Related materials for the Grisey residency
Our Artist Residencies are as much an opportunity for Yellow Barn’s audience, staff, and the Putney community to explore new ideas as they are for the resident artists themselves.
As I am sure it is for many, the planetarium was always one of my favorite places to visit as a child. Looking forward to Yellow Barn's upcoming residency devoted to the preparation and performance of Gerard Grisey's Le Noir de l'Etoile, I put together a group of pieces that like Le Noir de l'Etoile draw inspiration from and give new meaning to natural wonders. In addition, I asked a friend who turned his love of astronomy into real knowledge, to recommend several books (and a few videos) that might take us into that universe soon to be explored by Yellow Barn's six percussionists and Tom Geballe of the Gemini Observatory.
—Seth Knopp
LISTENING
After almost 40 years, I have decided to retire from concert life. My health no longer allows me to live up to the high standard that I have always set for my art and myself. I owe a lot to this wonderful profession and leave without a trace of bitterness.On the contrary, I am looking forward to the new challenges that will now enter my life. I would like to thank all my fellow musicians and colleagues, with whom I stood together on stage, all the organizers, and my audience for their loyalty. —Thomas Quasthoff
READING
WATCHING
Images from the Crumb Madrigals Project
The Crumb Madrigals Project (Photos: Zachary Stephens)
After devoting a week to developing a multi-media presentation, Yellow Barn's Crumb Madrigals artist residency culminated on March 24, 2012 with a public performance and discussion at Next Stage in Putney, VT. During their week in Putney the artists shared their work with community members in a lecture-demonstration at the Putney Public Library and with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students from Putney Central School and the Grammar School.
Putting the Madrigals project in context
Stephen Smoliar writes for the Classical Music Examiner:
Want to learn about George Crumb? Go to Vermont!
The American composer George Crumb has received almost no attention in my efforts to write about performances of music. Yesterday I received word from Yellow Barn of their own small effort to reverse this trend. Yellow Barn is a center for the study and performance of chamber music founded in 1969 and run by Artistic Director Seth Knopp. The center is located in Putney, Vermont; and, in spite of this remote location, they have achieved international recognition for their residencies, workshops, and adventurous approaches to chamber music.
Press for Soundings and Yellow Barn
Gegory Isaacs writes for Arts & Culture Magazine North Texas:
In 2010, the Nasher Sculpture Center added a chamber music series to its many other offerings. In keeping with the eclectic quality of its art collection, Nasher’s Director Jeremy Strick, wanted something completely different so he turned to Seth Knopp, a founding member of the award-winning Peabody Trio and artistic director of Yellow Barn, an internationally recognized chamber music study and performance program in Putney, Vermont.“Soundings: New Music at the Nasher,” is the happy result. Now in its second season, the nearly sold out series has intrigued and delighted classical, as well as world music buffs, throughout North Texas.Knopp and Yellow Barn have been integral to this effort right from the start. This internationally respected music center is a hotbed of musical innovation and ongoing musical exploration. Its principal activities are a five-week summer chamber music festival/training program for young professional musicians, a training program for high school instrumentalists and composers and a year round series of artist residencies and workshops.
Crumb Madrigals video preview
In a short video Bart Woodstrup gives insight into his process and a preview of some of the images created for the March 24th performance.
Behind the Crumb Madrigals Project
Due East is thrilled to be joining Duo Borealis and harpist, Jacqui Kerrod, to mount this multi-media production of George Crumb's Madrigals with video artist Bart Woodstrup. We gathered together in early January in our cozy Bronx apartment to begin working on the music. Everyone sounds fantastic and there is a lot of natural chemistry between the ensemble. Erin was at the center of the network, as she had worked with Evan in Carnegie's Academy program and with Jacqui in a "Debussy" trio. In just days we were able to take successful first passes at all four books. It was a joy.
Our video artist, Bart Woodstrup, is a colleague of mine here at Northern Illinois University and we applied for and received an inaugural internal grant specifically geared for this sort of multi-media collaborative project. We have used our funds to purchase three matching video projectors and a video card that allows these projectors to be controlled by one computer. Bart has been steadfastly developing content that lends color and added depth to the poetic language of Garcia Lorca, whose poetry runs throughout Crumb's cycle.
Furthermore Bart and I have begun developing materials to build portable video screens to take on tour with us. This will allow us to create a three-dimensional video environment for the work; rather than only projecting on a singular flat surface behind and above the stage, as is typically the case with multi-media musical productions. Ideas in this regard are still nascent and "in progress" and we are thrilled at the idea of taking a week in mid-March at Yellow Barn to flush out logistics and meld it into our interpretive take on these haunting yet starkly beautiful works.
A big shout out to Seth Knopp, Catherine Stephan and the rest of Team Yellow Barn for making this upcoming residency possible! We are so thankful to have the opportunity and cannot wait to put poetry in motion. We hope you'll consider joining us on Saturday, March 24th, for our first performance of this project. It promises to be unique and beautiful.
Signing out,
Greg