Arts Series; Abstractions From Nature for Family Day at the Clarke Institute of Art in Williamstown, MA.; site specific performances at the Wisteriahurst Museum in Holyoke, MA and outside in downtown Northampton for Northampton Arts Night Out; performances for clients and caregivers for AIDSCare Hampshire County; and performances in conjunction with philosophy of art courses for Hampshire College Elderhostel.
Music
MaryEllen Miller
Sounding the Murals
MaryEllen Miller and a group of her clarinet
students will perform the original compositions Sounding the Murals
MaryEllen received undergraduate degrees from Boston University and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and an MA from Harvard University. She received the Okuden Certificate in Shakuhachi Performance from the Tozan Ryu of Shakuhachi in Sapporo, Japan where she studied with Seizan Nakajima. She teaches at the Community Music School of Springfield, the Smith College Campus School and the Northampton Community Music Center. She performs throughout New England and in Japan.
Michel Moushabec and Mohammed Mejaour
Michel Moushabec and Mohammed Mejaour, members of the Arab ensemble Layaali, will perform as a duo.
Michel Mousabec
Michel Moushabec, A Palestinian, born and raised in Beirut, is a versatile percussionist with over 40-years experience in tabla, riqq, and daff performance. In addition to classical Arabic, he is comfortable playing a variety of musical styles from jazz to flamenco to Afro-Cuban congas. Michel came to the U.S. in 1979, attended New York University, and has since performed at notable concert halls worldwide. He is the lead percussionist of Layaali Arabic Music Ensemble. He played riqq, tabla and daff on the music soundtrack of an award-winning BBC/WGBH documentary on Islam, which aired as part of the series The People's Century. His recording credits include two albums: Lost Songs of Palestine and Folk Songs and Dance Music from Turkey and the Arab World. He is the author of several books and he lectures frequently on Arabic music and literature. He makes his living as an editor and publisher.
Mohammed Mejaour
Mohammed Mejaour is a Moroccan born nay (reed flute) player, and flute maker, Mohammed Mejaour is a brilliant exponent of the Arabic classical repertoire and a leading interpreter of contemporary works. He is known for bringing the nay's hauntingly beautiful sounds to audiences throughout the U.S. and Europe for over three decades. Born into a musical Berber family, he was taught rhythm (playing spoons) and chant by his mother at the age of five. He joined the House of Youth Ensemble at age eight and in his teens he earned his living as a street performer and storyteller. Since moving to the U.S. in 1981, he has toured with many leading vocalists and Middle Eastern ensembles. He has been a member of Layaali Arabic Music Ensemble since 1992.
Yeman Al-Rawi was born on Sep. 11, 1994 in Iraq, but is currently living in MI, USA. A senior in high school, he also plays guitar as a hobby. At the age of seven, he picked up an acoustic guitar after watching his brother playing the electric guitar. More recently, he started composing original songs, recording for, and collaborating with friends all over the globe through online websites. He developed a style as a solo performer that incorporates classic, blues, and jazz with a modern twist, otherwise known as “fingerstyle guitar.”
Spoken Word
Tyler Boudreau has twelve years of active military service; he was deployed to Iraq in 2004. He writes and speaks regularly about war and military experiences at universities, colleges, high schools, community events etc. Currently active with several humanitarian projects focused in particular on issues of War, Post-Traumatic Stress and Iraqi Refugees.
He has written many articles for print and online publications. His books include Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts-Bringing The War Home-Stories of American Soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (2009) and Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine.
Youth Participants from mural painting projects with the Iraqi refugee community in Troy, New York and in Northampton MA.
Rev. Peter Kakos has been the minister of Edward's Church in Northampton MA since 1994. He is the Convener of Religious Leaders of Greater Northampton and a charter member of Cot Shelter Program, Northampton. The Edwards Church, founded in 1833 has seen dirt streets become water canals, which became trolley tracks and then paved roads. But through it all, "… we have been an inviting church to all who seek to find God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Our great glass wall covered with crosses allows all in our community to look in and see who we are, and allows us to look out and be reminded that our calling is to go out and help our community as Jesus would ask us to."
