2015 Season
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Robert Rich - 11 April 2015
Robert Rich finds expression in his works by fusing nature, technology, art and craft into a sonic replica of our earthly macrocosm. His music is concise, exhilarating and charged by a keen sense of drama. Moving through his many albums we find multi-layered realizations enlivened by misty flute solos, floating glissando guitar, interlacing sequencer rhythms and ethereal synth pads. Less active areas within the meshes of musical fabric are like an oasis nestled inside his ambitious design. Each successive concert is fueled by his captivating musical intuition, and reveals Rich's growing compositional sophistication. With movements of dreamlike stillness, fierce brilliance and pure sensuality Robert Rich realizes a sonic state where everything is alive and in flux. Conjuring soundscapes derived from the darkest regions of the earth, to the brightest grain of stardust, Rich's performances evoke the enigmatic nature of the universe while emphasizing its harmony with the human spirit. With his steel guitar, flutes, native percussion, field recordings, synthesizers and samplers Robert Rich delves into the mysteries of the cosmos, and our place in it.
Robert Rich returned to Philadelphia and |
 | Charles Cohen + Ombient - 16 May 2015
Based in the Philadelphia area, Charles Cohen has been amazing and challenging audiences for over 30 years. His music is entirely improvisational and produced primarily on a vintage Buchla Music Easel synthesizer. An avid collaborator, Cohen first gained noteriety from his work with Jeff Cain in their group The Ghostwriters. With few recorded/commercially available works to his credit, Cohen avidly concentrates on creating Electronic Music in the setting of the live performance space. His music ranges from completely abstract and adventurous to pleasantly rhythmic and infectious. Each performance is original and new, to the audience and to Cohen as well. Multi-instrumentalist Mike Hunter uses the name Ombient to make live music to fit any situation. During his many concert outings he has realized a range of performances - from those of great portent down to the more ethereal and diffuse. Possessed by a unique atmospheric sensitivity he is currently exploring the sonic territory of Spacemusic's 1970s Berlin-School with a number of classic electronic instruments, among them a substantial three cabinet "Synthesizers Dot Com" modular system. Ombient was joined on-stage by fellow Electronic Musician Chuck van Zyl.
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 | Steve Roach - 12 September 2015
A pioneer in contemporary electronic music, Steve Roach is a leading innovator in the atmospheric/tribal/ambient music world. Drawing on the beauty and power of the earth, Roach creates lush, meditative soundscapes. His music exists outside conventional boundaries and is restless in its search for new sounds that connect with an ancient source. Over the past 30 years, Roach has been a rare constant as live performer on the international electronic music scene. With dozens of albums to his credit he continues to set the standards by which this evolving genre is measured. In spite of his music having been borrowed from so many times, Roach still has the power to inspire and move. Steve Roach returned to Philadelphia as part of The Gatherings Concert Series on 12 September 2015. Synthesist Jeffrey Koepper performed an opening set. Many Thanks to all those who attended, and to all those who lent a hand to help out! |  |
 | Erik Wollo / Bernhard Wostheinrich - 10 October 2015
Erik Wøllo's roots in progressive rock are evident in his cinematic musical themes. While there is always a sense of warmth to his atmospheric pieces, Wøllo's music resounds with the stark beauty of Norway's wintry landscapes. His musical experience covers a range of styles - from rock and jazz to classical and ambient. He realizes music that is both lyrical and rhythmic, focusing on melody and structure. Through his subtle minimalist patterns and nebulous breaths of sound, Wøllo creates concerts of luminous airy music. Bernhard Wöstheinrich speaks in his own musical voice. Providing a unique perspective in his increasingly frequent collaborations with a range of noted international artists, Wöstheinrich has quietly been playing with and influencing some of our community's most interesting talents. The musical arc of his work often moves from the curiously beautiful to the beautifully curious. Fully formed and thoughtful energetic songs are driven by firm beats amidst simultaneously sounding musical lines. With harmonies trailing behind melodies these shimmering works disintegrate into swirling unanchored abstractions of sustained tonal ambiance. An intriguing listening experience Wøllo/Wöstheinrich benefit from great conceptualization, arranging and musicianship. Together this duo pulls off their collaborations with startling brilliance.
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Lanterna + George Wallace + Vic Hennegan - 14 November 2015 FREE ADMISSION As much a student as he is a master George Wallace uses the techniques of the prominent to assert his own identity. There are wonderful passages presenting a relaxed and unpressured atmosphere. Ceremonial synth chords, atmospheric lead lines and ringing bowls offer subtle depths and graceful stillness - yet there are other areas where thunderclaps, chanting monks, primeval rhythms and overdrive guitar heighten our attentiveness to new ideas. Wallace's music all flows together powerfully. Whether we relate to this music as Ambient, Space, New Age or World Fusion, it is difficult not to respond to it. As Lanterna, Henry Frayne connects his achievements in post-punk and shoegazer "dream pop" with moods drawn from spaghetti westerns and ambient isolationists. His albums of primarily guitar-based instrumentals move between the soothing, the unsettling and the fiery. Frayne often explores the possibilities of playing his instrument through the endless delay of digital processors. His rich and detailed performances bounce around our interior, co-mingling with our mind. Thought of as "instrumentals that speak", Lanterna provides an entire landscape of sound, created with but a single guitar. Vic Hennegan is part of a brotherhood that spans continents and centuries. Influenced by innovative works and acts dating back to the pioneers of Electronic Music, Hennegan's endeavors trace a through line - beginning with the birth of synthesizers, and the first music made in a lab, to pulsing sequencer Spacemusic atmospheres, and the fusion of anthemic pop/rock laced global grooves. From spellbinding anthems to passages of intimate revelations, the music hits deep.
George Wallace + Lanterna + Vic Hennegan return to |
The Gatherings Concert Series is presented by the all-volunteer staff of The Corporation for Innovative Music and Arts of Pennsylvania
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