“Coincidents” a multi-media opera by Leroy Jenkins, Mary Griffin, Hisao Ihara January 5, 2012

Roulette Presents

Coincidents

Excerpts

January 5 - 9, 7pm

What: “Coincidents” a multi-media opera by Leroy Jenkins, Mary Griffin, Hisao Ihara,
When: January 5 - 8, 7pm; January 9, 7pm. Reception and free performance for Roulette members
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $10
Info: www.roulette.org / 917.267.0368

Brooklyn, NY: Roulette presents a section of “Coincidents” a multi-media opera by composer Leroy Jenkins, librettist Mary Griffin in collaboration with visual artist Hisao Ihara. A section of the opera rehearsed while in residency at Roulette will feature composer/conductor, Chris Berg, composer/pianist, Myra Melford, and singers Diana Solomon-Glover, Steven Herring, and Peter Stewart.

In the creation of “Coincidents”, Griffin and Jenkins use incidents from their personal family histories to illustrate the fragility, flexibility, and resilience of individual identity in the tumult of mass migrations impelled by famine, war, and political oppression, and by curiosity, enterprise and love.

About the Artists
Leroy Jenkins (1932-2007) is internationally renowned for his compositions, an extraordinary bonding of a variety of sounds associated with the African American music tradition and European styles. A founding member of the Association for the Advancement for the Creative Musician (AACM), Jenkins toured the world as a solo performer of his own work and with such artists as Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, and Roscoe Mitchell. He received a number of major opera and music theatre commissions from Meet the Composer, The Rockefeller Foundation’s MAP Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. He received a “Bessie” for Mother of Three Sons, a collaboration with Bill T. Jones presented by the New York City Opera and the Houston Grand Opera. Fresh Faust, a jazz rap opera, was presented by ICA in Boston. The Negro Burial Ground was presented by the Kitchen in 1996, and The Three Willies, (libretto, Homer Jackson), commissioned by Tyler School of Art, Roulette, Providence Productions and Randolph Street Gallery was presented at The Painted Bride in 1999 and The Kitchen in 2001. He also received commissions from the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Nickelsdorf Festival, Meet the Composer, The Albany Symphony and The Kronos Quartet. His last opera, Coincidents also received support from The Fromm Foundation (2003), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2004). Recordings include: Solo, a suite of compositions for solo violin Equal Interest, Joseph Jarman and Myra Melford, Omnitone (2000), and The Revolutionary Ensemble, Mutable Music (2004).

Mary Griffin is a writer of fiction, poetry, and screenplays. With composer Joseph Hannan she has written Christina the Astonishing, and Lovers and Sick Cattle, the first two sections of a trilogy of operas based on the lives of saints. Excerpts from the third opera in the trilogy, Paradise, were performed at Roulette in 2003. Griffin and Hannan's work has been produced at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Roulette, and The Performing Garage. She also collaborates with composer, Frankie Mann, and Welsh video artist, Terry Dimmick. She is a recipient of a fellowship from The New York Foundation for the Arts, and her work has been supported through residencies at Harvestworks, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, and Atlantic Center for the Arts, and with grants from The Phaedrus Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation/MAP program, and The Lifton Foundation.

Hisao Ihara’s work explores the intricate overlay of time and visual perception within immersive video environments. He works in animation, live action video, video performance and hybrid digital media. He has received grants and fellowships from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. He was a Van Lier Fellow at Harvestworks in 2008 and a MacDowell Fellow in October 2010. Recent works include Movement, a live video performance project for four large video projections and Surround Sound system which create a 360-degree room-like space for the audience. His installations have been presented at numerous venues here and abroad, most recently, the Currents Festival, in Santa Fe, and at the World Financial Center as part of the New York Electronic Media Arts Festival.

About Roulette
Roulette – one of New York City’s premiere venues for experimental music for over 33 years - has reopened bigger and better than ever. Located in a newly renovated 1920s Art Deco concert hall in Downtown Brooklyn, the new Roulette features two levels of seating for up to 400 people (600 standing), an expanded multi-channel sound system, projection screen for film and multi-media events, state-of-the-art lighting system, modular stage, and a specially designed floor to accommodate dance. Teamed with bold new programming, the new Roulette promises to be one of the most exciting places in New York City - if not the country - to experience adventurous music and art.

Official Website: http://www.roulette.org